The researchers theorize that the simultaneous activation of fat and carbohydrate signaling pathways launches an effect that human physiology has not evolved to handle. Consistent with this suggestion, rodents given access to fat alone or carbohydrate alone regulate their total daily caloric intake and body weight. But given unrestricted access to fat and carbohydrates, they quickly gain weight.

“The biological process that regulates the association of foods with their nutritional value evolved to carefully define the value of a food so that organisms can make adaptive decisions,” says senior author Dana Small, director of Yale University’s Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center. “For example, a mouse should not risk running into the open and exposing itself to a predator if a food provides little energy.”

“Surprisingly, foods containing fats and carbohydrates appear to signal their potential caloric loads to the brain via distinct mechanisms. Our participants were very accurate at estimating calories from fat and very poor at estimating calories from carbohydrate. Our study shows that when both nutrients are combined, the brain seems to overestimate the energetic value of the food,” she says.

Test subjects underwent brain scans while being shown photographs of familiar snacks containing mostly fat, mostly sugar, and a combination of fat and carbs. Allocated a limited amount of money to bid on their first-choice foods, subjects were willing to pay more for foods that combined fat and carbohydrates. What’s more, the fat-carb combo lit up neural circuits in the reward center of the brain more than a favorite food, a potentially sweeter or more energy-dense food, or a larger portion size.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate mostly woody plants and animal meat, the researchers noted. “In nature, foods high in fat and carbohydrate are very rare and tend to have fiber, which slows metabolism,” Small says. “By contrast, it is very common for processed foods to have high fat and high carbohydrate loads.”

After the domestication of plants and animals and the development of grain and dairy production around 12,000 years ago, opportunities to consume fat and carbohydrates together increased, but processed foods like donuts, which could contain 11 grams of fat and 17 grams of carbohydrate, have only been around for 150 years, not long enough for us to evolve a new brain response to them.

Scientists believe our past experience with the nutritive properties of carbohydrates releases dopamine in the brain through an as-yet-unknown metabolic signal. These kinds of signals seem to help regulate what and how much we eat.

The post Science Discovers the Beauty of the French Fry appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Carbohydrates are also easy to overeat. Our tendency to go too far largely depends on quality. Salty crackers or sweet pastries out of packages are easy to keep eating, but good luck stuffing yourself with steel cut oats. Case in point: a few weeks ago, I made a beef roast in a slow cooker with vegetables. I had a large serving as well as a side salad. After eating it, I felt even hungrier than when I started the meal, so I went to the cabinet for a few handfuls of raisins. I had had the same meal with a side of quinoa before, and it filled me up for hours.

Sweet potatoes, rice, oatmeal, or (gasp!) bread for your carbohydrate source? Experiment with what works best for you.

The Secret Is in the Preparation

Having a high-quality carbohydrate full of nutrients and fiber will help most of us stay fuller longer and avoid the “handfuls” of snacking later. The trick is knowing how to prepare them so you can have them on hand.

Here is what to buy and how to prepare some high-quality carbohydrates. Of course, this list is what I like and not at all exhaustive. However, it’s not a bad start if you feel a bit lost in terms of what a quality carbohydrate is.

• White or Sweet Potato
• Quinoa
• Brown Rice Pasta
• Sprouted Bread
• Sourdough Bread
• Fruit
• Steel Cut Oats

High-Quality Carbohydrate Preparation Tips: 1. Potatoes

Slower version:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Clean potatoes and poke with fork.
3. Coat with olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake for 60-90 minutes.

Faster version:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut potatoes into french fry size.
3. Coat with olive oil, lay out in a pan with foil, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake another 10 minutes.

Fastest version:

1. Microwave for 5 minutes, flip once, and cook another 5 minutes.

High-Quality Carbohydrate Preparation Tips: 2. Quinoa

Pronounced “keen-wa.” You can do this two ways: in a pot on the stove, or with a rice cooker. Both are great options. Remember to always rinse your quinoa!

Pot on stove:

1. Put quinoa in pot and turn heat to medium.
2. Let the quinoa toast for about a minute. This brings out more flavor, which is an advantage over the rice cooker.
3. Pour in the recommended amount of water and stir. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. After 15 minutes of simmering, remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes.

