As commented before, food provides you with three different macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein and fat. Your diet must have an adequate balance of these macronutrients. This post initiates a series describing the particularities and the importance of each macronutrient, starting with carbohydrates.
The main role of carbohydrates is to serve as the preferred source of energy for muscles, yielding 4 calories per gram. Other roles of carbohydrates include the control of blood sugar levels to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), be the primary fuel for the central nervous system, help in the recovery process and actuate as catalyst in burning fat process. In addition, carbohydrates protect protein from gluconeogenesis (i.e. from being converted to glucose to serve as an energy source) when glucose levels decrease.
Traditional carbohydrates classification distinguishes simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates provide you with quick energy. Complex carbohydrates are used for timed-released and sustained energy. Simple carbohydrates include monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, fructose) and disaccharides (sucrose, lactose, maltose) while complex carbohydrates include polysaccharides (glycogen, starch and fiber). Glycogen is the form used to store glucose in the liver and in the muscles cells. It is broken down for energy when training. Starch can be found in foods such as bread, grains, pasta, rice, cereal, potatoes and legumes. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and nuts and helps to prevent several diseases and to lower bad LDL cholesterol. The two main types of fiber are insoluble and soluble.
More recently, carbohydrates have been classified depending on their Glycemic Index (GI), which measures the effect that carbohydrates have on blood sugar levels. The GI refers to how quickly carbohydrates turn to blood sugar. The higher the number ranking, the quicker the carbohydrate will turn to blood sugar and the more effect it has on the release of insulin. You can consult the GI of different foods here.
Your carbohydrates intake should be distributed throughout all your meals, but concentrated especially in your breakfast and your post-workout meal. Low GI carbohydrates should represent the majority of the carbohydrates in your diet. The exception to this rule is the post-workout meal. At this time, training has depleted your muscle glycogen stores, thus your muscles are very receptive to carbohydrates. High GI carbohydrates will spike your insulin levels, helping to rapidly refill the glycogen stores and promoting your recovery.
You can look for more information on these and other carbohydrates issues in the article “The Carbohydrate Manifesto” by Anthony Ricciuto. Further details on the different carbohydrates can be found in the “Carbohydrates” section of Gym Addiction site.
The main role of carbohydrates is to serve as the preferred source of energy for muscles, yielding 4 calories per gram. Other roles of carbohydrates include the control of blood sugar levels to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), be the primary fuel for the central nervous system, help in the recovery process and actuate as catalyst in burning fat process. In addition, carbohydrates protect protein from gluconeogenesis (i.e. from being converted to glucose to serve as an energy source) when glucose levels decrease.
Traditional carbohydrates classification distinguishes simple and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates provide you with quick energy. Complex carbohydrates are used for timed-released and sustained energy. Simple carbohydrates include monosaccharides (glucose, galactose, fructose) and disaccharides (sucrose, lactose, maltose) while complex carbohydrates include polysaccharides (glycogen, starch and fiber). Glycogen is the form used to store glucose in the liver and in the muscles cells. It is broken down for energy when training. Starch can be found in foods such as bread, grains, pasta, rice, cereal, potatoes and legumes. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and nuts and helps to prevent several diseases and to lower bad LDL cholesterol. The two main types of fiber are insoluble and soluble.
More recently, carbohydrates have been classified depending on their Glycemic Index (GI), which measures the effect that carbohydrates have on blood sugar levels. The GI refers to how quickly carbohydrates turn to blood sugar. The higher the number ranking, the quicker the carbohydrate will turn to blood sugar and the more effect it has on the release of insulin. You can consult the GI of different foods here.
Your carbohydrates intake should be distributed throughout all your meals, but concentrated especially in your breakfast and your post-workout meal. Low GI carbohydrates should represent the majority of the carbohydrates in your diet. The exception to this rule is the post-workout meal. At this time, training has depleted your muscle glycogen stores, thus your muscles are very receptive to carbohydrates. High GI carbohydrates will spike your insulin levels, helping to rapidly refill the glycogen stores and promoting your recovery.
You can look for more information on these and other carbohydrates issues in the article “The Carbohydrate Manifesto” by Anthony Ricciuto. Further details on the different carbohydrates can be found in the “Carbohydrates” section of Gym Addiction site.
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