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Carbohydrates or No Carbohydrates?

Health, Nutrition / By

Carbohydrates or No Carbohydrates?

 Carbohydrates often get a bad rap in diet trends, but are they truly harmful? Understanding how carbs impact your body can help you include them wisely while pursuing your weight loss and fitness goals.

A Brief History of Low-Carb Diets

The idea of cutting carbohydrates to lose weight dates back to the 1860s, when William Banting documented significant weight loss with a carb-restricted diet. The Atkins diet, introduced in the 1970s, popularised the low-carb approach, although its strict guidelines have sparked debate among health experts due to the drastic carbohydrate restriction.

What Are Carbs?

Carbohydrates come in two main forms: simple and complex. Simple carbs, found in sugar and white bread, are quickly absorbed by the body, leading to rapid energy spikes. Complex carbs, found in vegetables and whole grains, digest more slowly, providing sustained energy. While simple carbs can contribute to health risks like obesity and diabetes, complex carbs are essential for a balanced diet. A diet high in simple carbohydrates can lead to negative health outcomes. Excess consumption of these carbs often results in them being stored as fat, which can increase the risk of developing conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Conversely, a diet rich in complex carbohydrates with a low glycemic index (Low GI) can help mitigate these risks, promoting better overall health.

Both simple and complex carbohydrates have their place in a balanced diet. The key is to consume complex (Low GI) carbs regularly, as they provide sustained energy and support long-term health. Simple (High GI) carbs can be included strategically, such as after a workout or early in the morning, when the body can efficiently utilise them for energy. This balanced approach ensures you benefit from both types of carbs while minimising potential health risks.

The Importance of Carbs

Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred energy source, converted into glucose to fuel various bodily functions. Carbohydrates also contribute to other roles in the body like mental cognition, regulating the amount of sugar in your blood so your cells get the energy required, assisting in the absorption of other nutrients and providing nutrients for good bacteria in your intestinal tract. Carbs as an entity are good and actually vital to your body’s functions.

How does that extra serving of rice or pasta end up as body fat? When you consume carbohydrates, your body prioritises using them as an energy source. The cells absorb what they need, and any surplus is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles for future energy needs. However, once these glycogen stores are filled, any additional carbs are converted into fat and stored in the body. This process explains how consuming more carbs than your body requires can lead to an increase in fat, particularly around the midsection.

Carbs and Exercise

Carbohydrates play a crucial role when consumed around your workout. During high-intensity exercise lasting just 15-30 minutes, muscle glycogen levels can decrease by approximately 30-40%. If the workout extends to 60-90 minutes, glycogen depletion can reach 60-75%. This significant reduction leaves your muscles eager for replenishment, and there’s a brief window to take advantage of their ‘sponge-like’ state for optimal recovery.

  1. Timing for Replenishment: Consuming carbohydrates within 0-20 minutes after exercise is often recommended because muscles are particularly receptive to nutrient uptake during this period. This window can help maximise glycogen replenishment and muscle recovery.

    2. Carbohydrate Type: High-GI (glycemic index) carbohydrates, such as dextrose, are absorbed quickly and can rapidly restore glycogen levels. The rapid absorption helps quickly refill depleted glycogen stores after intense exercise.

      3. Insulin’s Role: High-GI carbohydrates cause an increase in insulin levels. Insulin is an anabolic hormone that helps with the absorption of nutrients, including amino acids and glucose, into muscle cells. This can support muscle growth and recovery. Insulin also promotes protein synthesis, which is crucial for muscle repair and growth.

        4. Protein Synthesis and Recovery: With replenished glycogen stores, your body can better support protein synthesis, which is essential for muscle recovery and growth.

          5. Fat Loss Considerations: Frequent insulin spikes, particularly from high-GI carbs, can potentially affect fat loss if consumed excessively or at inappropriate times. Limiting high-GI carb intake to the post-workout period can help mitigate this issue, allowing you to focus on muscle gain while still aiming for fat loss.

