By Ryan Miller; B.S. Biochemistry, NASM Certified Trainer
Carbohydrates and Insulin
As promised in my last article, we are going to look at the effects of the carbohydrate on insulin production and how this affects your body. There are few people who can tell you why carbs should not be associated with being overweight, resulting in the widely growing idea that carbs are “bad” for you. This idea is nonsense, and I’ll prove it to you if you stay with me here.
To begin, here is an excerpt from my article, The Basics of Nutrition:
“Think of carbohydrates as chains of sugar molecules. For the body to use these chains, the chain needs to be broken apart into single links (glucose molecules). The longer the chain, the more complex the carbohydrate, because the longer it takes the body to breakdown the chain and utilize the individual links. These chains can also be branched as well, similar to the branches on a tree. The more branched, the more complex as well.
A basic example of a simple sugar is a single glucose molecule. There is no chain, only the single molecule of glucose. An example of a more complex carbohydrate is maltodextrin, which consists of a chain of glucose molecules. Maltodextrin is still fairly simple, but it is more complex than a single glucose molecule alone.
Why does this matter? Well, the simpler the carb, the more dramatic effect it has on your body as a result of its digestion. If you want immediate energy to burn, simple is the way to go. But for times when you aren’t going to be burning your carbs you ingest immediately, complex is best.”
Carbohydrate structure matters, and it matters for these reasons: The simpler the structure, the greater the insulin spike. The more complex the structure, the smaller the insulin spike. I’ve just introduced a new term; insulin spike. An insulin spike is the production of insulin by your body as a result of carbohydrate intake. You’ll be reading this term often, and I want you to understand what it means. A great analogy is your heart rate during intense exercise. Think of your heart rate as your body’s response to your exercise. The more you exercise, the more your heart rate increases, or spikes. Just like the simpler the carb, the more your insulin production increases, or spikes.
Insulin production occurs as a response to elevated blood sugar, which is a result of carbohydrate digestion, which is the result of eating foods containing carbs. Insulin is a powerful hormone which is not to be disrespected. Insulin is your blood’s watchdog against sugar. Insulin keeps your blood sugar in check by removing excess sugar from the blood and diverting it to other areas of your body. These areas include muscle glycogen stores and fat stores. Unfortunately for you, muscles are typically not happy with being force fed sugar and you can guess what other option is left……fat stores.
Let’s say you just ate a bag of candy at the movies. You’re relaxing at the time, your body isn’t in need of fuel, but because it just tastes so good, you are fueling up anyway. Your body sees a bounty of sugar being ingested and unlike your vehicle’s gas tank where excess fuel would just spill out and evaporate, your body is amazing and it has the ability to store fuel for later use.
Pop quiz!
How many calories of energy are contained in one gram of fat?
How many calories of energy are contained in one gram of protein?
How many calories of energy are contained in one gram of carbohydrate?
If you answered 9, 4, and 4, you scored an A, and if you can see where this is leading, you get an A+. I know if I had the choice to store energy in multiple forms, I would store it in the form that will give me the most bang for the buck when I need it. Your body and I think alike, and your body stores that excess sugar as fat.
Post Workout Insulin Spike
I want to elaborate more on the fact that your muscles don’t want to accept the incoming sugars being brought to them by insulin related actions. Your muscles produce energy from glucose. Your muscles store glucose in a form known as glycogen. When your muscles work, as in working out, they tap into their glycogen stores for energy.
There are certain times when consuming simple sugar is useful. If you have just gone through a tough workout, your glycogen stores are going to be lessened, and they would love to be refilled. Consuming a post workout recovery drink or meal replacement bar consisting of a simple sugar and a complete protein source is a nice way to refill and restore spent glycogen. The simple sugars will cause an insulin spike, driving the protein and carbs into your muscles, not into fat stores!
An even better post workout option is to consume a simple sugar source, a complex carb source, and a complete protein source together. The simple sugars will instantly spike your insulin while the complex carbs will keep it spiked, continuing to feed your muscles with the complete protein source. Our Recharge bar, found at www.2020-wellness.com, contains these ingredients, and is perfect for post workout. As we already know, insulin prefers bringing sugar to your muscles over storing it as fat. If your muscles are accepting, your body has nothing left for fat storage.
