A quick question about TEF: if protein always requires 25% of its calories just to digest and process it, wouldn’t it be simplest to say protein has 3 kcal/gram of net energy content instead of 4?
Is the standard description just used because 4 kcal/gram is what you get in a “bomb calorimeter” from simple oxidation? You could easily adjust that data to apply to how people use protein, but I suppose it would be complicated with normal foods that have mixtures of macronutrients. But if you have to report the components anyway, you could do it.
If someone changes from a carb-heavy to a protein-heavy diet and wants to keep their calories the same, the current approach requires them to account for TEF to get it right. And saying protein is really only 3 kcal/gram might encourage more people to eat enough of it!
Well, it’s never as simple as net intake/expenditure. Following the principles of G-Flux, you’d rather ingest 4 kcals and spend 1 kcal than just ingest 3 kcals. You have to consider the total amount of energy you’re turning over and not just the net going in or out.
People wouldnt care if protein was calorie free. The fact that people are fat has nothing to do with the fact that protein has a higher thermic effect than the other two macronutrients…its because pizza tastes better, much better, to them than a chicken salad/protein shake.
There is also something magical about carbs+fat to the reward center of the brain, which kind of lends credence to idea to not eat them at the same time (doughnuts, glazed nuts, potato chips, anything deep fried). Not exactly a scientific statement by any means, but it does seem logical that since the food is SO pleasurable that perhaps it causes us to store more of it thus leading to higher survival rate (evolutionarily speaking).
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
People wouldnt care if protein was calorie free. The fact that people are fat has nothing to do with the fact that protein has a higher thermic effect than the other two macronutrients…its because pizza tastes better, much better, to them than a chicken salad/protein shake.
There is also something magical about carbs+fat to the reward center of the brain, which kind of lends credence to idea to not eat them at the same time (doughnuts, glazed nuts, potato chips, anything deep fried). Not exactly a scientific statement by any means, but it does seem logical that since the food is SO pleasurable that perhaps it causes us to store more of it thus leading to higher survival rate (evolutionarily speaking).
[/quote]
Lonnie123, I agree, people mostly eat whatever they want and don’t make choices based on nutrition labels. And they should eat more protein regardless of total calories. But before reading T-Nation, I wasn’t really aware of TEF, and it seems to me that the calories reported on nutrition labels are misleading and could be reported more usefully, for those few who do try to count calories, by including TEF.
I was just wondering if there’s a practical reason why it is not done, like perhaps the value of TEF varies too much from person to person.
Wfifer, I get your point about G-flux, though all I know about it is basically what you said. You’ll be happier, healthier, more active, etc., if you are in calorie balance at a high level of calories than at a low level. But TEF still affects the calculation of calorie balance.
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
The fact that people are fat has nothing to do with the fact that protein has a higher thermic effect than the other two macronutrients…its because pizza tastes better, much better, to them than a chicken salad/protein shake.
[/quote]
Lonnie, I agree. The majority of people don’t care what’s on the label. When they’re hungry, they go to McDonald’s. When they’re thirsty, they pour an extra large cup of soda to “quench” themselves. It seems to me that they really don’t care about what they’re consuming. Then, after they get sick or gain a ton of weight, they wonder why it happened.
While I don’t personally believe everyone should be on a super-strict diet every day of their lives, I do feel that people should make smarter decisions when it comes to what they feed themselves. A hamburger every now and then really won’t hurt; a Big Mac for lunch every day will.
[quote]MarkT wrote:
And they should eat more protein regardless of total calories. But before reading T-Nation, I wasn’t really aware of TEF, and it seems to me that the calories reported on nutrition labels are misleading and could be reported more usefully, for those few who do try to count calories, by including TEF.
[/quote]
You realize by making this available to the public will allow them to create things like the ‘all chicken mcnugget diet’ because they need more protein and it helps TEF. Seriously most people done care what they eat and TEF won’t make them choose better food but at best would make them choose a different type of crap to eat.