All About Carbs - the Good, the Bad, the Ugly
All About Carbohydrates
“Carbs are bad, stay away from them!”
“Carbs make you fat”
“Don’t eat carbs after 8pm”
“Only eat carbs pre and post workout”
“Cutting carbs is the best way to lose body fat”
Confused yet???
So, the media seems to have mixed reviews on carbohydrates, specifically as of late. The media can be a double edged sword when it comes to nutrition, a lot of valuable information but also a lot of confusion. Your favourite blogs, youtubers, and ‘fitspos’ also probably have mixed opinions. Throw in the celebrities views on carbs…and I’m sure your head is spinning. Do you eat them or do you stay away from them?!
The truth?
In this blog I am going to do a deep dive on carbs discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly side of them. This is going to be science based but I will share my own personal experience with dietary carbohydrates and my views on them.
Let’s start here — What Are Carbohydrates???
Carbohydrates are a macronutrient that provides our body with energy (calories). Carbohydrates are broken down into sugar (glucose) within the body. Carboyhydrate breakdown begins early in the mouth, in the saliva by an enzyme called amylase, thus, carbohydrate breakdown is considered rapid compared to the macronutrients breakdown. Which is why you may of heard as carboydrates as a quick fuel source because it is converted from glucose (carbs) into energy (ATP) very quickly in the body.
Carbohydrates fall into 2 categories — high glycemic carbs and low glycemic carbs.
High-Glycemic Carbs (STARCHY CABRS): Carbohydrates that when broken down can result in a higher spike in blood sugar levels. You may also know these foods as Fast Burning Carbs or Simple Carbs. Foods like bananas, white rice, candy, white bread, chips, pineapple, etc.
Low-Glycemic Carbs (FIBROUS CARBS): Carbohydrates that do not spike blood sugar levels as high compared to high-glycemic carbs. You may also know these foods as Slow Burning Carbs or Complex Carbs. Foods like sweet potato, brown rice, lentils, oatmeal, barley, avocado, legumes, kale, etc. *These carbohydrates tend to be higher in fiber which is why they do not spike blood sugar levels as rapidly*
Understanding Fiber
Fiber is a type of carboydrate that is found in foods. Fiber cannot be digested by the body, it passes through the digestive system undigested and it’s job is to aid in regulating blood sugar levels within the body. This is why ensuring that you are eating enough fiber is extremely important not only for satiety but to help regulate blood sugar levels throughout the day. This is why low-glycemic carbs tend to be higher in fiber, the fiber will help slow the digestion of carbs and reduce the time it takes to break them down — which is very beneficial because you won’t see as high of an insulin spike like you would with higher-glyemic carbs. Fiber is also extremely important because it feeds our gut bacteria. The more diverse your food selection, the more diverse the types of fiber which is very beneficial to feed all the different strains of bacteria that live in our gut. So, long story short — fiber is very important.
There are 2 types of fiber — Insoluble Fiber & Soluble Fiber
Insoluble Fiber: Allows breakdown of food through the digestive system. Beneficial for individuals that deal with constipation or irregular bowel movements. Includes foods such as: kale, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes, nuts, beans, whole-wheat flour.
Soluble Fiber: Dissolves in water to develop a gel-like material, this is beneficial because it slows digestion. Includes foods such as: peas, beans, barley, psyllium, oats.
To Summarize Fiber:
Be sure to include lots of fiber in your diet... this will help regulate digestion, blood sugar, and help promote healthy gut bacteria. Sometimes there is a sweet spot with fiber, too much can be damaging to individuals who do not have optimal gut health and too little can also be damaging. Find your sweet spot with fiber — listen to your body and pay attention to your digestion after eating specific foods. Also pay attention to your bowl movements… it’s not that gross guys, we all do it, and the more you know about your body, the more optimal level of health you will have. You should aim for 25-30 grams of fiber/day. Focus on eating lots of vegetables, nuts & seeds, fruits, some beans, and if you do eat wheat products stick to whole-wheat for higher fiber content.
*Of course there is fortified foods that are high in fiber. My recommendation is to get as much fiber from vegetables, nuts and seeds, fruits, and beans if you can.
What about Fiber Supplements?
My view on these is that you are usually only getting 1 or 2 forms of fiber, typically inulin or chicory root. These supplements only feed few types of bacteria in your gut when there are hundreds of triliions. The supplements also do not contain all the vitamins and minerals you get from eating real food. Please get fiber from FOOD in your diet and opt away from these supplements. In my opinion they are a waste of money.
