Are Carbs The Enemy?

A Short History Lesson

Back in the 80’s, fat was the enemy. Eggs, red meat and any other food high in fat were seen in negative light. It was firmly believed that eating fat would make us fat, which ultimately spawned the low fat diet craze of the 1980’s.

Now in the present time, fat has been accepted and welcomed back with open arms. You can’t seem to read an article regarding healthy nutrition without it mentioning the wonderful benefits of foods such as eggs, coconut oil and grass fed butter.

But now that fat has become the best thing since sliced bread, we have a new enemy on our doorstep; carbs.

But just as fat was mistakenly taken as the enemy back in the 80’s, are carbs suffering from the same fate? The quick and simple answer is yes.

The Truth

Neither fat nor carbs are the enemy. When it comes to fat gain, the true enemy is excessive indulgence or to put bluntly, overeating. The reason an individual gains fat is because they’re consuming more calories than their body expends.

It’s basic thermodynamics. If you’re giving your body more energy than it requires, that energy will have to be stored somewhere and in this case, it’ll be stored as fat.

But if this is the case, why are carbs being demonised?

The Insulin Story

The reason carbs are being demonised is due to a certain hormone our bodies produce named insulin.

To keep it brief and basic, insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. It regulates blood sugar levels and allows the cells in the muscles, fat and liver to absorb glucose that is in the blood. The glucose serves as energy to these cells but it can also be converted into fat when needed.

You don’t hear the word insulin much in everyday life unless talking about diabetes of which there are two different types: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas cannot produce insulin sufficiently to meet its own needs.

People who suffer from type 2 diabetes will produce insulin, but often not enough to meet their body’s needs.

So What Does Insulin Have To Do With Carbs And Gaining Fat?

Well, when you eat carbs, the digestive system breaks them down into sugar that then enters the bloodstream. As blood sugar levels begin to rise, the pancreas produces insulin that prompts cells to absorb blood sugar for energy.

The problem occurs when there is an overabundance of energy. This surplus has to go somewhere and if the muscle and liver cells are full, it’s converted and stored as fat.

Another issue that insulin poses is that it not only regulates blood sugar, but fatty acids also. This means that if you eat a high fat meal whilst insulin is elevated, you’ve essentially provided a means of transport for the fatty acids to enter fat cells.

All this information may make you feel very negative towards insulin and as carbs give the highest rise in insulin, it’s only natural for people to start detesting carbohydrate rich foods such as rice, potatoes and pasta.

The thing is though; the way this information is presented to the public makes it seem that insulin is the only route to fat storage but this isn’t the case at all.

ASP – The Hormone That No One Ever Hears About

More and more people are adopting a ketogenic approach to dieting (low carb, high fat) thinking this will keep them lean but they fail to realise that you can still get fat when following a low carb, high fat diet.

ASP (Aceylation Stimulating Protein) is a hormone stimulated directly by fat but it is also indirectly stimulated by carbs as insulin stimulates ASP as well. To add further fuel to the fire, ASP can then rebound by stimulating insulin even further.

To simplify this:

• Carbs – Leads to the pancreas releasing Insulin – Leads to ASP getting stimulated – Leads to fat storage
• Fat – Leads to ASP getting stimulated – Leads to fat storage
• ASP – Leads to insulin getting stimulated – Leads to fat storage
• Fat with carbs – Leads to double ASP stimulation – Leads to double insulin secretion – Leads to excessive fat storage due to the independent actions of both ASP and insulin

Are All Carbs The Same?

Carbohydrates are broken down into two groups: simple or complex.

Simple carbs are made of either one or two sugar molecules where as complex carbs are made up of three or more sugar molecules, strung together in a chain-like structure.

Most simple carbs contain very little in the way of vitamins and minerals. They break down and digest very quickly causing a sudden rush of sugar into the bloodstream. The body then reacts to this by calling on the pancreas to produce additional insulin to remove the excess sugar from your blood. This then momentarily leaves you with low blood sugar levels, causing what we often refer to as “sugar cravings”. By satisfying your sugar cravings by indulging in your favourite treat, you’ll fall into the trap of restarting this loop again, leading to overeating.

Complex carbs such as rice or potatoes do not digest and breakdown as quickly so the pancreas releases insulin at a much more gradual rate, allowing you to feel fuller for much longer.

The Take Home Message

We live in a society where we love playing the blame game. It’s almost as if nothing is ever intentionally our fault but always a causation of external influences. Back in the 80’s it was fat that was being blamed for the obesity pandemic. Fast-forward to the present day and its carbs that are now responsible for this issue.

Balance is everything when it comes to nutrition and no macronutrient should ever need to be avoided. Everyone should be aware of how much they’re eating and hold themselves accountable for what they eat.

Carbs provide a whole array of benefits such as; improved energy, mood, digestion, metabolism, sleep, athletic performance, recovery from training and they even assist in weight management.

Eat carbs without living in fear that you’ll turn fat, but try and keep the majority of your carb intake complex as opposed to simple. Eat more rice, potatoes, pasta and whole grain foods whilst limiting your intake of simple carbs such as cereal, biscuits, cakes and chocolate.

Carbs are far from the enemy. The truth is that we are our own worst enemy when it comes to weight gain. We overindulge and eat in excess, actively knowing what we’re doing. The choice has always been ours to make but we overlook this fact and blame an external factor to avoid the guilt of our pleasures.

It’s far easier being the victim as opposed to the perpetrator when it comes to weight gain. Want to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle, it’s simple. Take responsibility for your actions and become accountable because you’ll soon realise that no diet, smoothie or fat burner will help you reach your goals if you lack commitment and consistency.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]