What are carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates, or carbs, are sugar molecules. Along with proteins and fats, carbohydrates are one of three main nutrients found in foods and drinks.
Your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose. Glucose, or blood sugar, is the main source of energy for your body's cells, tissues, and organs. Glucose can be used immediately or stored in the liver and muscles for later use.
Carbs do not make you fat!
Despite common misconception carbohydrates do not make you fat calories as a whole do, but that's for another day. Carbs are the main source of energy for your body, they fuel some major organs such as your brain, heart and kidneys.
Carbs are a key factor to building muscle, as they are partially converted to glycogen, which is a form of energy stored in muscles. They play a key role especially in endurance based workouts and to optimise performance overall.
*People on the ketogenic diet (Very low/zero Carb) performed more poorly at anaerobic exercise tasks than those eating more carbs. Depending on the task, their performance was 4 to 15 percent lower than the high-carbohydrate group. The study was published last month in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness.
Key sources of carbs
Wholemeal bread
Bananas
Sweet potatoes
Brown rice
Wholemeal Pasta
It is recommended to have 4.5g per kg of body weight per day so for a bodyweight of 80kg you'd be looking at 360 grams of carbs this may vary depending on your activity level. Having the right amount of carbs a day will help your lifestyle and keep your training optimal.
So quit avoiding them and enjoy that big bowl of pasta.
Check back next week for more Nutrition with our Personal Trainer Jade Harris
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