Dietary separation of protein and carbohydrate intake

The effect of a separation of intake of dietary protein and carbohydrates on thermogenesis and RE was studied in two experiments with adult sows. In the first experiment, dietary protein was offered once a day in the morning and, in the second experiment, at intervals of 33 h or 48 h. The trials were conducted as change-over designs with 3-week metabolism periods per treatment. Both experiments have clearly shown that the separated intake of dietary protein and carbohydrates by up to 48 h did not markedly change thermogenesis at the level of maintenance metabolism. Additional energy costs of regulation of substrate supply to the continuous cellular metabolism due to separate ingestion of dietary nutrients therefore can be neglected.