Carbohydrates, Friend or Foe | The FIT Facility | Nutrition 101
Carbohydrates, Friend or Foe
Carbs 101
Carbohydrates (carbs) often get a bad rap. Often, they are associated with bad foods (this is an obvious misnomer, foods cannot be bad or good. There’s food, and there’s edible trash). When we are talking about the edible trash, it is not only carbs that make it “bad” but also a high fat content too. If you have had unwanted weight gain eating carbs, it was also in conjunction with meals high in dietary fat too. So, to assume that carbs are “bad” would be silly. However, here we are. Understandably so too. As humans we are always searching for some type of diet alchemy. A magic bullet supplement. Anything that will do the work for us. It is no wonder why fad diets come and go. Unfortunately, they leave us with more questions and confusion around nutrition than they do results. Which is why I believe there is so much misinformation around the subject of carbohydrates.
What’s A Carbohydrate?
Carbohydrates are compounds consisting of three types of atoms: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Frankly, I highly doubt anyone reading these blogs/newsletters care about the chemical formula for glucose so how about we skip all that and get to the meat and potatoes.
Here is what you need to know. Carbohydrates are considered “non-essential”. You can survive without them.
However, will you thrive? Probably not.
Will your training and nutrition be optimized? No.
Most of your carbs should come from dietary plant/fruit sources.
Carbs are used throughout the body for many functions, some of which include:
· Metabolic energy fuel source for nerve cells and red blood cells.
· Metabolic energy fuel source for skeletal muscle, especially during exercise.
· When metabolized, they serve as a primer for fat entry to the Krebs cycle.
· Carbs are protein sparing; they save protein from use as an energy source during exercise and intense training.
Nerve tissues can use other types of fuel sources but red blood cells (RBC) cannot. They use only glucose. Under normal conditions, the brain uses the blood sugar glucose almost exclusively. Now can the body make glucose from non carb sources? Yes of course, via Gluconeogenesis. However, I have always thought of it like this. If you have only got $10 of cash to spend on gas for the weekend. Would you buy $10 at one gas station, or would you buy $2 and 5 different stations. Surely no one would say to go to more gas stations, effectively using more gas to get the same result. That is essentially what is happening when you rely on gluconeogenesis for your main source of carb production. You end up spending more energy on something that can just be eaten.
Skeletal muscle’s reliance on carbs for fuel increases as the intensity of exercises increases. So, when you think about the level of stress you put your body through (walking is low, HIIT is high). Your body prefers different fuel sources for different levels of stress. Walking and basically just living, the human body prefers fat. As the level of stress intensifies, so does the need for carbs as a fuel source. Carbs breakdown and release energy faster than fats. Which is why they are the preferred fuel source. Now again, does that mean they are “necessary”? No, they are not “necessary”. However, lifting and training sessions WILL NOT BE OPTIMIZED, thus RESULTS WILL NOT BE MAXIMAL.
Bear Bryant had a great speech for incoming freshman, I have always viewed this as a great metaphor for using carbs and having a great nutritional plan in place to fuel optimal performance. You can either click this hyperlink at the beginning of the last sentence, or if you were born before 1960 “click here”. Haha I joke.
Ok so if you are an Auburn fan and have no interest in listening to greatness (shocking). He basically said that if you have 2 players, 1 of them is an average 75% player, the other is an above average 85% player. That if the 75% player does the little things and puts in the work, he can be capable of playing a little harder a 10% increase at 85%. And vise versa, the more talented player does not do the little things, does not work as hard and consequently, plays 10% worse now making his effective skill an 85%.
This is a great visual for what happens in your body when you go into a training session less than optimized. To further expand on that concept, it was found in this study that when matched for total energy (calories are the same, macros were different, i.e. low carb diet vs. balanced) participants that used a low carb diet resulted in 7% lower peak power and 6% lower mean power during the Wingate Test (think an airbike conditioning test). Total distance ran in the yo-yo intermittent recovery test (like what you’d see for soccer conditioning test) was 15% less after LC diet.
Carbs also serve as a primer to the Kreb Cycle, which leads to optimal fat oxidation. Without adequately priming the Krebs Cycle, optimal fat metabolism is not possible. In short, you will burn more fat by utilizing carbs as primers for the cycle that breaks down (oxidation) fat.
Lastly, carbs help spare protein by fueling the metabolism of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the energy source used on the shortest, most intense bouts of exercise. When carbs are used prior to protein, it leaves the protein to it’s primary role in tissue repair/maintenance and growth. Additionally, this is why creatine is a popular dietary supplement. You can view creatine as cellular food. It helps create more ATP molecules.
So whether we’re talking about an average Joe/Jane, your high schooler looking to take their performance to the next level or even that elite athlete looking to stay in the game a little longer; all individuals can improve their performance by ensure they have optimized their nutrition. It does not really matter which type of training you prefer: anaerobic intervals, strength training or even aerobics like spin classes. Carbohydrates provide a vital source of energy production.
P.S.
If you’re currently a member at The FIT Facility, there’s a ton of literature on the counter to assist you with choosing better meal options. Additionally, I’m always here as a resource.
If you’re not a currently member and all of this seems to be overwhelming, I’m here to help! Click here to reach out!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sources
Campbell, B. I. (2021). NSCA's guide to sport and exercise nutrition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Kleiner, S. M., & Greenwood-Robinson, M. (2019). The new Power eating. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29619799/