Are carbs the enemy?

Question

It seems like everyone's saying to ditch carbs to lose weight these days. Is there any difference between cutting carbs vs cutting fats or proteins?

Answer 1

Enemy is a strong word, and carbohydrates can be a great fuel source for athletes and those engaged in any training program. However, as the saying goes, Too much of a good thing... When you take a bite of something that contains carbohydrates, the carbs will eventually convert to blood glucose (blood sugar). A high level of blood sugar can be toxic, so the body, not wanting to die, tells the pancreas to release a hormone called insulin to direct the sugar in the blood to hungry cells, where it is stored as glycogen. A problem results however, when too many carbs are eaten because cells can only hold so much glycogen. After a while they start flipping insulin the bird, telling it that they don't want any more blood sugar directed to them. Insulin is persistent however, and refuses to take no for an answer, so it continues to try harder and harder (releases more and more insulin) to get the blood sugar into the cells. Once cells are fully and begin ignoring insulin, they are whats called insulin resistant and this not only is a hindrance to fat loss goals, but can eventually lead to diabetes. Additionally, when insulin is released, you are not as efficient at burning fat. The solution, is to mix in lower carbohydrate days with normal, and higher ones. By keeping the carb intake a variable, your system wont constantly be flooded with insulin and you'll become more of what's called insulin sensitive, which means your cells are welcoming insulin and you are running efficiently. Resistance training has also been shown to increase insulin sensitivity, so including that could help increase your fat loss efforts in multiple ways, as well.