Numbers don’t lie. Semantics of high, low and medium.

What does it mean when a person is on a high carb diet? How about a low carb diet? How about high fat diet? Or a high protein diet? Here’s the simple math.

*One gram of protein provides 4 calories of energy
*One gram of carbohydrate provides 4 calories of energy
*One gram of fat provides 9 calories of energy
*One gram of alcohol provides 7 calories of energy

NOT SO HIGH PROTEIN
Calories represent the energy you consume in a day. If you eat 2000 calories a day and consume 100 grams of protein a day, protein provides you with 20 percent of the total energy you consumed. Doctors might opine that this is a high protein diet since most Indians eat somewhere between 10-50 grams of protein a day. But strictly by the numbers, you are getting more calories from sources other than protein.

HIGH FAT OR HIGH CARB?
If you eat 2000 calories a day and consume 100 grams of fat a day, fat provided 45 percent of the total energy you consumed. This might be as close to what you could call a high fat diet. The only exception might be someone who eats and only eats seven tablespoons of ghee a day and 5.5 cups of cooked white rice a day. In which case the scale would tip to carbohydrates at 50% and protein at a measly 5%. The closest I have seen anyone get to this other-worldly split are Chennai’s traffic cops at a Saravana Bhavan thali.

KETO FANS
50-70% of your daily energy intake comes from fat in ketogenic diets that advocate putting butter in your coffee, copious amounts of cheese/paneer and fatty cuts of meat.

SURELY HIGH CARB
If you eat 2000 calories a day and consume 300 grams of carbohydrates a day, carbohydrates provide 60 percent of your daily calorie intake. This is unambiguously a high carbohydrate diet.

If you are routinely getting a percentage of your daily energy intake from alcohol, better eating might not be high up on your priorities.

TAKEAWAY

Next time a doctor, nutritionist or coach tells you to not eat a high protein diet, ask them what do you mean by high protein diet? Same goes for fat.

Anyone dispensing advice on eating who can’t qualify their recommendations with numbers are being precise with their words but lack accuracy with their recommendations.