Bulletin No. 9, Carbs: Ultimate Food Fuel, Part I

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Carbohydrates are grouped into two general classes: complex carbohydrates and simple sugars. Complex carbohydrates are nothing more than simple sugars linked together into long chains. Your body digests the complex carbs into simple sugars and releases them into the bloodstream as glucose. In the end, then, all carbohydrates are converted into glucose before they are used. Based on this, you might think it wouldn”t make any difference whether you get your carbs from starch or simple sugars-but it does.

Simple sugars are released into the bloodstream immediately, causing a rapid increase in blood sugar level and an insulin surge. Because simple sugars are released faster than the body can burn them for energy or store them as glycogen, insulin causes the excess to be converted to fat. Complex carbs, on the other hand, must be digested, a process that slows down their rate of release into the bloodstream, resulting in a more moderate insulin release and a more uniform energy level. Also, since they don’t cause as big an insulin release, complex carbs are not as prone to be converted to fat. One hundred grams of sugar will have a different effect on your body than one hundred grams of starch, even though both supply 100 grams of carbohydrate.

The Parrillo Performance Nutrition Program further subdivides complex carbs into two classes: starchy carbs and fibrous carbs. Good sources of starchy carbohydrates are potatoes, rice, beans, oatmeal, and whole grains, and good sources of fibrous carbs include broccoli, lettuce, spinach, green beans, asparagus, and other fresh vegetables. On The Parrillo Performance Nutrition Program, you eat at least one to two servings of starchy carbs and one to two servings of fibrous carbs at each meal, along with a lean protein source. High fiber foods such as fibrous carbs contain cellulose, a plant carbohydrate that humans cannot digest. Cellulose, provides bulk which helps with elimination and is good for your intestines. Also, fiber and protein slow the digestion of starchy carbs, resulting in a more gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream and more sustained energy levels. This way, insulin release is more moderate, rather than the sharp spike of insulin released in response to simple sugars. When you combine foods in the way recommended by our nutrition program, you have more energy and less fat storage. Plus, you can eat all the vegetables and salad greens you want and still stay lean.

Be sure to avoid simple sugars. These include not only processed sugar but also foods like honey, milk, and fruit. Milk contains lactose, or milk sugar. Fruit contains a simple sugar known as fructose, which is easily converted to fat in the liver (1). Although fresh fruit and low fat dairy products are healthy, nutritious foods, they contain a lot of natural sugars which are easily converted into body fat. If you’re striving for ultimate leanness and a high energy level, avoid the consumption of sugary foods, including fruit and dairy products. Animals have a very limited ability to store carbohydrate and instead rely on fat as the storage form of energy.

Fat is a more efficient way to store energy because it contains nine calories per gram, as compared to four calories per gram in carbohydrate, and because it does not require water for storage, as does carbohydrate. Since animals are mobile, they store energy as fat. That way, they can store more energy in less space and with less weight. Only about 600 grams of glycogen (the body’s storage form of carbohydrate) can be stored by the human, although this probably varies according to the individual’s training state, diet, and amount of muscle mass. Glycogen is stored mostly in the muscles where it will be used, and also to a small extent in the liver. Muscle glycogen is not released into the bloodstream and is only used by the muscle in which it’s stored. After muscle glycogen stores become depleted, liver glycogen is broken into glucose units and released into the bloodstream for use by working muscles throughout the body and by the central nurvous system.

Because the human body cannot store much carbohydrate, it is very important, especially for athletes, to regularly consume a diet high in complex carbohydrates to fuel the body. Many experiments indicate that carbohydrate is the body’s preferred fuel during exercise. More than 99 percent of the carbohydrate is used in the body to form adenosine triphosphate, or ATP (2). ATP is the fuel source used directly by the muscles to power contractions. ATP is not stored by the body so it must be constantly produced from the aerobic metabolism of carbohydrates, fatty acids, and amino acids (aerobic means “with oxygen”). Carbohydrate is unique in that it can also be metabolized anaerobically (without oxygen). The anaerobic production of ATP from carbohydrate is called glycolysis.

Glycolysis makes a big contribution to the energy expended during very intense exercise of short duration, such as weight lifting. Lifting weights requires so much energy so fast that aerobic metabolism can’t keep up with the demand. By the time oxygen can get from the lungs to the muscles and inside the cells, your set is already over. Although glycolysis is relatively inefficient, it offers the advantage of generating energy instantly upon demand. One disadvantage of anaerobic metabolism is that it produces lactic acid as a waste product. Lactic acid accumulates inthe muscles and the blood and is responsible for the burning sensation at the end of the set. The accumulation of lactic acid shuts down energy production and forces you to stop and rest. Most of the lactic acid makes its way from the muscles into the bloodstream.

The liver is able to convert the lactic acid back into glucose so it can be used as fuel again. The conversion of lactic acid back into glucose requires oxygen, and this is why you continue to breathe hard for a few minutes while you’re recovering after a set. This pay-back from anaerobic metabolism is called “oxygen dept.” In conclusion, your body likes to burn carbs for energy and to store energy as fat. Generally speaking, the more carbs you eat, the more carbs your body will burn for energy, and the more fat you eat, the more fat you’ll store. This is why athletes-and especially bodybuilders-should eat a diet high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat, In fact, anyone interested in having a lean, high-energy body should consume a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet.

We also recommend carbohydrate supplementation with Pro-Carb^TM, which is formulated with maltodextrin, a slow-releasing carbohydrate. Not only is it high in carbohydrates, but a Pro-Carb^TM drink also supplies water which is needed for glycogen storage. To order Pro-Carb^TM, call our toll-free number at 1-800-344-3404.

Parrillo Performance Products
(800) 344-3404

REFERENCES

1. Shafrir E. Fructose/sucrose metabolism, it’s physiological and pathological implications. In: Sugars and Sweeteners, Kretchmer N and Hollenbeck CB, eds. CRC Press, 1991.
2. Pate, TD and Brunn, JC. Fundamentals of carbohydrate metabolism. In: Nutrition in Exercise and Sport, eds. Hickson, JF and Wolinsky, I. CRC Press, 1989.
3. Zubay, Biochemistry. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1983.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 17th, 2008 at 11:54 pm and is filed under Sports Nutrition Guide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.