Hey, Everybody.
So far, Andrew Berry and I have discussed carbohydrates & diabetes, and healthy weight loss with diabetes. This interview is about protein. The American Diabetes Association has joined in with what some people have been touting for years, low-carb and higher protein diets consisting of lean, healthy proteins, can really help you control blood sugar levels, prevent Type 2 diabetes, lose body fat and maintain a healthy weight.
I personally have been following a low-carb, higher protein nutrition plan with the guidance of Andrew for over a year now and seen great results in my energy, my blood sugar control and body fat loss. So, I wanted to give you a chance to hear it from Andrew yourself!
Ginger: So, could you start with the basics of why protein is such an important part of a nutrition plan for a person with diabetes?
ANDREW: Protein is part of every cell, the construction of neurotransmitters, production of hormones, all enzymes and muscle. Without protein, our body struggles to take care of these processes efficiently. Protein consists of 20 different amino acids that are the “building blocks” of the cells in our body. We need to consume all twenty in order to give our bodies everything it needs.
We need protein to increase muscle mass, which is important for increasing our basal metabolic rate (BMR= the amount of calories we burn to stay alive in a day). Muscle requires more calories to keep the cells alive, therefore, the more muscle you build the higher amount of calories your body will burn each day.
Think of it this way: a single fat cell burns 4 calories a minute. A single muscle cell burns 37 calories per minute. Adding just a few pounds of muscle to your body will seriously increase your BMR.
Ginger: Could you explain the comparison of protein versus fats and carbs?
ANDREW: Yeah, this is really important to understand: when you eat a food that is mostly fat or carbohydrates, 95% of the calories in that food will be digested and stored on your body (in the form of fat). When you eat protein, you only digest 75% of those calories because your body has to work harder to digest the protein and transport all its amino acids throughout the body. So you actually burn calories when you eat protein. This is called a “thermogenic” effect because our bodies heat up while working hard to digest the protein, temporarily increasing our metabolism.
This also means, though, you can consume more protein in one sitting and feel really satisfied, compared to eating the same amount of calories in fats or carbs.
Ginger: And after we eat protein, we don't need nearly as much insulin....
ANDREW: Right, which is crucially important for your diabetes. As we’ve discussed in the last interview, the less insulin your body needs, the less fat will be stored on your body. Most protein sources are extremely low-carb; therefore you don’t need a great deal of insulin to digest it and maintain your blood glucose.
