Carbohydrates
- What's it all about?
We
all know that two of the main factors in nutrition and weight management
are protein and carbohydrates. There are diets that focus on eating mostly
one or the other. For
instance, the Atkins Diet focuses on consuming mostly protein, with the
goal of burning fat and building lean muscle. There aren't any diets (of
which I'm aware, at least) that focus on primarily consuming carbohydrates
for weight loss (or otherwise). We know that we need protein, and most
other diets address a balance between protein
and carbohydrates. Let's
look at carbohydrates and the role they play in our nutrition and our
health this month. |
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What
are carbohydrates? Going
with the (Whole) Grain
We've
come a long way from the days when one of the knee-jerk answers to
the question "what should I eat" was "get a lot of carbohydrates."
Research now shows us that carbohydrates' effect on health is complex,
involving not just the overall amount, but also the particular types
in question. What
are carbohydrates?
Most
foods contain carbohydrates, compounds that include sugars, fibers, and
starches. Carbohydrates come from a wide variety of foods--including
beans, milk, popcorn, bread, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, and cherry
pie--but these foods don't all contain the same type of carbohydrate. As
with dietary fat, there are no hard and fast rules about carbohydrates.
Traditionally, carbohydrates that were classified as complex
carbohydrates--such as bread, pasta, and other starches--were considered
to be "good” and simple carbohydrates or sugars--such as table sugar,
candy, and honey--were thought of as "bad." However, research now shows us
that the picture is more complicated. Carbohydrates
and Exercise For
every physical activity the body requires energy and the amount depends on
the duration and type of activity. Energy is measured in kcal and is
obtained from the body stores or the food we eat. Glycogen is the main
source of fuel used by the muscles to enable you to undertake both aerobic
and anaerobic exercise. If you train with low glycogen stores you will
feel constantly tired, training performance will be lower and you will be
more prone to injury and illness. A
calorie (cal) is the amount of heat energy required to raise the
temperature of 1g of water 1°C from 14° to 15°C. A kilocalorie (kcal) is
the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1000g of water
1°C. Nutrient
Balance
Carefully
planned nutrition must provide an energy balance and a nutrient balance.
The nutrients are:
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What
does Herbalife have to say? From
Dr.
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