Rice cooker:

1. Follow your rice cooker directions for water and rice ratio.
2. Mix in some butter and a touch of salt, and you’ll have delicious quinoa.
3. Pro tip: If you have leftover broth, use that instead of water for lots of flavor.

High-Quality Carbohydrate Preparation Tips: 3. Brown Rice Pasta

Method:

1. Boil a large pot of water.
2. Once it reaches a full boil, dump pasta in.
3. Stir immediately, as brown rice pasta tends to stick at first.
4. Cook 7-10 minutes, and test it out a few times to make sure you like the tenderness.
5. Pour into a strainer and immediately rinse with cold water.

High-Quality Carbohydrate Preparation Tips: 4. Sprouted or Sourdough Bread

Sprouted, or Ezekiel Bread, is a great carbohydrate choice with lots of nutrients and protein. However, I like it because it freezes and thaws well, so convenience is a big plus.

Sourdough bread is dear to my heart because my wife can eat it, whereas she is normally sensitive to wheat. This is because the fermentation process eats up many of the fructans, a sugar that can be hard to digest. Only buy your sourdough from a high-quality bakery, where it is made with a real fermentation process. Many of the store-bought brands use yeast and other methods to increase the speed of cooking.

Fresh, local sourdough bread is a delicious carbohydrate option, if your body can tolerate it.

High-Quality Carbohydrate Preparation Tips: 5. Fruit

Have a look around the Internet and you will discover there is still some debate as to whether fruit is healthy or not. Are natural sugars better than added sugars? Many would say no, but I say this is the wrong question to ask. In reality, we should be asking, what do we get for our sugars? With added sugar, usually nothing.

Fruit and other whole foods contain a host of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytonutrients (an entire class of compounds that are not essential for us to live but offer health benefits). While all fruits have benefits, here is a list to get started:

• Banana (convenient because of built-in portion control and natural Tupperware, the peel, for storage)
• Apples
• Pears
• Raspberries
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Blackberries
• Kiwi
• Papaya
• Melons
• Pineapple (which contains bromelain, an anti-inflammatory compound)
• Peaches

Remember, fresh is great, but only buy what you need. Fresh fruit can go bad quickly. Frozen isn’t a bad option, especially for shakes or oatmeal. Going with what is in season is a great idea too, because you can get fresh and local for a good price.

High-Quality Carbohydrate Preparation Tips: 6. Steel Cut Oats

Steel cut oats are one of my favorite things to have in the morning. They are full of fiber and act as a nice vehicle for other healthy foods.

Here is my slow cooker recipe:

1. Coat the slow cooker generously with coconut oil.
2. Add 3 cups water for every 1 cup oats (this makes at least two portions, so add or subtract as necessary).
3. Add raisins and chia seeds. I use around a ¼-1/2 cup each.
4. Cook overnight 6-9 hours on low.
5. In the morning, you can add some or all of the following: cinnamon, vanilla extract, frozen berries, or ground flax. I also recommend adding protein powder like whey or pea (vanilla is best for flavoring). Use 1 scoop, or roughly 25g. Mix well, and enjoy.

Identify Your Carbohydrate Winners

This list is a good start, but you also need to experiment with what works for you. I’ve noticed that some carb sources fill my clients up better than others. Keep a food journal and begin to recognize patterns. If you have half a sweet potato with a meal and are full for hours with no urge to snack, that’s a win. If you have quinoa and still never feel fully satisfied, it may not be the best choice for you.

Just remember, carbs are not the enemy, lack of a plan is. Preparing carb sources in new ways with different flavors will also be key to avoiding boredom and overeating. Learn how to keep the carbs you do well with in the house, and keep everything else out.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• Carbohydrates 101: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
• Eat What You Want: Your Macros and the Truth About Carbs
• Mash for GAINZ: 4 Simple Recipes for Performance
• New on Breaking Muscle Right Now

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 courtesy of Wikimedia.

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Low-carb dieting is the popular choice of many. But what about athletes? Wouldn’t a low-carb diet be detrimental to their performance? You’d think so, but let’s take a look at a study presented at the annual ACSM meeting that examined the effects of a low-carb/high-fat diet in conjunction with ultra marathoners.

Will your low-carb diet leave you too gassed to perform?

