Carbohydrates.

Good carbs, Bad Carbs. Fast Carbs, Slow Carbs.

Who's right, who's wrong?

I'm about to get into it. Let me preface this post by saying that I am not a Nutritionist. What I am is a Personal Trainer who researches meticulously so that I can tell my Clients the truth.

"Bad Carbs"

This term gets thrown around a whole lot. Generally when people talk about 'Bad Carbs', they're referring to White Rice, White Flour, White Sugar... Basically hating on the White Folks.

All three of the carb sources that I mentioned above have something in common: they are Simple Carbohydrates. This analogy is probably going to sound silly, but bear with me. I think of a simple carb as a Train. It has an engine, and a caboose and nothing inbetween. This train is going to go a whole lot faster than a train with numerous cars attached to it.

Simple carbs are fast carbs. They are quickly utilized by the body, and fill the muscles with Glycogen. As discussed in a previous post, glycogen gives us Strength, Energy, Endurance, and a litany of other benefits.

While White Flour and White Sugar are heavily processed, and not as healthy for the body as whole grains, they are not the only options for fast carbs.

Strawberries, Blueberries, Nectarines and Oranges (to name a few out of many) are also fast carb sources, and they are certainly not bad. But they have Vitamins and Micronutrients too? So aren't they complex? Yes, and no. Their speed comes from fructose which is a simple sugar. And while we get the benefits of the Vitamins, we don't have to wait for it.

"Good Carbs" 

Now that we have dispelled some of the preconceived notions regarding 'Bad Carbs', let's take a minute to explore what Pop Culture has deemed to be Good.

Whole Grains, Quinoa, Steel Cut Oats and a litany of other options are really, really good for you.

Let's take it back to my unique (code word for goofy) analogy about trains. If a simple carb is a short train, then a complex carb is a long one. In between the Engine and the Caboose are many cars. These cars are things like Fiber, Anti-Oxidants, Micronutrients and Minerals. All good things.

This, however is what makes them slow. Whereas a bowl of blueberries will give you an instant (albeit relatively short lived) energy burst, that energy will be used up generally within an hour.

A bowl of Whole Grain rice, on the other hand, will give you the same amount of energy, only spread out over a longer period.

I don't know about you guys, but when I'm starting a workout, I don't want a belly full of slow digesting anything. Digestion takes time, and it also takes energy. Instead, I'd prefer to get a quick energy burst that will sustain me during my workout, and another when I am finished to quickly restore Glycogen to my depleted muscles. So in this scenario, a so called "good carb" is bad for my workout.

Does this mean slow carbs are bad?

Absolutely not! There is a time and a place for slow carbs, and I prefer that time to be a few hours prior to my workout, and right before bed. When I'm asleep, I don't mind my body using energy for digestion (I'm not exactly busy). Before bed, I'm not I'm not looking for a sudden burst of energy, which makes simple carbs a bad choice.

That's about all I've got for this post.

I sincerely hope that you'll research the claims I've made here so you can substantiate what I've just told you.

Don't hate the white folks! Cheers,
John.


Spread The Word and make Money by starting a Fitness Website. Hosting and Domains by Host Gator. 1 Penny your first Month: Code BANDWAVE01