OK, Now that we know WHAT carbohydrates are, let’s go into HOW they work:
How Carbohydrates Work
Now that we understand what types of carbohydrates there are, lets begin to understand how they impact the body and the actual mechanisms. I’m going to keep this very simplistic, of course the human body is more complicated than this but this is the basics so it’s easy for you to understand. *There are also a lot of personal variance to human physiology - this is very general.
Understanding Insulin
When you eat carbohydrates, as I said above, breakdown begins as soon as you put the carbs in your mouth. Once the carbohydrates are fully broken down as it is digested, it’s broken down into units of glucose. At this point the glucose can then be used to fuel metabolism within the body to produce our bodies energy fuel which is ATP.
When the glucose reaches the bloodstream it signals the pancreas to secrete a hormone called insulin. Insulin then goes out in response to this elevated blood sugar and is then used to regulate blood sugar back to a normal level. This is what is known as being insulin sensitive, this is what we want.
The problem begins when we eat excess carbohydrates and excess fat that our insulin can no longer respond to the elevated blood sugar levels and begins to become resistant. In extreme cases (type 2 diabetes) the pancreas can no longer secrete insulin and in this situation the individual has to inject insulin to manage blood sugar levels. In less extreme cases (pre-diabetic) the pancreas begins to respond irregularly and is beginning to lack sensitivity to properly respond to the blood sugar rise, and at this point the individual is becoming insulin resistant.
Insulin sensitivity is something we want but another issue can arise when insulin is up and down throughout the day, people commonly call this Unstable Blood Sugar.
If blood sugar levels are constantly elevated, insulin is going to be constantly secreted. Elevated insulin levels can lead to fat gain, mood imbalances, and could even lead to insulin resistance because of the body’s natural feedback system. If the body is over secreting something, it will naturally use a negative feedback system and reduce the amount it’s secreting, it thinks it no longer needs the hormone. So, keeping insulin levels balanced and responsive is extremely important, we don’t want insulin spiking and declining all day long.
So, YES we want carbohydrates to provide fuel for the body, but NO we do not want too much because we want to remain insulin sensitive, and we want to stay OFF the insulin roller-coaster.
This is where the TYPE of carbohydrate is very important.
To keep blood sugar levels and insulin levels balanced it’s very important that most of your daily carbohydrates are fibrous. Most of your carbohydrates should be coming from low-gylcemic, fibrous carbohydrates such as vegetables, and others listed above. You can still eat the lower fibrous, higher glycemic carbohydrates, even every day if you want too, but try to limit the amount of these. A good tip is if you eat a starchy carbohydrate, always eat it with a fibrous carbohydrate. This is not to say that you can never eat high-glycemic carbs, but to state the obvious — stay away from highly processed carbs. Generally, the higher the amount of processing, the higher the blood sugar spike, the greater the insulin response.
How Much Do I Eat?
Well…………… the most annoying answer in health & fitness ever: “IT DEPENDS”.
But this is the truth, individuals vary so much, especially with metabolism, genetic variation, hormonal responses, blood sugar regulation, etc that it is so difficult to give out a number. In addition, it also depends what the individuals goals are.
What I will say is that in my personal experience, when I eat too much carbohydrates it usually leaves me constantly hungry. Have you ever ate a cup of white rice by itself and 1/2 hour later felt hungry? This goes back to the quick metabolism rate of simple carbohydrates. This type of carbohydrate is specifically beneficial post workout for an individual looking to metabolize carbohydrates fast but not so beneficial for working individuals hoping to make it from breakfast to lunch without being hungry.
Final Thoughts On Carbs
I am always an advocate of taking your health into your own control. I recommended getting your blood tested so you can see a baseline of where your fasted blood glucose is. This is a good indicator to make sure your levels are regulated. Stress can also impact these levels, so make sure to get your blood checked when you are not stressed.
If you want to take it a step further, and you are a total data nerd like myself, you can buy a glucometer and test how your body responds to certain foods. Test your blood when you wake up in the morning, and 2 hours after you eat. Some people will be surprised at which foods spike their blood sugar. Personally, I have not done this yet, but I probably will at some point just to get to know how my body responds to specific carbohydrates. *This is totally not necessary but data can always be helpful, so I thought i’d add it in*
To summarize
Eat carbohydrates that are fibrous.
Limit carbohydrates that are processed.
Insulin is not bad, but it’s important it remains balanced for your health & your satiety.
Begin to tune in & understand your body’s signals, this way you can better understand what carbs make you feel good and what ones make you feel bad.
Get your fasting blood sugar tested if you are unsure about your levels.
Basically…
Carbs are NOT the devil.
Keto is not going to solve your problems…It will probably create more if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Low Carb is not the only way.
Higher Carbs is not bad.
Everyone is so so different.
Trial and error on yourself is the gold standard — figure out how many carbs make YOU feel your absolute best & DO THAT!