Studying Diet and Performance

The intent of the study was to compare two groups of ultra marathoners in regards to their rates of maximal fat oxidation. One group consumed a low-carb/high-fat diet (LCD) and the other a high-carb/low-fat diet (HCD). Prior research suggested the maximal rate of fat oxidation was less than one gram per minute. However, this had not been examined in high-level athletes following a restricted carb diet.

• 20 male subjects were used in the study and matched by age and competition performance. They were assigned to either a HCD or LCD group.
• Their average age, body weight, and body mass index were 33.5 years, 147lbs (67.1kg), and 22.6.
• For the HCD group, 10 of the elite level ultra runners had been consuming an HCD diet for at least six months (58% carbs, 15% protein, 28% fat).
• The other 10 elite level ultra runners were assigned to the LCD group, again having at least six months of consuming a LCD (11% carbs, 19% protein, 71% fat).

To determine top aerobic capacity (in terms of VO2max), a high-speed treadmill was used. Each subject performed a maximal capacity exercise test. The intervals were two minutes in length and graded. Subjects ran until volitional fatigue while indirect calorimetry was measured. This means the researchers measured the gasses breathed in and out by the athletes and used that information to assess the energy substrates being used.

All that said another way: This study consisted of a group of twenty equal-ability males divided into low carb and high carb diets. Both groups were tested to maximal fatigue on a treadmill while breathing into a facemask.

So what were the results? Well, there were no significant differences in VO2max (aerobic capacity) occurred between the groups (HCD = 64.3 and LCD = 64.7 in ml/kg/min).

However, there was a significant difference in these measures:

• Maximal fat oxidation (HCD = 0.67 grams/min and LCD = 1.54 grams/min)
• Aerobic capacity and maximal fat oxidation (HCD = 54.89% and LCD = 70.25%)
• Maximal carb oxidation (HCD = 7.83 grams/min and LCD 5.65 grams/min)

What You Can Take From This Study

Surprisingly, elite ultra-marathoners who consumed a low-carb and high-fat diet experienced significant increases in maximal fat oxidation. The results were at least 50% greater than the highest rates ever reported. Wow. Talk about contradicting conventional wisdom.

“Your performance is contingent on many factors. It’s not solely based on the amount and ratio of carbs and fat you consume.”

Based on this study, using chronic aerobic training by high-level ultra-marathon athletes, LCD diets can facilitate fat oxidation better than conventional attempts. But before jumping to conclusions, lowering your carb intake, and increasing your fat intake, please consider that we need to see more studies like these:

• A similar study, but with only sprinter-type, anaerobic athletes.
• A similar study with female subjects.
• A similar study that uses longer-duration events, such as ten to sixty minutes of activity with both the LCD an HCD subjects.

Low-carb/high-fat diets may work, but you also need to consider the energy needs of your sport or activity, your ability to train and compete at a maximum level, your gender, and your goal of gaining, losing, or maintaining body fat. Your performance is contingent on many factors. It’s not solely based on the amount and ratio of carbs and fat you consume.

Check out these related articles:

• Ketonogenic Diets Do Not Compromise Performance
• 11 Simple Ways to Fuel Your Body With Real Food
• Eat to Perform – Simple Dietary Advice for the Athlete
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Davitt, et. al., “Maximal Fat Oxidation In High-level Ultra-marathon Runners Habitually Consuming Very Low-carbohydrate And High-carbohydrate Diets” (presentation, ACSM annual meeting, San Diego, CA, May 11, 2015).

2. “The Role of Carbohydrates,” Iowa State University, last accessed July 22, 2015.

Photos courtesy of Breaking Muscle.

The post Can Low-Carb Hurt Your Athletic Performance? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The researchers of the study suggest that there may be a dose-response relationship between carbohydrate consumption during exercise and immune response. Because of the advent of “light” sports drinks with low sugar content, the researchers wanted to know if there would be a difference in immune response between a standard sports drink, a light sports drink, and plain old water.

Study Design

Each participant completed an 18km to 20km run at seventy percent of their VO2 max three times, with a week in between the runs. Each time they drank from a one-liter bottle that contained one of the following three beverages:

• In one of the runs, the drink was a seven-percent solution of carbohydrates (70g of carbs).
• In another the drink was a light sports drink consisting of 1.5% carbohydrates (15g of carbs).
• The final trial was just flavored water.

