Carb Facts
- Glycemic Index - Scale that measures a carbs effect on blood glucose levels. The scale ranges from 1 to 160. 70 to 160 is high, 56 to 69 is medium, and 55 and below is low.
- Carbohydrates - Main function is to provide energy for the body. All Carbohydrates break down into glucose.
- Glucose - The simplest form of a carb. All carbs (both simple and complex) break down into glucose eventually.
- Insulin - Hormone produced by the pancreas that decreases blood glucose levels in the blood. It’s purpose is to keep the body’s blood sugar levels under control by removing glucose and storing it in the Muscles and liver as glycogen.
- Glycogen - The form a carbohydrate takes when stored in the liver and muscles.
- Growth Hormone (GH) - Protein hormone produced by the pituitary gland. Promotes muscle growth and cell reproduction.
- Glucagon - A hormone produced by the pancreas that increases blood glucose levels in the blood. It converts the stored carbohydrates in the liver and muscles, glycogen, and converts it into glucose so the body can use it as energy.
Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrates
Let’s start off with the fact that simple and complex carbs both break down into the same compound after being digested. We call this compound glucose. Glucose is the simplest form that a carbohydrate can take. The Glycemic Index (GI), measures how fast a carbohydrate gets absorbed into the blood stream. A carb that measures really high on the GI scale will go into the blood stream very fast and cause your blood sugar levels to sky rocket. A carb that measures low on the GI will be fed into the blood stream a little at a time while it’s being digested. Understanding all of this will help you to lose body fat and make up your own diet plan.
A good analogy is an ice cube and a cup of water. If you were to fill a glass of water up and started to drink it, the water would get into your body rather fast because water is in it’s simplest form. Now, if you were to fill a cup with only ice cubes, it would take you quite a while to drink the water because you have to wait for that compound to melt first so you can drink it. It’s a very similar idea with carbohydrates. The simple carbs get absorbed very quickly because it’s basically in it’s simplest form already, glucose. The complex carbs digest much slower because they need to be broken down into their simplest form, which again is glucose. Eating complex carbohydrates regulates the flow of sugar into your blood stream due to their slow digesting characteristics.
Roles of Insulin on Blood Glucose Levels
Now that we understand how carbohydrates spike glucose levels, let’s talk about insulin’s role in the mix. Insulin’s job is to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood stream. If the body detects there is too much glucose in the blood stream, the pancreas produces a lot of insulin. The insulin will take the excess glucose out of the blood stream, convert it to glycogen, and then store it in the liver and muscles. There is only a certain amount of glycogen the body can store there. When it reaches it’s maximum, it takes the rest of the glucose and stores it as body fat. Insulin basically acts as a storage hormone by storing the excess calories from the carbohydrates in the form of fat, in case of starvation.
In addition to promoting fat storage, high levels of insulin also effect the 2 hormones glucagon and growth hormone. Glucagon is responsible for burning fat and growth hormone is responsible for muscle development. With these two suppressed, you can now understand why high glycemic carbs hinder fat loss and muscle development. If your insulin levels are high while you’re exercising, the body is going to use the stored glucose, glycogen, rather than fat for energy. For this reason, most people have a hard time losing body fat. Now, if you’re an athlete and looking for enhanced performance for the activity you’re participating in, loading up on carbohydrates the night before the event will allow the body to use the stored glucose in the liver and muscles. You don’t want to do this for everyday exercise because remember, insulin doesn’t promote muscle development. So, if you’re exercising for strength, your gains will be hindered with high levels of insulin in the body during the exercise session. However, if you’re preparing for an event like a marathon or powerlifting meet, use the power of insulin to your advantage the night before it takes place for enhanced performance.
References
- Macrobolic Nutrition - By Gerard Dente with Kevin J. Hopkins