The truth about carbohydrates!

So many women go on diets that cut carbs to a very unhealthy amount. I do believe many body builders and pageant contestants increase their protein and decrease their carbs right before a competition, but to sustain that diet continuously is not healthy. We need carbohydrates in our diet. Carbohydrates are the body's primary source of energy. When we eat carbs the body breaks down the carbs into glucose, and via glycolysis, glucose is converted into ATP (aka energy) which is stored in our mitochondria. ATP is essential for muscle contraction and the brain. I remember a professor of mine telling us that 80% of glucose is used in our brains. Glucose can also be stored as glycogen in several cell types (including muscles) for future use. And when our bodies need the energy (like during a jog) can convert glycogen back to glucose to make ATP.

We should be getting around 60% of our calories from carbs. This can vary depending on your fitness goals. It is important to replenish your muscle glycogen after an intense workout so your muscles can start to rebuild. But getting the right kind of carbs is essential if you want to be lean and burn fat.

The simplest kind of carbohydrate is a single chain of carbons forming either an aldehyde or ketone group connected to many hydroxyl groups. A very simple structure image is a hexagon ring. And very simply, there are three kinds of carbs: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharides contain only one ketone or aldehyde ring. Examples of monosaccharides are glucose (blood sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), and galactose. When we eat fruits our bodies must convert it into glucose in the liver to be used at ATP.

Disaccharides are made up of 2 rings. Examples of disaccharides include sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (milk sugar). Our bodies have to break down disaccharides and it takes our bodies longer to digest disaccharides than monosaccharides. However, we want to limit our sucrose intake (table sugar) because one of the sugars in sucrose is glucose and very quickly increases our blood sugar level when we eat it. This is why we get that sugar "high" and "crash". A diet high in simple sugars can cause the body to produce way too much insulin an over a long period of time, our bodies adjust and down regulate the receptor that binds to insulin. So our bodies cannot detect the insulin that is in our blood anymore. This is more commonly known as Diabetes type II.

Polysaccharides are a long chain of ketones or aldehydes and include complex carbs like starches and cellulose. Complex carbs give us sustained energy throughout the day because it takes our bodies a longer time to break these long chains down to glucose as opposed to mono and di saccharides.

Our bodies will use carbs first for energy, then protein, and then finally fat. If we do not get enough carbs in or diet, our bodies will cannibalize itself (eat itself) to make energy so we can live. And since it will take protein first, our bodies will start to break down our muscle to use as energy. So ya, you will lose weight on a low carb diet, but you will lose muscle and likely increase your body fat %. Muscle tone is sexy. Healthy is sexy. Flabby skinny is not sexy and not healthy.