Before and after each race, blood was drawn to determine immune response. The researchers were looking for markers of stress and immune response, such as the hormone cortisol and the cytokine interleukin-6. They also directly examined several types of white blood cell counts.

Results

As expected, there was no difference in performance. In fact, there was only a minute difference between each of the three trials. With a test length of over an hour and a half, that’s some pretty amazing consistency. Heart rate was highest in the high-carb group, although not significantly. This was perhaps due to increased energy need for digestion.

There were, however, significant differences in immune response. The expected dose-response was pretty much on point. The 1.5% solution seemed to help a little, but was largely the same as the flavored water. However, the seven-percent solution had a markedly reduced immune response.

The authors concluded that carbohydrate consumption should be utilized during distance running events. The ideal rate is about 45g per hour, which is the rate at which it was consumed in the seven-percent solution. The purpose, as we have seen, is not to improve performance in the short term, but rather to mitigate the need for immune response.

Another Interpretation

Let me offer an alternative possibility. It is likely that the researchers are correct, and the reduced immune response is due to reduced stress via carb consumption. However, based solely on these results, it’s also possible the carbohydrate simply reduced the specific response studied by the researchers, without actually decreasing the stress. This alternative conclusion would still be consistent with the results.

The end goal, the researchers say, is to help prevent future infections by less exposure to stress. There is no doubt that the immune response was reduced in the higher carbohydrate group. The goal of reduced infections would seem to be supported by the results of this study, but since the rate of infections was not studied, it’s hard to say. You might also expect that performance would increase with better immune response, but it did not.

One thing is for sure: performance is unaltered by high-carb intake in the short term. Whether or not carb consumption during endurance training is actually beneficial has yet to be seen, but this evidence is a step in the right direction.

References:

1. Johanna Stenholm, et. al., “Effects of Carbohydrate Ingestion on Acute Leukocyte, Cortisol and IL-6 Response in High-Intensity Long-Distance Running,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000470

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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I’m always amazed at how religious it can all seem, with one tribe’s belief flouted as being the one true way. Of the things people seem to get the most fanatical about, diet has to be number one. I’ve had people literally tell me they couldn’t survive without alcohol. Funny, because my understanding of the body says that in order to survive we need oxygen, water, and food. No alcohol. But probably the biggest fights I see people have are over carbohydrates.

The Argument Against Carbs

I think by now all athletic people on this planet know that the food pyramid has done nothing for us as a species other than give our kids diabetes and provide a handsome profit to food corporations. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition says:

The currently established human essential nutrients are water, energy, amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine), essential fatty acids (linoleic and α-linolenic acids), vitamins (ascorbic acid, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin, and vitamin B-12), minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron), trace minerals (zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, selenium, molybdenum, and chromium), electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and chloride), and ultratrace minerals.

Note the absence of specific carbohydrates from this list.

It then goes on to say:

Although there is certainly no evidence from which to conclude that extreme restriction of dietary carbohydrate is harmless…In fact, the consequential breakdown of fat as a result of carbohydrate restriction may be beneficial in the treatment of obesity. Perhaps it is time to carefully examine the issue of whether carbohydrate is an essential component of human nutrition.

But here’s the thing about treating all carbohydrate as evil. Vegetables are carbs. For many of you this is a no-brainer, but it bears repeating that digestion of vegetable matter is an energy-intensive process that consumes glucose. In addition, vegetables have a lot of fiber, which causes gut bacterial activity, which also leads to consuming glucose. In other words, vegetables shouldn’t count as part of your carb equation, and should be included in your diet.

Here’s the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition again:

When carbohydrates are eliminated from the diet, there is a risk that intakes of vitamins, minerals, and perhaps yet unidentified beneficial nutrients provided by carbohydrate-rich foodstuffs (e.g. fiber) will be inadequate. There are case reports of extreme dieters who probably developed deficiencies. One dieter who only ate cheese, meat, and eggs (no vegetables) was reported to have developed thiamine-deficient optic neuropathy. Another dieter may have developed a relapse of acute variegate porphyria.

