Carbohydrates are a macronutrient, ie a larger class of nutrients that (mostly have to be obtained externally). Carbohydrates are often mistaken for sugar.
Yes, sugar is a carbohydrate. However, spinach consists mainly of water and fiber, but is also considered a carbohydrate. In short, understanding what carbohydrates are, along with their classes and uses, can lead an athlete or athlete to consume the carbohydrates that help them do their best.
Carbohydrates 101
Carbohydrates are carbon and hydrogen molecules. They are divided into sugar (digestible) and fiber (somewhat indigestible). Examples of digestible forms are:
Non-digestible forms of carbohydrates include soluble and insoluble fibers. For the athlete or ordinary athlete, understanding how the balance between grains, legumes, and vegetables plays a role in proper nutrition can help them make better decisions.
Simple and complex sugars are found in most of the foods we eat, such as:
- oats
- fruit
- rice
- Potatoes
Sugar additive and sugar alcohols are made from simple and complex sugars to meet your needs. An example of added sugar can be::
These added sugars and sugar alcohols are best avoided or limited due to their association with cardiovascular diseases.
Sugar alcohols, which are often found in fermented products such as beer, have no calories and are associated with weight gain. According to this understanding, carbohydrates have a significant metabolic effect on the human body.
Carbohydrates and humans
The human brain alone consumes 40% of the glucose in the human body (a simple sugar). Muscle tissue has a simple sugar store called glycogen, and therefore power loss suffers without enough carbohydrates. What could be more important to you as a reader is the impact on your daily training and which carbohydrates work well at what times. Three things to label to use carbohydrates effectively:
- Glycemic index
- Gastric emptying time
- Sensitivity and timing
People usually have an excellent tolerance for various forms of carbohydrates. Therefore, diversifying your carbohydrate intake is critical to longevity.
Carbohydrate sensitivity
I am predisposed to celiac disease. So much so that my favorite carb source is gluten-free rice cream. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease (the body fights against itself) in which the digestion of wheat-based products damages the intestinal / gastrointestinal tract (GI), especially inflammation due to gluten.
The sensitivity to carbohydrates doesn't have to be that high, but we understand that in terms of ease of digestion The high glycemic index (which causes an increase in blood sugar) is usually transported quickly through the body. In contrast, foods with a low to medium GI stay longer in the GI tract.
Still, people often don't think of foods that offer the best return on digesting glycogen stores and digestibility. Sensitivity is best done piece by piece. Try three low-carbohydrates, such as:
- oats
- Jasmine rice
- sweet potato
Use this source as a carbohydrate source for 48 hours. Record flatulence, energy levels, and power exhaustion, and do so with alternative sources of carbohydrates. Ultimately, carbohydrates are your ideal, giving you the best pump in the gym, enforcing performance, promoting proper digestion without bloating, and being easily accepted by the body. For those interested, insulin sensitivity goes hand in hand with carbohydrate sensitivity.
Carbohydrates and gastric happiness
The gastric emptying time refers to how quickly the stomach and intestines can move food. This movement is typically measured using ultrasound in isolated environments such as a doctor's office. Gastric emptying is affected by the type of food consumed. For example, protein needs more energy to be metabolized, but is broken down into fast-digesting and slow-digesting ones, like whey protein versus casein. This also applies to carbohydrates.
Most foods with a high glycemic index, such as jasmine rice, move quickly through the colon. For science fans, dextrose and amylopectin are examples of quick-digestible carbohydrates, which are longer-chain carbohydrates typically found in supplement powders.
Slowly digestible carbohydrates have a low or medium GI. An example would be a sweet potato. This rate of digestion is important for the timing of meals. You don't want to have a slow digestible carbohydrate closer to a workout, which can mean 30 or even 120 minutes before a workout.
Carb timing
As previously mentioned, the Cari Timing Peri workout is vital for athletes and typical athletes because of their training. Longer workouts benefit from quickly digestible carbohydrates before exercise and a combination of fast and slow carbohydrates after exercise, especially when the next meal is a significant amount of time away (4+ hours). This is because during exercise, the body expresses a protein called insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2 (IGF-1), which increases the human body's sensitivity to insulin release. This is important for nutrition than the faster digestible carbohydrate; The faster muscle glycogen can be recovered.
However, this is different based on the amount of adipose tissue in the individual. Therefore, for example, diabetics who have overweight, faster-to-digest carbohydrates may not be the right choice before exercise because the body is not prepared to promote lipolysis. Instead, the incoming carbohydrates are used to promote training.
Get advice from a trainer and an endocrinologist on where you are. Nutritionists and dieticians are helpful, but do not seek sports nutritionists or dieticians who specialize in sports nutrition for the general public.
A friendly carb PSA
Myth number 1: Carbohydrates before bed are helpful.
This is one of the most nonsensical things I've heard for athletes and people who exercise consistently 4-8 days a week. As mentioned earlier, high GI foods like pop tarts or jasmine rice pump your bloodstream with glucose right before bed. This scenario would be great if you want to do a nightly competition, but not before bed for an average healthy sleeper, as discussed by Afgahi et al., 2007.
Myth # 2: Carbohydrates are bad.
Carbohydrates are structural and energy producing machines, non-responders, please leave the conversation. Even vegans have carbohydrates, and my good colleague Alexa, an aspiring health and nutrition trainer, agrees. Aside from carbohydrates, protein can come from things like grains, sprouts, and germs (nutritionally dense and full of carbohydrates).
Myth No. 3: Carbohydrates make me fat.
As mentioned earlier, the problem is insulin sensitivity and not an isolated problem of Mother Nature's fuel source. The training increases insulin sensitivity as well as constant steady-state cardio and (which enables biomechanics) high-intensity cardio such as jump rope or sled thrusts for intervals.
A final and important note
All processed carbohydrates are bad. Have you seen how to make gluten free rice cream?
If you're interested in vegan approaches to food and carbohydrates, please follow Alexa Pizzarello on Instagram.
Lift with love, my friends.