Last month, we talked about protein - what it is, what it does, and why we need it. So it seemed natural to move along to...

Carbohydrates - What's it all about?

We all know that two of the main factors in nutrition and weight management are protein and carbohydrates. There are diets that focus on eating mostly one or the other.

For instance, the Atkins Diet focuses on consuming mostly protein, with the goal of burning fat and building lean muscle. There aren't any diets (of which I'm aware, at least) that focus on primarily consuming carbohydrates for weight loss (or otherwise). We know that we need protein, and most other diets address a balance between protein and carbohydrates.

Let's look at carbohydrates and the role they play in our nutrition and our health this month.

What are carbohydrates?

Going with the (Whole) Grain

We've come a long way from the days when one of the knee-jerk answers to the question "what should I eat" was "get a lot of carbohydrates." Research now shows us that carbohydrates' effect on health is complex, involving not just the overall amount, but also the particular types in question. Some kinds of carbohydrates help promote health, but others actually increase the risk for diseases like diabetes and coronary heart disease.

What are carbohydrates?

Most foods contain carbohydrates, compounds that include sugars, fibers, and starches. Carbohydrates come from a wide variety of foods--including beans, milk, popcorn, bread, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, and cherry pie--but these foods don't all contain the same type of carbohydrate. As with dietary fat, there are no hard and fast rules about carbohydrates. Traditionally, carbohydrates that were classified as complex carbohydrates--such as bread, pasta, and other starches--were considered to be "good," and simple carbohydrates or sugars--such as table sugar, candy, and honey--were thought of as "bad." However, research now shows us that the picture is more complicated.

Read this and more in a Harvard School of Public Health article

Carbohydrates and Exercise

For every physical activity the body requires energy and the amount depends on the duration and type of activity. Energy is measured in kcal and is obtained from the body stores or the food we eat. Glycogen is the main source of fuel used by the muscles to enable you to undertake both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. If you train with low glycogen stores you will feel constantly tired, training performance will be lower and you will be more prone to injury and illness.

A calorie (cal) is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1g of water 1°C from 14° to 15°C. A kilocalorie (kcal) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1000g of water 1°C.

Nutrient Balance

Carefully planned nutrition must provide an energy balance and a nutrient balance. The nutrients are:

• Proteins - essential to growth and repair of muscle and other body tissues
• Fats - one source of energy and important in relation to fat soluble vitamins
• Carbohydrates - our main source of energy
• Minerals - those inorganic elements occurring in the body and which are critical to its normal functions
• Vitamins - water and fat soluble vitamins play important roles in many chemical processes in the body
• Water - essential to normal body function - as a vehicle for carrying other nutrients and because 60% of the human body is water
• Roughage - the fibrous indigestible portion of our diet essential to health of the digestive system

Read the full article at The Sports Coach

What does Herbalife have to say?

From Dr. Lawrence May:

Q: Most of my favorite foods are carbohydrates! Will I ever be able to eat them again if I’m on the Thermojetics® Gold HPLC Program?

A: Once you’re on your way to reaching your target weight, you can start to have a few of those carbohydrates you used to crave, but the key is to reintroduce them in small steps.

To keep your weight off for good, certain carbohydrates should continue to be restricted. This doesn’t mean you can never have a baked potato or a plate of spaghetti again, but it does suggest that products made with white sugar, white flour and certain root vegetables should be a rare culinary event. You can phase in potato skins and whole-grain pasta once you’re on maintenance.

As you increase carbohydrates, concentrate on small fruits with the highest antioxidant power such as blueberries, grapes, strawberries, plums, peaches and apricots. Leave behind the bananas, mango, papaya, pears, melon and pineapple.

Q: I’m a vegetarian. Can I still follow the Thermojetics® Gold HPLC Program?

A: Certainly. Except for the Cream of Chicken Soup Mix, all Thermojetics® HPLC products are suitable for lacto-vegetarians. You’ll need to be sure to eat adequate quantities of protein in the form of tofu, soy milk and soy cheese. You should also watch out for the carbohydrate content of these items. The Thermojetics® Gold HPLC Program is not, however, suitable for vegans because many of the weight-management products contain dairy.

Q: Isn’t fruit low in fat and calories? Can’t I eat fruit while on the Thermojetics® Gold HPLC Program?

A: Yes, but sparingly, as most fruits are high in fructose (a natural sugar), which raises insulin levels and encourages the body to store fat. Peaches and plums are acceptable fruits because they have a low glycemic index, but keep to one of these fruits every other day.

And let's not forget about CarboGuard® - a powerful fiber and herbal supplement featuring ingredients
that work together to help lessen those yearnings for carbohydrate-rich foods. With CarboGuard®, you gain that extra measure of confidence you need to resist the temptations of carbohydrates.

And should you ask, yes Formula 1 does contain carbohydrates. Formula 1 is a key component of a balanced nutritional program. Notice I said nutritional program not diet. We all know that you can use Formula 1 as part of your program for weight management - loss, gain, or just stability.

Lastly, you should check out the Sports Nutrition brochure - even if you already have, it's worth revisiting. Active folks and athletes are always going to ask about protein and carbohydrates, so you might as well be ready!