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Summary
On episode 174 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan breaks down 11 things you should know about macronutrients, prompted by a listener request in the Facebook group. He covers protein, fats, and carbs one at a time, explaining what each does in the body and where people tend to get the balance wrong.
His core argument is that more of a “good” nutrient isn’t automatically better. Excess protein turns into blood sugar and stresses the kidneys, and the type and ratio of fat you eat matters more than whether it’s labeled saturated or unsaturated.
He closes on carbs, making the case that while fiber-rich vegetables matter for micronutrients and regularity, there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate the way there is essential protein and fat.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- More protein isn’t automatically better. Your body can’t store excess protein the way it stores fat, so surplus protein gets converted to blood sugar and then to body fat, and it puts extra load on your kidneys.
- Vegetarians need to combine foods for complete protein. Essential amino acids can’t be made by the body, so they must come from food, and no single vegetable typically covers all of them. Mixing plant proteins is necessary to avoid gaps over time.
- Saturated fat isn’t the villain it’s been made out to be. Your body is partly made of saturated fat, and it’s the same fat you burn when you lose weight, so a blanket rule against it doesn’t hold up.
- The omega-3 to omega-6 ratio matters more than fat type alone. Grain-fed cattle shift toward omega-6-heavy fat, while grass-fed, grass-finished animals produce closer to the historical one-to-one ratio, which is why fish oil and grass-fed meat help rebalance the diet.
- MCT oil is a fast, usable energy source. Because your body can’t store it, medium chain triglyceride oil goes straight to the liver for energy and can help push you toward ketosis, which is why it shows up in things like Bulletproof Coffee.
- Partially hydrogenated oils are the fats to avoid entirely. They’re shelf-stable because your body can’t actually process them, which means they just accumulate rather than get used or eliminated.
- Simple carbs and sugar trigger insulin spikes that block fat burning. A flood of fast energy forces an insulin surge that tells the body to store fat rather than burn it, while slower carbs like sweet potatoes avoid that spike.
- Insoluble fiber from vegetables keeps you regular but isn’t an energy source. It passes through undigested, which is different from soluble fiber, which the body slowly breaks down for usable energy.
- There is no such thing as an essential carb. Protein and fat both contain nutrients the body cannot make on its own, but carbohydrates don’t have that same requirement, even though vegetables are still worth eating for their vitamins and minerals.