Bodybuilding Forums

redgiki wrote:I wouldn't say the FDA lied. I would say they tailored their recommendations for what they considered an ideal diet: 2000 calories, 300g of carbohydrate (1200 cal), 65g of fat, 50g of protein. The FDA issued a statement with their DV (Daily Value) recommendations:

""They're not recommended intakes. They're really just reference points to help people get some kind of perspective on what their overall daily dietary needs should be."

The FDA does not consider itself authoritative; the goal of the DV tables is to provide information to the public so that public health risk from malnutrition is reduced. That's it, that's all, it's not some mythological ideal.

Unfortunately, we low-carbers have learned something the FDA hasn't: a low-carbohydrate diet is also vitamin-sparing. Contrary to popular belief, living on an all-meat diet for years on end won't give you scurvy. To get Vitamin C deficiency, you have to eat a high-carbohydrate diet reminiscent of that of sailors in the 19th century: beans, white flour, sugar, and a very little highly-prized salted meat. It appears, contrary to many common nutrition myths, that a low-carbohydrate diet is vitamin and mineral preserving in the human body. We don't excrete nearly as much Vitamin C, for instance, if our cells are not subject to a continual assault of high insulin levels.

So while the US Daily Values are a good basic guide for getting started with nutrition and avoiding malnourishment, they aren't a great goal. The RDA recommendations for sodium and potassium, in particular, should be taken with -- heh, heh -- a grain of salt. A doctor's measurement of your blood potassium level should be your best guide as to whether you're receiving sufficient potassium in your diet.

Eating or drinking the drippings from your meat -- if prepared in a way that will allow you to capture them -- will give you nearly all the potassium you need.

Regards,
Matt B.

triple wrote:Do you have a rough number though? I haven't been able to turn anything consistent up on Google, and I know its possible to get too much potassium - curious because of the potassium content of IsoPure.