Post workout is the only time I recommend consuming simple sugars. I also recommend no more than 50 grams of simple sugars after your workout. Under shooting is ok, but over shooting is what you want to avoid.
Carbohydrate Consumption Guidelines
What do medicines, nutritional supplements, and any other substances you put into your body have in common? They all have guidelines, directions, and warnings. Apparently these connotations are null and void when it comes to the food that you consume…..yeah right. You might think they are, but there is no doubt in my mind that food should have guidelines, directions, and warnings as well. Unless you know how to use it, food can have adverse health effects and the obesity rates of today prove my point day in and day out. Since this article is focused on carbohydrates, keep the following carb specific rules in mind when you eat throughout your day.
Rule 1: Separate carbohydrates from fats during meals.
As you remember, carbohydrates raise insulin levels, having a nutrient delivering effect, but also a fat storing effect. When consuming carbs, pair them with a complete protein source. Leave the fats out of meals containing carbs to keep fat storage to a minimum.
My most disastrous meal, which happens to be a very common meal for many people is a fast food meal. Let me break a common drive thru meal down. Typically you’ll order a fatty cheeseburger with fatty fries, and a simple sugar filled soda. Sounds like a solid meal to me (please catch my sarcasm). You have around 40-60 grams of unhealthy fats, 100-120 grams of simple sugars, and 20-30 grams of highly processed protein. This meal works in harmony to sabotage your physique. The simple sugars will shoot your insulin through the roof, the unhealthy fats are present for storage, and the protein is hardly top notch for muscle maintenance. Something to think about; eating ten of these types of meals adds up to a total of 1-1.5 pounds of fat consumed.
Rule 2: Keep your carbs complex at all times except post workout.
I’ve gone over this concept earlier in this article, and you should know the reasoning behind this rule. I will list some complex carb choices to help you stick to this rule.
Pumpkin | Squash |
Oats | Quinoa |
Yam | Sweet Potato |
Brown Rice | Ezekiel Bread |
Rule 3: Limit how many carbs you consume, no matter how complex they are.
Imagine that you’ve found a new magical carb that is more complex than any known carb today. Beyond the initial hype of this new and highly complex carb, when all is said and done, you still have a carb. The complex carb will still have 4 calories per gram, and will still cause you to gain weight if over consumed. Just because you are eating Ezekiel bread or oatmeal, this doesn’t mean you can eat the entire loaf of bread or have three bowls worth of oatmeal. You need to determine how many carbs your body will allow you to eat depending on your goals. This is the secret to being able to control your body weight.
People who have total control over their bodies have done this. They know how many calories to eat, where those calories should come from, and when to eat those calories. Knowing these bits of information is just as important as exercising when it comes to obtaining the body you want. Do you know yours?
Rule 4: Keep carbs in your diet, they are important.
The human body is designed to produce energy from three main sources. These sources are as follows: Carbohydrates, Fat, and Protein. Here’s the kicker though, your body has preference as to which source it prefers to obtain energy from. Carbohydrates are priority number 1, fat is priority number 2, and protein is priority number 3. Now, you can alter your body’s preferences to an extent (sounds like another article in the future to me), but we are going to deal with this priority order for now.
Your body is made for carbs, period. Your most efficient biochemical process used to produce energy is glycolysis. This process begins with a glucose molecule (carb) and through a series of steps, converts the glucose into ATP, your body’s form of energy. You body runs most efficiently through glycolysis, so provide it with glucose to begin the process.
As something to keep in mind, many nutritionists advise that a 20/70/10 calorie ratio of protein to carbs to fats should be used in a healthy diet. I believe that this ratio is great for the general public, most of which don’t exercise. In terms of you, a person who exercises, I advise a ratio of 40/40/20. This ratio provides you with more protein to aid in maintaining muscle and recovery. This ratio also provides you with more healthy fats, which are known for numerous health benefits. At the same time, you are still consuming enough carbohydrates to fuel your daily energy requirements. This ratio is really an all around winner.
In conclusion, keep the carb present in your daily diet. You will feel better, look better, and carbs taste great. Carbs are not the enemy and are not dangerous. You just have to know how to use them.
If you have any questions or would like to inquire about a personal diet plan for yourself, contact me at ryan@2020-wellness.com or 919-671-8585. Good luck in your fitness goals!
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