Query: Eating carbs with fat, and can we survive on fat and protein?

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Exflex

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Dr Harcombe doesn’t recommend eating fat and carbs together and I’m curious to know why. Is it because the body will fuel itself preferentially on carbs and store the fat, eg cheese, as fatty acids, or is it because fat and carbs together reward the brain which triggers us to eat more. I guess it depends on relative quantities of each. I vary my diet and some days for lunch have a Greek Salad (Feta) and one or two pieces of sourdough (I weigh the bread to approx 40 or 50g of carbs).
I’m also like to know can I live quite comfortably nutrition wise on fats, proteins and greens and cut out carbs?
Thanks!
 
The best answer is this IMO @Exflex (my bold):

“Many people believe that in order to maximize fat loss, you should avoid eating fat and carbohydrate in the same meal.…The first time I came across the idea was in a French book called The Montignac Method, which was published back in the late 1980’s. Having been regurgitated by various authors over the years, the theory is one that clearly makes for interesting reading. The only problem with it is the not insignificant amount of research pointing to the fact that the whole thing is actually complete nonsense.”

Here
 
To me it depends where the carbs are coming from - if they are coming from fruit and veg, they come with other valuable nutrients. If the carbs are coming from doughnuts and Pepsi, they are "empty carbs" - no value.
 
Exflex said:
Dr Harcombe doesn’t recommend eating fat and carbs together and I’m curious to know why. Is it because the body will fuel itself preferentially on carbs and store the fat, eg cheese, as fatty acids, or is it because fat and carbs together reward the brain which triggers us to eat more. I guess it depends on relative quantities of each. I vary my diet and some days for lunch have a Greek Salad (Feta) and one or two pieces of sourdough (I weigh the bread to approx 40 or 50g of carbs).
I’m also like to know can I live quite comfortably nutrition wise on fats, proteins and greens and cut out carbs?
Thanks!
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The Greek salad sounds like a great lunch but I'm less certain that 40-50g carbs in one meal would be tolerated well. If you intend to have regularly then it would be worth testing to see if you tolerated it OK.
 
Tdm said:
I would have though eating carbs with fat would be a food idea...the fat will slow digestion and reduce the peak
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That is behind the thought that you can make high GI foods into lower ones by adding fats and protein.
 
Exflex said:
Dr Harcombe doesn’t recommend eating fat and carbs together and I’m curious to know why. Is it because the body will fuel itself preferentially on carbs and store the fat, eg cheese, as fatty acids, or is it because fat and carbs together reward the brain which triggers us to eat more. I guess it depends on relative quantities of each. I vary my diet and some days for lunch have a Greek Salad (Feta) and one or two pieces of sourdough (I weigh the bread to approx 40 or 50g of carbs).
I’m also like to know can I live quite comfortably nutrition wise on fats, proteins and greens and cut out carbs?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Harcombe makes a lot of dubious claims and is best avoided.


Zoë Harcombe

Zoë Harcombe is an author, global warming denialist, nutritionist and cholesterol denialist from Wales. Harcombe disagrees with mainstream medical advice on dieting. She has been criticized for promoting misleading health advice that is not based on scientific evidence.[2] She sells a...
rationalwiki.org rationalwiki.org
 
harbottle said:
Harcombe makes a lot of dubious claims and is best avoided.
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What dubious claims about the Harcombe Diet?

Why is the Harcombe Diet best avoided, when many have succeeded on it after failing on other diets?

Which of the three key ruĺes of the Harcombe Diet do you disgree with?
1. Eat nutritious real foods, not highly processed products.
2. Have no more than three meals a day, to allow time for insulin and glucagon to play their part in digestion.
3. Do not eat carbs and fat together, to avoid gaining weight and triggering cravings.
 
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I never mentioned the diet. Stop making straw man arguments. (Anyway, 2 and 3 of your claims are nonsense, and 1 is pretty obvious these days.)

That link highlights some her dubious, contradictory claims, which you clearly didn't read, and she's been investigated by the ASA for some of her claims in the past.
 
JITR said:
What dubious claims about the Harcombe Diet?

