Carbohydrates are essential for good health, as they are the main fuel for the brain and muscles. Studies show that those who eat the most carbohydrates—especially those found in whole, natural foods like beans, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables—have a lower risk for heart disease , type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are made of one or two sugar molecules. Complex carbohydrates are polysaccharides and include starch and fiber. For optimal health, choose complex carbohydrates.

Complex carbohydrates, found mostly in whole plant foods, maintain their natural fiber and fuel your body with the energy it needs. These foods are also naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. About three-quarters of daily calories should come from healthful carbohydrates.

Limit simple carbs, such as added sugars, syrups even agave , and white flour. These provide quick energy but have been stripped of nutrients and fiber. The exception is fruit. Sugar in fruit comes with health-boosting fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.

Be sure to include plenty of colorful fruits in your diet. The idea that carbohydrates will lead to weight gain is a common misconception, but gram for gram, fat contains more than twice the calories of carbs.

One gram of fat—from beef, fish, or oil—has 9 calories. Compare that to 1 gram of carbohydrate from potatoes, bread, or beans, which has only 4 calories. You may also notice that carbs become less healthy based on what we add to them: Potatoes are often deep-fried in oil to make french fries—and pizza, bread, and pasta are often just vehicles for butter and cheese.

A diet emphasizing healthful carbohydrates—vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes—and avoiding animal products helps prevent diabetes and improves its management when it has been diagnosed. Participants in the plant-based group lowered hemoglobin A1C by 1. Commercially available sports nutrition products usually include a combination of glucose and fructose, but each product has a slightly different formula.

You can read the labels to see what types of sugar each product contains and choose a product that works for you. The amount and type of carbohydrate that can be tolerated by the gastrointestinal tract is very individual, and the best way to determine what works best for you is to practice during training.

Never try anything during competition that you have not practiced in advance because you may end up on the sidelines! It is important to replenish these glycogen stores to prevent progressive glycogen depletion and allow the athlete to train on consecutive days. This slow rate of glycogen synthesis is not a problem for recreational athletes and those who do not train daily since there is plenty of time between workouts for glycogen stores to be replenished.

However, for more serious athletes who train daily or multiple times a day, it may be a problem. For these individuals, the diet can be manipulated to speed up recovery and enhance glycogen repletion.

If an athlete is training once a day, but is able to consume appropriate amounts of carbohydrate for their activity level, manipulation of the diet may not be necessary to replenish glycogen stores.

However, many collegiate athletes and active individuals do not consume adequate amounts of carbohydrate for their lifestyle and may benefit from the strategies outlined below.

Two things are needed to maximize glycogen resynthesis post-exercise: carbohydrate and insulin. Insulin, as discussed earlier in this chapter, is necessary to promote the uptake of glucose by the cells. When you consume foods and beverages that contain carbohydrate, you are providing your body with the glucose needed to refill glycogen stores and stimulating the release of insulin by the pancreas at the same time.

Glycogen stores can be refilled at higher rates when carbohydrates are consumed within 2 hours after exercise. This is due to the fact that exercise stimulates the signaling of GLUT-4 transporters to the cell membrane, independent of insulin. Therefore, it is recommended to consume carbohydrates as soon after the training session as possible.

The type of carbohydrates the athlete chooses may be important as well. Quick delivery of carbohydrate to the liver and muscles is desirable so foods that are digested and absorbed rapidly are more beneficial high glycemic foods.

If a recovery beverage or supplement is used, then it is best to choose one that contains glucose or sucrose as the primary sugar. Athletes may choose foods with fructose, such as fruit or fruit juices. However, fructose has a lower glycemic index than glucose which means that it is not digested and absorbed as rapidly as glucose which can lead to slower rates of glycogen resynthesis.

To maximize glycogen synthesis, it is recommended that athletes consume between 0. If the exercise duration is particularly long and intense, then carbohydrate should continue to be consumed in this amount each hour after exercise for up to 3—4 hours, depending on the need for glycogen repletion.

It does not matter if the carbohydrate is consumed in liquid beverages or solid foods form. The addition of protein or amino acids increases the rate of glycogen synthesis and enhances post-workout protein synthesis and muscle recovery Examples of foods that provide both quickly digested carbohydrate and protein are chocolate milk, fruit-at-the-bottom yogurt, cereal with milk, or a turkey sandwich.

Nutrition and Physical Fitness Copyright © by Angela Harter Alger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4. Skip to content As discussed previously, carbohydrate is the fastest, most immediate source of energy and therefore the most important energy source during exercise.

Table 5. This is something that she can fine tune through trial and error. Fibre is indigestible, as our bodies lack the enzymes needed to break it down and obtain the calories. Instead, fibre will bind to molecules and help move digested food through your body.

Fibre can be broken down into two categories: soluble and insoluble. The benefits of soluble fibre is that the ingestion of this type of non-impact carb will lower blood cholesterol by binding to bile acids and removing them from the body bile acids are needed to make cholesterol.

As for insoluble fibre, these help the body absorb and remove toxins, as well as contributing to healthy functioning of digestion. Sugar alcohols are known under the names sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol, xylitol, mannitol, and glycerol. These are actually digested by the body but will have minimal effect on your blood sugar levels.

You will see that in many sugar free gums, one slice of gum will contain 2g of sugar alcohols. Impact or effective carbs are the exact opposite of non-impact carbs due to the fact that they have a significant effect on your blood sugar levels.

Your body breaks down impact carbohydrates for glucose, the substance that gives your cells energy. Impact carbohydrates are not bad for you, but they should be consumed in moderation. Under many diets, restrictions are put on the amount of Impact carbs one can consume to keep the blood sugar under control.

Impact carbs are divided into the two main categories, as stated earlier: simple and complex. This table sugar is one of the primary disaccharides by combining a molecule of glucose with a molecule of fructose.

Other primary disaccharides include milk sugar lactose which combines a molecule of glucose with a molecule of galactose, and malt sugar maltose which combines two molecules of glucose. When consumed, these monosaccharides disaccharides when thrown together provide you with a quick burst of energy.

The simpler the carbohydrate, the faster the glucose is released into your blood. This can cause peaks and drops in your blood sugar level and less stable energy levels in the body.

Although these simple carbohydrates have a bad reputation, there are certain times of the day where it is important to consume them.

Complex carbohydrates provide a slower and more sustained release of energy than simple carbohydrates. In their natural form, they contribute to long-term good health, appetite control, and sustained energy levels.