            Effects of Carb Restriction

            While reducing carbs can help the body burn fat, excessively low intake can lead to muscle loss and other negative effects. Research suggests that moderate carb consumption (50-55% of daily calories) is optimal for long-term health.

            If glucose is unavailable due to a carb-restricted diet, your body will first turn to fat stores for energy. Once fat stores are depleted, it will begin to break down muscle tissue to use the proteins as fuel. Prolonged periods of this catabolic process can lead to severe depletion of glucose, fats, and muscle, ultimately leaving you looking looking gaunt and malnourished.

            Negative effects of prolonged reliance on muscle protein and fat stores for energy, due to a lack of available glucose from a carb-restricted diet, can include:

            1. Muscle Loss: Breaking down muscle tissue for energy can lead to significant muscle loss, weakening strength, and impairing physical performance.
            2. Decreased Metabolic Rate: Loss of muscle mass can slow down your metabolism, making it harder to burn calories and potentially leading to weight gain or difficulty maintaining weight.
            3. Fatigue and Reduced Energy Levels: Insufficient glucose can result in chronic fatigue, low energy levels, and decreased overall stamina, affecting daily activities and exercise performance.
            4. Nutrient Deficiencies: A restrictive diet may limit the intake of essential nutrients, leading to deficiencies that can impact overall health, immune function, and well-being.
            5. Cognitive Impairments: Glucose is the primary fuel for the brain. Prolonged low glucose availability can impair cognitive functions, including concentration, memory, and mental clarity.
            6. Weakened Immune System: Adequate nutrition is vital for a strong immune system. Nutrient deficiencies and muscle loss can compromise immune function, increasing susceptibility to illnesses and infections.
            7. Hormonal Imbalances: Severe calorie restriction and muscle breakdown can disrupt hormonal balance, potentially affecting hormones related to stress, metabolism, and reproductive health.
            8. Emaciation and Poor Physical Appearance: Prolonged catabolism can lead to a visibly emaciated appearance, with reduced muscle mass and overall body fat, affecting physical appearance and self-esteem.

            Maintaining a balanced diet with adequate carbohydrates, proteins, and fats is crucial for overall health and preventing these negative effects.

            What should I do next?

            Carb cycling, or varying carb intake across different days, can help manage fat loss without sacrificing muscle mass. For example, a 5-day cycle might include low, moderate, and high carb days. This approach can help prevent plateaus in weight loss and keep the metabolism active.

            The idea behind it is to reduce your carb intake for a short period of time to encourage your body to use fat stores as fuel but not long enough for the body to then start metabolising muscles as fuel. A common structure used in carb cycling covers a 5-day diet plan. A straightforward guide to follow would be to calculate your highest day of carb intake to be 2.2 grams of carbs to each kilo of bodyweight.

            Here is an example of a 5-day carb cycle (Based on an 80kg man);

            • Day 1: 100 grams
            • Day 2: 100 grams
            • Day 3: 50 grams
            • Day 4: 175 grams
            • Day 5: 100 grams

            Following this method of short intervals will ensure you continue to drop body fat without restricting your ability to build lean muscle.

            Another way to trick your metabolism back into fat burning is 4 day cycle, having 3 consecutive zero carb days and 1 higher carb day to replenish your glycogen stores. This means no complex starchy carbs, only the nominal amount found in fibrous vegetables. Be sure not to do any more than 3 zero carb days as this will have an adverse effect on brain function and muscle development.

            Conclusion

            Carbohydrates are not the enemy. The key lies in choosing the right types and quantities. Incorporating complex carbs into your diet while being mindful of how simple carbs can support your health and fitness goals at times you need them most (after workouts)

            Use the insight you have gained here to make the correct plan for your body and training style. High-intensity training coupled with a smart diet, patience and persistence will ensure you achieve the goals you set out for.

            If you have any questions or comments don’t forget to get in touch