Carbohydrates

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple – that's creativity.Charles Mingus

Carbohydrates

What are carbohydrates?Carbohydrates are:
1. Primary nutrient for the muscles and the brain.
2. The main part of most diets, consisting of about 50% of the daily calorie intake.

3. 1 gram of carbohydrate  =  4 calories

There are two types of carbohydrates:

Simple Carbohydrates: (sugar, candy, soft drinks, cakes, pastries). This form of carbohydrate has little nutritional value, but can be used as a quick source of energy. Many people use simple carbohydrates as an energy source prior to a workout. This is ineffective, as the majority of energy used during games has been stockpiled by the body from the foods consumed previously that day.

Complex Carbohydrates: (grains, rice, peas, bread, pasta, corn, cereals, potatoes) This form of carbohydrate provides long lasting energy for the body. By consuming complex carbohydrates before workouts or games (up to 2 days) muscles can store excess energy. This stored energy will enable you to get through long games, practices and workouts.

What is a good carbohydrate snack before workouts, practices or games?

Bagels, saltine crackers, cereal with skim milk, Fig Newtons, fruit, Pop Tarts (low fat), low fat bran muffin, bean burrito, graham crackers, sweet potatoes, peanut butter.

After working out, your body is looking for carbohydrates to restore lost energy stores as soon as possible. Some good sources include Gatorade, smoothie drinks and fruit juices (with protein).

 

Utilization

• Fuel for activity
• Immediate fuel for activity
• Sustained energy for aerobic activity
• Major energy for high intense activity like weight training or sprinting
• Protein sparer - nervous system uses carbohydrates
• Lack of carbohydrates causes protein to go through gluconeogenesis (conversion of protein to glucose) and be metabolized
• Contrary to popular belief, brain can metabolize lactate and ketones as well
• Lactate (and other nutrients) also shuttle from astrocytes to neurons (Rev Med Suisse Romande, 2000)
• Carbohydrates are metabolic primers, they are needed to completely burn fat
• Incomplete combustion of fat will result in ketone bodies
• Fat burns in the flame of carbohydrates.
• Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for the CNS.
• Acute carbohydrate depletion may cause tunnel vision, nausea, irritability
• Metabolism can adapt to prolonged low carb, high fat/protein diet.

Requirements

• Too little carbohydrates
• More fat utilized as fuel source
• Endurance can be reduced up to 50% until metabolism adapts
• Glycogen stores become depleted (Costill and Miller, 1980)
• Ketosis: Break down of protein (muscle wasting) and incomplete combustion of fats (ketone bodies)
• Possible symptoms: weakness, dizziness, tunnel vision, fatigue, panting, abnormal EEG, strange breath
• Possible symptoms in diabetics: unconsciousness, coma and even possibly death in rare cases
• Blood acidosis may impair exercise tolerance and performance.
• Body can adapt and convert dietary protein to carbohydrates via gluconeogenesis
• If low carbohydrate diet is coupled with insufficient dietary protein or calories
• risk of burning lean tissue (muscle) by gluconeogenesis
• Too many carbohydrates
• Increases triglyceridef5r levels
• Converted to fat and stored
• Increases body fat by suppressing fat oxidation

Recommendations for athletes or physically active

• 50%-60% of calories should be carbohydrates
• 40%-50% from complex carbohydrates
• 10% from simple sugar
• Carbohydrate feedings during long duration (> 90 min.) submaximal (<70% VO2) can improve endurance performance (Coyle E & Montain S, 1992; Maughan R, 1991).
• Carbohydrate ingestions of 30 to 60 grams per hour are required to improve performance

Glycemic Index (GI)

• High glycemic indexed food should be eaten with other foods
• Soluble fiber, fat, acidic foods, and protein (particularly meat) significantly blunts insulin spike
• Keeps blood sugar stable
• Inhibit hunger shortly after meal or snack
• GI monitoring may not have applicability in real world
• Food is typically eaten with other foods
• Breakfast is only time we eat after fast
• Studies show those who eat lower GI diet
• do not have significantly lower blood glucose levels
• do not lose more weight
• All values based on 50 grams of Carbohydrates
• Does not take into account variations of portion size
• Example: how often does someone eat 50 grams of carbohydrate of carrots?

HOW MUCH CARBS DO YOU NEED A DAY?

1. Choose a calorie factor that decsribes your activity level:

                                           Men           Women
Very Sedentary                 15                  13
Sedentary                          16                  14
Moderatly active               17                  15 
Active                                18                  16
Super active                      19                  17

2. Determine your total daily calorie need:

            ______________ lbs      X                 ______________      =               ______________

              desired weight                                    calorie factor                            calorie/day

3. Then devide by 8 (1/2 of the calories as carbohydrate (based on a 50% carbohydrates ratio) and 1/4 grams per calorie) to determine how many grms of carbohydrate you need each day:

            _____________             /    8     =      __________________

            calorie/day                                        grams of carb/day

4. And alst, decide how you want to split up this total daily carbohydrate for different meals/snacks during the day;

Breakfast        AM snack         Lunch                PM snack        Dinner              Eveneing snack

_____grams   ______grams  _______grams   _______grams _______grams  _______grams

Pre And Post Workout Nutrition:

Nutrition is vital no matter how you swing it, but specific meals can yield the most potential for muscle growth. Pre- and post-workout nutrition are incredibly important.

Eat a meal with lean protein and complex carbs-like a protein shake with oats-about an hour to an hour and a half before you train. This will fuel your body to hit the iron with maximum intensity.

After you're done destroying your workout, recovery is of the utmost importance. You've just broken down muscle fibers and depleted your glycogen levels.

To get back to muscle building status, you need a fast digesting carb like maltodextrin, white bread, or any simple sugar to recover your energy levels.

To get your muscles up and running, a quick-absorbing whey protein shake is essential. Make sure you get at least 20-35 grams of protein immediately after you lift, preferably from whey isolate or hydrolyzed whey.

It's not the things we get but the hearts we touch that will determine our success in life.
Mac Anderson