Carbohydrates Are Bad For You

“Do not eat carbohydrates, they are bad for you!” Everyone has heard this phrase before, whether from their parents, a health teacher, or even online. However, this statement is extremely inaccurate. Carbohydrates are essential to every diet and provide numerous benefits, such as preventing the breakdown of muscle tissue, and providing energy and fiber to the body.

Arguably the most important use of carbohydrates is its ability to provide energy. Carbohydrates provide immediate energy as well as stored energy. Simple carbs, such as white bread or white pasta, are broken down immediately and are used to provide energy. Any extra energy that is not used, is converted to glycogen which is the most often used source of energy while training.

Fiber has numerous health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol, controlling blood sugar, maintaining a healthy weight, and improving heart health. Lowering cholesterol and heart health go hand in hand because high cholesterol may lead to heart disease. Linda V. Van Horn, a registered dietician and professor at Northwestern University says “Scientists are still trying to determine the exact mechanisms by which fiber lowers cholesterol.” However, they still do know soluble fiber lowers cholesterol. Soluble fiber is found in mostly complex carbohydrates. Some examples of soluble fibers include oats, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, and some vegetables. Not only do soluble fibers lower overall cholesterol, but they also reduce bad LDL. LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein, which are basically carriers throughout the body made up of fat. Cutting bad LDL levels will lead to lower chance of developing heart disease and/or high cholesterol throughout your lifetime. Fiber can also help with controlling blood sugar levels. This is actually beneficial to people with and without diabetes. People with diabetes must monitor blood sugar levels to make sure their insulin does not spike too high, and often times carbohydrates will cause spikes in insulin. Fiber will slow the absorption of sugar. In result, insulin levels will not spike too high immediately after eating carbohydrates with fiber.

Yes, it is true that eating too many carbohydrates, on top of little physical activity can lead to weight gain. However, every type of food when consumed in excess amount will lead to weight gain. For example, look at proteins. Everyone always says how good protein is, but too much protein intake that is not burned off will turn to fat also. Bottom line is all foods will turn to fat if they are not burned off properly and eaten in excess. In order to prove that carbohydrates do not “make you fat”, neurobiologist and obesity researcher Stephan Guyenet conducted an experiment. This experiment included 16 overweight or obese men who were fed a diet consisting of fifty percent carbohydrates, fifteen percent protein, and thirty five percent fat. These men were fed the standard diet for 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks were up, the same men were immediately switched to a diet that consisted of only five percent carbohydrates, fifteen percent protein, and eighty percent fat for 4 more weeks. Both diets were equal in calories and protein amounts. On top of their diets, participants also rode a stationary exercise bike for half an hour every day. On the high carb diet (first 4 weeks), the participants lost an average of 1.1 pounds of body fat. On the low carb diet (second 4 weeks), participants again lost 1.1 pounds of body fat on average. In summary, both groups consumed the same amount calories and