-
Carbohydrates are essential for everyone, especially athletes, and should not be avoided or demonized.
-
Eating carbohydrates can improve sports performance and mental health, as they provide energy and support brain function.
-
Carbohydrates and protein work together to optimize muscle health; depriving yourself of carbohydrates may compromise the role of protein.
Okay, let’s face it: carbohydrates have been demonized more than the man who one day decided that pineapple could fit nicely on pizza.
They have also been victims of years of print campaigns that have painted them as the culprits of uncontrolled weight gain and the ineffectiveness of any diet that included them.
Perhaps it is time to give them the credit they deserve, not least because they are one of the nutrients that no one should be without, even more so if they are athletic.
Avoiding carbohydrates can do more harm than good.
It is true that many diets that involve reducing or eliminating them are effective, but never forget that being thin does not automatically mean being healthy. So let’s be clear: carbohydrates, including sugars, are not an absolute evil and can even be a panacea for health and fitness.
Carbohydrates: what exactly are they?
Carbohydrates are a large and varied family.
There are sugars, such as common table sugar, glucose and fructose, which are found naturally in fruits, vegetables and milk.
Then there are starches, which are the carbohydrate reserves of plants, and you find them in white bread and white rice.
Finally, there’s fiber, those indigestible carbohydrates that abound in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes and are critical for cleaning your gut.
Imagine them just like brooms passing in the direction of their final destination (which ones it is you can easily imagine) and carrying away with them all the waste and debris they encounter on the way.
Let’s re-establish sugar
Are you ready? Good: sugar is not poison. Yes, you read it right. As always it is the lack of moderation that is, but it is certainly not the teaspoon you put in your coffee that leads to diabetes.
Excessive amounts of sugar, on the other hand, are harmful, and the real problem is that very often they are found where you don’t expect them or where you think their percentage is negligible.
For example, do you know how much sugar is in a can of Classic Coke?
About 30 grams, or 5 teaspoons, which is what you would put in five different cups of coffee.
See how everything is relative?
Plus, for those who exercise, simple carbohydrates are a quick and valuable source of energy.
Why carbohydrates are needed in sports
Consuming carbohydrates can reduce fatigue before and during training.
For endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, consuming carbohydrates is crucial to maintaining high energy levels.
Eating carbohydrates before a workout undeniably affects performance, just as facing it physically tired can only lead to intolerable torment.
It is not insignificant that a good part of the workouts most hated for the tedium and fatigue they cause is not attributable to the sport itself but to the conditions under which one faces them: it is obvious that if you are physically exhausted, even lifting a pencil seems unbearably tiring.
They are also good for the mind
Let’s start with a restrictive regimen condition or carbohydrate deprivation: is the mind affected?
Research says that yes, low-carb diets can impair memory and attention.
To function at its best, our brains need a good dose of carbohydrates.
In addition, carbohydrate-rich diets give you a lot of food choices because, as we saw at the beginning, you can choose to consume them in the form of sugars, pasta, baked goods, fruits, vegetables, and nutrient-rich whole grains.
Carbohydrates in aid of protein
Carbohydrates and protein are two basic and different nutrients, yet within a complete diet they cooperate with each other.
If carbohydrates are insufficient, the body turns to protein for energy.
But their job is to replenish muscle mass exhausted by training, so depriving yourself of carbohydrates means diverting protein from its main use, with imaginable consequences.
Instead, taking in enough carbohydrates ensures that protein is used to build muscle and repair tissue, not to provide energy.
Friends again?
The next time you think about eliminating carbs (we’re friends now, let’s call them that) from your diet, remember: a plate of pasta can do much more than simply satiate you.
It serves to fuel your body, your mind and helps you in sports.
(via Lifehacker)