Lesson 7: Carbohydrates

Role of carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibre found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products. This macronutrient is the bodies preferred source of energy, which every cell in the body (including your brain) needs to function.

There are a few different classifications of carbohydrates and these are based on the complexity of their chemical structure. This is where you get the terms ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ from.

Note: While you can get energy from other sources like protein or even fat (in a ketogenic diet), glucose is the preferred source for your body.

Simple carbohydrates 

All carbohydrates are broken down into glucose or stored as glycogen.

• Glucose is what your body uses for energy and is the simplest form of carbohydrate. Some foods however, already come in this simple form (or near it) such as table sugar (sucrose), sugary drinks, and fruit (fructose).

• Glycogen is the stored version of glucose in your liver or muscle tissues. Once your liver and muscle glycogen stores are full, the rest is converted into body fat.

The simpler the carbohydrate, the easier it is for your body to digest and absorb, but because it enters your blood stream so easily, it gives you a spike of energy followed by a low dip.

It can often leave you feeling unsatisfied and if it is a processed product like candy or a sugary drink, it often won’t come with other nutrients. Therefore you’ll find a lot of simple carbohydrates in the ‘eat less’ end of the food continuum.

If you are to have simple carbohydrates in your diet, its best to have fruit (more on fruit in the next lesson).

Complex carbohydrates 

Complex carbohydrates take longer for your body to process than simple carbohydrates. Their chemical bonds are much stronger meaning your body has to do more to break them down. It means that you feel satisfied for longer and the energy is absorbed at a steadier rate (the energy peaks and dips from consuming complex carbohydrates are much less than consuming simple carbohydrates).

You can find complex carbohydrates in whole food sources like:

• Whole grains

• Vegetables

• Lentils and beans

Besides taking longer to break down and giving you more consistent energy, complex carbohydrates will generally come with a plethora of other nutrients for your body to use, which is why they tend to belong in the ‘eat more’ end of the food continuum.

How much carbohydrate should you have?

In general, there is no one-size-fits all approach as there are variances in goals and your bodies tolerances, but as a start it can be useful to aim for 1 serving of complex carbohydrate per meal and 3 meals per day.

A single serving of carbohydrates is the equivalent to a cupped handful.

1. Your goals

If your goal is to put on lean muscle or perform at your best athletically then you may want more carbohydrates to fuel your workouts and store more energy (glycogen) within your muscles to use (you still need more protein for the growth, repair, and recovery needs of your body though).

Athletic or muscle building goals:
An extra serving of complex carbohydrate around workouts is recommended to fuel workouts and performance. It can also be useful to have a piece of fruit (simple carbohydrate) before or during training to help maintain energy levels during long and intense training sessions.

Maintenance or weight loss goals:

Aim to redistribute your serves of carbohydrate in the day. This can look like having your 1 serving of carbohydrate at breakfast, but only half a serving of carbohydrates at lunch and dinner; saving that left over carbohydrate serve for fuelling workouts when you do them (if you don’t workout that day, drop that serve for the day).

2. Your tolerance

There is a lot of variance in responses between different people when it comes to carbohydrates. While some can eat an entire bowl of white rice and then play a full game of football, others may eat the same and feel the need to take a nap.

This variance can come from your bodies level of insulin resistance (how well it can use glucose for energy). There is no one-size-fits-all approach because of this variance. Your best bet is to see what works for you.

Start with the recommended 1 serve per meal and 3 meals per day and make adjustments from there. It’s also important to maintain a structured exercise program, whatever your goals are.

Choosing ‘smarter’ carbohydrates

As with protein, planning ahead is crucial. The main goal is to aim for complexity. As often as you can, choose whole foods with slower digesting carbohydrates, more gradual release of energy, and contain more nutrients.

These options include:

• Beans

• Lentils

• Chickpeas

• Wholegrain oats

• Quinoa

• Kumara with skin left on

• Potatoes with skin left on

• Fruit, while still considered a simple carbohydrate contains fibre and other useful nutrients to the body and can be used to fuel workouts if you are wanting an energy boost or something to tide you over until your next meal.

Once again, consider your food budget and the food continuum. 

Task: Smart Carbs

You will find the task for this lesson attached in the same email that you received this one.