Why is the Harcombe Diet best avoided, when many have succeeded on it after failing on other diets?

Which of the three key ruĺes of the Harcombe Diet do you disgree with?
1. Eat nutritious real foods, not highly processed products.
2. Have no more than three meals a day, to allow time for insulin and glucagon to play their part in digestion.
3. Do not eat carbs and fat together, to avoid gaining weight and triggering cravings.
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1. Motherhood
2. Made up twang
3. Ditto
 
Like many other Drs who sometime get mention on here I've never heard of them before, but own experience, much like @Tdm is that fat helps to dampen spikes when eaten with carbs.

Example full fat yog with oats, cheese in a sandwich or in a jacket tattie.
 
JITR said:
What dubious claims about the Harcombe Diet?

Why is the Harcombe Diet best avoided, when many have succeeded on it after failing on other diets?

Which of the three key ruĺes of the Harcombe Diet do you disgree with?
1. Eat nutritious real foods, not highly processed products.
2. Have no more than three meals a day, to allow time for insulin and glucagon to play their part in digestion.
3. Do not eat carbs and fat together, to avoid gaining weight and triggering cravings.
Click to expand...
I’m ok with 1 and 2, but 3 is the question I’m still getting my head around. I figure it depends how many carbs are eaten along side fats; I’m informed the body will preferentially ‘burn’ carbs, and store any excess food energy as a lipo acid, (not sure that’s correct term and what it does with excess protein?). If say one slice of bread alongside a Greek Feta cheese salad the body may well use all it’s given.
 
Exflex said:
I’m ok with 1 and 2, but 3 is the question I’m still getting my head around. I figure it depends how many carbs are eaten along side fats; I’m informed the body will preferentially ‘burn’ carbs, and store any excess food energy as a lipo acid, (not sure that’s correct term and what it does with excess protein?). If say one slice of bread alongside a Greek Feta cheese salad the body may well use all it’s given.
Click to expand...
Exflex said:
I’m ok with 1 and 2, but 3 is the question I’m still getting my head around. I figure it depends how many carbs are eaten along side fats; I’m informed the body will preferentially ‘burn’ carbs, and store any excess food energy as a lipo acid, (not sure that’s correct term and what it does with excess protein?). If say one slice of bread alongside a Greek Feta cheese salad the body may well use all it’s given.
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I think that any diet that cuts out a major food group is dangerous. Too much protein will end your kidneys eventually.
 
harbottle said:
I never mentioned the diet. Stop making straw man arguments. (Anyway, 2 and 3 of your claims are nonsense, and 1 is pretty obvious these days.)

That link highlights some her dubious, contradictory claims, which you clearly didn't read, and she's been investigated by the ASA for some of her claims in the past.
Click to expand...
That is all beside the point, the question here is about the Harcombe Diet.
 
Exflex said:
Dr Harcombe doesn’t recommend eating fat and carbs together and I’m curious to know why. Is it because the body will fuel itself preferentially on carbs and store the fat, eg cheese, as fatty acids, or is it because fat and carbs together reward the brain which triggers us to eat more. I guess it depends on relative quantities of each. I vary my diet and some days for lunch have a Greek Salad (Feta) and one or two pieces of sourdough (I weigh the bread to approx 40 or 50g of carbs).
I’m also like to know can I live quite comfortably nutrition wise on fats, proteins and greens and cut out carbs?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
You may find this interesting: https://optimisingnutrition.com/fats-vs-carbs/

Quote:
Hence, the problem is not fat or carbs; it’s the diabolical combination of fat and carbs ...
 
Exflex said:
I’m ok with 1 and 2, but 3 is the question I’m still getting my head around. I figure it depends how many carbs are eaten along side fats; I’m informed the body will preferentially ‘burn’ carbs, and store any excess food energy as a lipo acid, (not sure that’s correct term and what it does with excess protein?). If say one slice of bread alongside a Greek Feta cheese salad the body may well use all it’s given.
Click to expand...
Neither do I fully understand the mechanisms involved. Clearly the body is attuned to moderate intakes of mixed real foods but not the excesses of foods available today. I'd like to know what scientific research there has been into #3
 
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