Carbohydrates, perhaps more than any other nutrient found in food, has drawn years of controversy, confusion, and even fear. They are too often taken out of context, misrepresented, and misunderstood. A mango is the same thing as mango candy. Carbs cause diabetes. Low-carb is the way.
Today on In The Flow, I break down the fundamentals of carbohydrates and look at this class of macronutrient through an evidence-based lens, and connect to some reason and sense to help you better understand the truth. In this conversation, we'll discuss:
the basic definition and function of carbohydrates from a biochemical and physiological perspective.
how we arrived at this fear surrounding carbs and the problem with demonization of one single nutrient and "nutritionism".
the importance of carbohydrate for athletes and active humans.
plant-based nutrition and carbohydrates.
Again, this topic is quite nuanced, and difficult to cover everything in perfect detail in an hour long podcast, so the topic of carbohydrates will come up again in future episodes. Please let me know if you feel that I didn’t cover something, and feel free to connect with me regarding any questions you still have. I appreciate you listening!
-Jackson
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Further reading & references:
Jeukendrup A. Gleeson M.Sport Nutrition. 2018.
Muraki, I., Imamura, F., Manson, J. E., Hu, F. B., Willett, W. C., van Dam, R. M., & Sun, Q. (2013). Fruit consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from three prospective longitudinal cohort studies. Bmj, 347, f5001.
Burke, L. M., & Hawley, J. A. (2018). Swifter, higher, stronger: What’s on the menu?. Science, 362(6416), 781-787.
D. T. Thomas, K. A. Erdman, L. M. Burke,American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and athletic performance.Med. Sci. Sports Exerc.48,543–568(2016).
L. M. Burke, J. A. Hawley ,Effects of short-term fat adaptation on metabolism and performance of prolonged exercise.Med. Sci. Sports Exerc.34,1492–1498(2002).
L. M. Burke, J. A. Hawley, D. J. Angus, G. R. Cox, S. A. Clark, N. K. Cummings, B. Desbrow, M. Hargreaves, Adaptations to short-term high-fat diet persist during exercise despite high carbohydrate availability.Med. Sci. Sports Exerc.34,83–91(2002).
L. M. Burke, Re-examining high-fat diets for sports performance: Did we call the ‘nail in the coffin’ too soon?Sports Med.45(suppl. 1),33–49(2015).
L. M. Burke, M. L. Ross, L. A. Garvican-Lewis, M. Welvaert, I. A. Heikura, S. G. Forbes, J. G. Mirtschin, L. E.Cato, N. Strobel, A. P. Sharma, J. A. Hawley ,Low carbohydrate, high fat diet impairs exercise economy and negates the performance benefit from intensified training in elite race walkers.J. Physiol. (London)595,2785–2807(2017).
Holscher HD. Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota. Gut Microbes. ;8(2):172–184. doi:10.1080/19490976.2017.1290756
Lim, S. S., Vos, T., Flaxman, A. D., Danaei, G., Shibuya, K., Adair-Rohani, H., ... & Aryee, M. (2012). A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The lancet, 380(9859), 2224-2260.