“Every dog has its day”
And at the moment it seems anyone wanting to drop some excess baggage choses to restrict or eliminate carbs.
Is this right?
On the whole, I don’t think so.
The reason for carbohydrate restriction is the theory that blood sugar is less stable with the ingestion of carbs.
Basically, the body consumes something which has carbs in and blood sugar will rise, we then produce insulin to regulate the sugar levels.
It is this production of insulin which can lead to greater fat gain.
This tends to be especially true when we consume too much carbohydrate with too much fat.
A good, or bad example of this would be pizza.
There are however different types of carbohydrate and to put all in the same box would be the equivalent of saying an old shopping bike is the same as a full carbon TT bike – Very different you will agree.
Simply, the more processed the carbs the less good.
Examples would be:
- biscuits/cookies
- cake
- pasta
- gels
As you can see from some of these, this is because they contain fat, if they don’t contain fat they are non ideal because their pressed nature means their energy is very easily consumed and digestible.
Meaning its easy to consume a lot of and most if not all will be digested and uses as energy – in short it won’t come out the other end.
Hence why gels can be good during times of extreme stress and fuel restriction such as a race.
Conversely, there are good carbs such as:
- fruit
- vegetables
- rice
- potatoes
These are better for various reasons such as;
They have many micronutrients – vitamins and minerals beneficial to health.
The body needs to work harder to break them down and not all is likely to be absorbed and used as energy.
They have NOT been combined with other food stuffs, like fat to make them tasty and are hence more pure.
So, my lycra wearing friend, carbs are NOT bad but some are.
A wiser person would be far better off saying:
“I’m removing processed carbs from my diet”
Maybe more of a mouthful but a better option.
If you need more information on this or just want some good recipes get my book.
The Triathlete Nutrition Code – How to setup your perfect diet plan.
It’s £9.99 ($14 approx) and is written for the endurance athlete.
Go and grab one:
http://www.nutri-tri.com/e-books/
Jamie “sweet as sugar” Leighton