Carbohydrates, a word that strikes fear into many dieters in America, we all have heard of Atkins.

“When you eat too many carbohydrates (carbs), your body burns some of those carbs for energy and stores the excess carbs as fat.”-Atkins Website

This is a true fact, if you eat to many carbs your body will store them as fat, why for energy when it needs it later.  So what do you do, well of course you completely cut carbs out of your diet. I mean really who needs energy?  The simple fact is the body needs carbs to sustain energy, but which carbs do you need?

Well first off, what is a carb? A carbohydrate is simply a sugar. “Any of a group of organic compounds that includes sugars, starches, celluloses, and gums and serves as a major energy source in the diet of animals. These compounds are produced by photosynthetic plants and contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, usually in the ratio 1:2:1.” – Anwsers.com So if carbs are made by plants why are they so bad for you? Simply put carbs are great for you, you will need them every day.

There are two different kinds, simple and complex carbs. Simple carbs are carbs that are already broken down into the lowest form it can go, thus it is absorbed into the blood stream fast for that quick burst of energy. These are generally known as the bad carbs as what happens with simple carbs is once your body recognizes this surge of sugar it releases insulin to regulate the blood sugar levels.  So once the insulin hits the blood it will take the sugars to your liver your muscles and then guess where fat storage for later use. Also your insulin will bring down your blood sugar resulting in possible low blood sugar. Next up is complex carbs,  these carbs are in a chain. This means when your body tries to absorb them, you will need to break them down first. This causes a slow release of the carbs so you get a slower steady stream of energy. So how do I know if I am eating a complex carb or a simple carb? This is where the Glycemic Index (GI) comes into play.

Originally designed for diabetics, in sports nutrition it can help you to know which carbs you need.  The GI measures how quickly a carb is made into glucose and enters the body.  It was developed by feeding different carbohydrates to people in 50 gram portions of available carbs.  They would then monitor their blood sugar levels the next hours to come and put the responses on a curve. The more glucose that reached the blood in the first 3 hours the higher the GI number for that carb. We can no classify a carb as a high and low glycemic.

Low GI foods give you a longer more sustainable amount of energy as they are absorbed slower. A they absorb slower the also reduce hunger, helping with your appetite control.  As well lower GI foods can help store glucose in muscle and keep it from being stored as fat.  If you are dieting these low GI foods are the way to go, they will add in appetite control, also eating low GI foods before a workout will make sure you have plenty of energy and don’t drop in the middle of it.

High GI foods should not be consumed as much before training as the insulin will cause your blood sugar to lower and you will crash in the middle of your workout. I don’t know about you but I push myself to the edge every workout. If my edge is only 50% of my normal….what a waste of my time.  They can also cause fat release during your workout thus you won’t burn as much fat during your workout. However everything in the world has its place. High GI foods after training have their benefits.  Eating foods with a High GI within 15 minutes – 2 hours after training can start replacing diminished levels of glucose in the blood. Taking these High GI carbs after a workout will raise your insulin levels helping carry the needs carbs and protein to your muscles faster.  Have yourself a nice juice after a workout to help with the absorption of your protein and creatines.

WOW that was a lot to take in. Just remember try to keep your simple carbs/High GI level foods to right after a workout to help speed up a recovery time. If you need run to your local supplement shop and pick up some glutamine to help. If you take a protein after you train, make sure it is low in fat, high fat foods cause GI levels to lower as it needs to liquefy before it can be digested. Every other meal should be complex/Low GI carbs. As well always combine your carbs with protein. (Check out A Power lifters Diet for diet suggestions)

Glycemic Index of Common Foods

Good Training and Good food = Big Weight

Brandon Braner