It all adds up with PCF

Balancing your diet is now as easy as PCF, a new concept devised by Aussie Bodies.

 

PCF stands for protein, carbohydrates and fat, the three macronutrients essential for human nourishment.

 

Aussie Bodies has decided to brand all new products with a PCF Rating, a ready reckoner of the amounts of useable protein, carbohydrates and fat in grams per serving. Unlike the standard nutritional breakdown, the PCF Rating tells you the amount of protein your body will use as opposed to the total grams' protein.

 

Customers can also refer to the Aussie Bodies website to calculate their daily target values for PCF and create a daily PCF menu of meals and snacks based on their target.

 

Aussie Bodies CEO Maria Deveson Crabbe said the new concept would make eating decisions simpler as well as provide people with the ability to plan based on individual requirements and goals.

 

"PCF encourages people to think protein-carbs-fat every time they buy, cook or select foods - this is the foundation of sensible, balanced eating," Ms Deveson Crabbe said.

 

"Most popular diets to date espouse a one-size-fits-all approach to dieting which is not healthy. High carb, low carb, high fat, low fat - our bodies are not as simple as this and nor should our diets be. Each person's metabolism behaves differently, just as each person burns calories at their own rate with their own level of activity.

 

"The PCF Calculator on the Aussie Bodies site indicates your daily allowance of protein, carbs and fat based on weight, age, activity level and goal. This allows you to eat not according to the 'experts' but to the dictates of your own body.

 

"Another advantage PCF has over strict diets is that it lets you splurge without losing sight of your goals. The online PCF Menu Maker (coming soon) will help you manage your eating to allow for the odd hamburger, pizza or ice cream. It provides an at-a-glance indication of how much protein, carbs or fat you need to make up for the 'damage'."

 

Nutritionist Leigh Blashki said the value of PCF to bodybuilders and those concerned with protein uptake was that it distinguished useable protein from the total grams.

 

"PCF takes into account the PDCAAS system of protein evaluation which is a methodology recommended by the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation.

 

"This helps reinforce that not all proteins are equal. For example, although some breakfast cereals claim to be high in protein, they rate low on the PDCAAS scale (Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score), meaning the amount of useable protein is significantly lower. The PDCAAS is factored into the PCF Rating of each serving of food, making it a more useful indicator of food quality than the standard nutritional breakdown."