Some of you
reading the title of this article already have anxiety. I can already feel the
angst building. The term “Carbohydrate” in society today sends stomach
butterflies fluttering and paleo enthusiasts back into their fire lit, spider
infested, wall painted caves. Let’s be honest, if you have not heard the term
“Paleo” or “keto” in the past couple of years then there’s a good chance you
haven’t stepped into the gym very much. So what’s the hype? Exactly why do many
people grab their children and run for the hills when they see wonder bread?
Most importantly, why would people in the 21st century ever want to
eat like cavemen? Luckily, we will go into those questions in some more detail.
For starters,
let’s start by defining some simple terms so we can stay on the same page. In
the most basic of terms, carbohydrates are a fuel source for the body made up
of various types of sugar. The term sugar is being used very vaguely in this
sense to describe any carbohydrate source ranging from sweets, fruits, to
bread. All carbohydrates are processed into their simplest form. This is called
a monosaccharide. This means regardless if your carbohydrates come from lollipops,
ice cream. quinoa, or pineapples, they will be broken down to their basic unit.
One gram of carbohydrates is equivalent to roughly 4 calories (kcal). This is a
pretty basic overview that I am sure many of you reading are already aware of.
The next topic
of discussion would then be the function of carbohydrates. Contrary to what
some people may believe from the carbophobia circulating in fitness media,
carbohydrates are fantastic. Carbohydrates, just like protein and fats, provide
the body with energy. Carbohydrates are stored in skeletal muscles as glycogen
to provide quick available energy for metcons, WOD’s, lifting, running,
swimming, or a variety of other physical activities. Understand that your body
has a very limited amount of glycogen available. Although, unless you’re
running a marathon or plan on training for hours, usually your glycogen stores
will suffice. Carbohydrates also help to spare protein. By having more
carbohydrates in your diet, your body does not have to rely on converting
protein into amino acids for energy. Those proteins can be spared to be used to
repair muscle tissue or for the many various other functions protein plays in
our bodies. We simply do not have the time in this article to go over every
single process and function that protein is necessary for. This is why it is
important to include carbohydrates and let protein do its' job.
The Hysteria
Much of the hype against carbohydrates
is coming from two big crowds in the fitness community. These two crowds are
the paleo crowd who is often represented by many crossfitters. Then there is
the Keto crowd referring to the term ketosis or ketogenic. Both of these crowds
have become a voice in the fitness industry over the past few years. Supplement
shops are full of products promising to induce or aid in ketosis. Paleo protein
powders line shelves of some supplement stores as well. Since as you may know,
cavemen were frequent users of protein supplements after a long day of rucking
a saber tooth tiger through a tundra. Paleo advocates often preach about
“eating the way cavemen did”. Many paleo advocates focus most of their diet on
foods such as meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. The concept itself is not
all too bad especially when compared to many diets in the market. Although
grains are a paleo taboo. Some paleo crowds will stay away from fruit as well.
The keto group eats very little to no carbohydrates. Although many who fall
into this crowd misrepresent true ketosis. Rather than being a very high protein
diet, a ketogenic state is achieved with a very high fat diet.
So why are these groups against the
grain? Well, many of these groups claim that carbohydrates, and particularly
grains, promote obesity and diabetes in the United States especially. Although
there are many stones left unturned by the assumption that carbohydrates are
driving obesity. Many countries in southeastern Asia consume a bulk of their
calories from carbohydrates and don’t experience even close to the same obesity
rates. Science has demonstrated that whole grains are even beneficial for
preventing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain forms of cancer. Another
important aspect is the weight loss associated with cutting out carbohydrates.
It is true, you can lose quite a bit of weight by cutting out carbohydrates
from your diet. Much of this weight loss comes from depleting your body of
glycogen. Glycogen retains a lot of water Hence the "hydrate" in
carbohydrate. You are losing water weight. For those that don't already know,
water weight can be put on quicker than it can be put off. I would assume for
most people fat loss is desired rather than water.
There are many documentaries, articles,
research studies, and other seemingly credible sources coming in the defense of
low carbohydrate diets. These sources will claim the superiority of lower
carbohydrate diets in comparison to more traditional diets that have
carbohydrates as the primary energy source. Although, the amount of science in
favor of little to no carbohydrates is dwarfed in comparison to the research
that supports carbohydrates for performance. In some studies, it will point out
how the subjects experienced no performance losses from these types of diets.
The subjects also reported higher ratings of perceived exertion in the Low
carbohydrate groups (RPE). This means they felt like they had to work harder to
reach the same results. If you are able to be more comfortable and achieve
practically the same results it seems like a no brainer. Many times, people
make lifestyle changes to accommodate their diets. The solution is not to find
a perfect diet, it is to find something that in the end will be something you
can sustain. A 30-day paleo challenge, or keto style diet usually tends to be a
band-aid. This in turn gives the yoyo effect where dieting is temporary, weight
is regained, then the diet is implemented, and back through the cycle.
The solution
Keep it simple. A diet consisting of
mostly whole foods is not only healthier in many cases, but also easier on the
wallet. There are not circumstances in which a supplement or certain dieting
style can override the law of thermodynamics. Essentially, this just means
eating more than you are expending calorically leads to weight gain. Eating
less than you expend leads to weight loss. In terms of performance, carbohydrates play an integral role in providing your workouts with
immediate energy. Get out of your caves, quit peeing on those keto-strips, and eat some
grains.
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