Along with the tidal wave of anti-carb sentiment, there is an equal amount of gluten- and grain-based phobia and hatred. Look, I’m 100% on board that we don’t need wheat based anything in our diets. Looking historically at bread what I see is a food source that was cheap, easy to make, readily available, and portable. That meant that armies could march with loaves of bread in their pockets, leading to civilization spreading and from there to roads and towns being built – and all fueled by bread.

But most people don’t digest it well, and I simply can’t ignore the number of people I have worked with who feel significantly better once they remove bread from their diets.

More recently we’ve started to understand that many grains have inbuilt natural defense mechanisms in place to help the plant prosper. These defense mechanisms make digestion of them difficult and can lead to inflammation and upset stomachs. Mark Sisson wrote an excellent piece about grains and whether or not they belong in a diet that is oriented towards optimal health. And I’ve been lucky enough to meet world-leading immunobiologist Bill Giles who actually spearheaded this concept. Like with bread, the information is too strong to ignore.

But are carbohydrates all bad? 

The Argument For Carbs

For those involve with longer sessions – in excess of ninety minutes – some carbohydrate intake will be necessary. The body can only store about 1,500-1,800 cals of glycogen (the stored form of glucose, which is what carbohydrate is broken down into in the body). Using myself as an example I can burn 1,500 cals in about an hour and a half on a bike. So if I want to continue I have two choices at that point – either slow down to the point where I can use only fat as a fuel, or I can top up my carb fuel tank with additional glucose.

This gets us to another issue. Do you choose to consume modern energy products such as gels, drinks, or bars, or do you go for real food options? My preference is for real food for anything around the two-hour mark, and also to use real food for refueling after those efforts. (And I tend to use only fruit for after these sessions). For longer sessions, where carrying real food can be the main problem, I will use a combination of bars and gels, but drink water. As a general rule water is best for hydration, food is best for fuel. Don’t drink something you should eat.

And that is probably the defining factor, in my head, for whether people should eat carbohydrate beyond vegetables and some fruit – are they engaged in endurance training? Because the bottom line is that you do need glucose to fuel those kinds of sessions. That can either be gained during the session, or afterwards by refueling with smart choices such as potato, sweet potato, quinoa, or white rice (which doesn’t seem to have the same strength of defense mechanism that many other grains do). Precision Nutrition suggests a serving size of one-cup post exercise and from my observations with myself and those I train, this seems adequate, but to always include vegetables in every meal.

Carbs aren’t the devil and there is no need to avoid them. They might even make you faster.

References:

1. Westerman, E. “Is dietary carbohydrate essential for human nutrition?” Am J Clin Nutr May 2002 vol. 75 no. 5 951-953.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of antidepressants is up 400% when compared to the last couple decades, and Alzheimer’s disease costs this country $100 billion annually. That is not a typo – 400% and $100 billion. Could it be that our current recommended dietary guidelines are a contributing factor to this epidemic? The answer is most definitely yes.

Disclaimer: I do not think that diet is the only underlying issue here. We are chronically overstressed, sleep deprived, vitamin D deficient, sedentary, and tend to spend a lot of time alone. Those are all contributing factors to the decreased mood seen in this country. However, for today we are going to focus on nutritional aspects that are major contributing factors.

LEARN MORE: Optimal Dosing and Sourcing of Supplemental Vitamin D

The Possibilities of Eating Low Carb

We are encouraged by the USDA to eat a diet high in carbohydrates and low in fat. A study performed in 2012 and published in the Journal of Neurobiology and Aging put 23 older adults on a six-week diet that was either low carb or high carb. Although depressive mood was unchanged, there were reductions in weight, fasting glucose, waist circumference, and fasting insulin, as well as improvements in the verbal memory test of the low-carbohydrate group.¹

This study lasted only six weeks, yet showed increased cognitive ability for an older population with mild cognitive decline. What would happen if we ate like this all of the time?

The Value of Ketogenic Diets

Ketogenic diets have been used in the treatment of epilepsy for over eighty years. These are low-carb, low-protein, and high-fat diets that produce energy for cells in the form of ketones.

