Why should you eat a protein with a carbohydrate?

I get this question a lot working with clients "Why should you eat a protein with a carbohydrate?"

Since we are overwhelmed with dietary do's and don'ts I wanted to help to simply clarify this question since most of us have heard about this theory one place or another.

As a health coach I truly believe each of us are different and digest foods differently, but it is helpful to understand how we break down and metabolize what we eat.  Eating protein helps us stay satisfied throughout the day and when we eat this along with a carbohydrate it helps slow down the rate our body digests carbohydrates. This is a big benefit since we know when we eat carbs our body breaks them down to blood sugar or glucose, and we want to avoid that blood sugar spike that comes after eating say a piece of fruit like an apple. So when you eat an apple combined with a protein such as almonds your blood sugar rises more slowly and gently so you stay full longer then eating the apple alone.