One ketone body in particular, B-hydroxybutyrate, protects neurons from degeneration as well as trauma. In a review written for the Journal of Behavioral Pharmacology the authors concluded by saying:

A wide variety of evidence suggests that the ketogenic diet could have beneficial disease-modifying effects in epilepsy and also in a broad range of neurological disorders characterized by death of neurons. Although the mechanism by which the diet confers neuroprotection is not fully understood, effects on cellular energetics are likely to play a key role. It has long been recognized that the ketogenic diet is associated with increased circulating levels of ketone bodies, which represent a more efficient fuel in the brain, and there may also be increased numbers of brain mitochondria. It is plausible that the enhanced energy production capacity resulting from these effects would confer neurons with greater ability to resist metabolic challenges. Additionally, biochemical changes induced by the diet – including the ketosis, high serum fat levels, and low serum glucose levels – could contribute to protection against neuronal death by apoptosis and necrosis through a multitude of additional mechanisms, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions. Theoretically, the ketogenic diet might have greater efficacy in children than in adults, inasmuch as younger brains have greater capacity to transport and utilize ketone bodies as an energy source.²

LEARN MORE: Do We Need Carbs for Performance?

Carbs, Depression, and Cognitive Decline

Let us focus on the cellular energetics piece. The study that compared the low-carb and high-carb diets in the 23 older patients showed no signs for improved depressive symptoms, but the elderly tend to have higher rates of depression than the rest of the population. There are a number of reasons this could be.

Oxidative damage builds up over time and is associated with aging and all the diseases that accompany the aging process. The elderly will likely have increased oxidative damage, as well as the loss of loved ones. They tend to live in nursing homes alone, which will decrease oxytocin, which is a potent chemical that is protective of depressive disorders. Also, homebound elderly people are likely to suffer from vitamin D deficiency.³

THE SCIENCE BEHIND IT: Hugs Are Awesome (And Good For Your Health, Too)

Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes have strong correlations with depressive disorders. In young adults, insulin resistance was correlated with higher depressive rates and a meta-analysis of 42 research studies found that people with type 2 diabetes were twice as likely to be depressed as people without diabetes.⁴

Type 2 diabetes is on the rise in both children and adults and is becoming a worldwide epidemic. We develop insulin resistance and later on type 2 diabetes from eating too many carbohydrates. According to the research presented in this paper, once we develop insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, we are at greater risk for depressive mood and cognitive decline.

BEYOND DIET: 60 Minutes of Exercise Can Improve Insulin Resistance 25%

Low-carbohydrate diets have been shown to improve cognitive impairment, increase glucose sensitivity, decrease fasting insulin, and protect neurons from degeneration and trauma. To summarize, high-carb diets cause all those issues, and low-carb diets reverse symptoms of all those issues.

Perhaps this is an underlying mechanism of this epidemic? With that said, I am not anti-carbohydrate and have written the reasons why here. However, the recommendation for 45-65% of our calories coming from carbohydrates to a population where two-thirds of the people are overweight or obese is incorrect. Aim for 20-40% of your calories coming from carbohydrates in the form of tubers and fruits.

FURTHER READING: Is Starch Dangerous? Don’t Worry About Grain Brain

In future articles, we will dissect specific fats and how they positively and negatively affect brain health.

References:

1. Krikorian, R, et. Al., “Dietary ketosis enhances memory in mild cognitive impairment.” Neurobiology of Aging (2012). Retrieved on March 14, 2014.

2. Gasior, Marcie, et. Al., “Neuroprotective and disease-modifying effects of the ketogenic diet.” Behavioral Pharmacology (2006). Retrieved on March 14, 2014.

3. Gloth, FM, et. Al., “Vitamin D deficiency in homebound elderly persons.” JAMA (1995). Retrieved on March 14, 2014.

4. Pearson, Sue, et. Al., “Depression and Insulin Resistance: Cross-sectional associations in young adults.” Diabetes Care (2014). Retrieved on March 14, 2014.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Your Food and Your Mood: Carbs, Depression, and Cognitive Decline appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Ketogenic diets are extremely useful therapeutic tools when fighting neurodegeneration. In fact, research has been around for over eighty years stating the positive benefits of ketogenic diets to treat diseases such as epilepsy. There is also abundant research showing that ketogenic diets are beneficial in treating Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, and stroke.¹ But just because it is a beneficial diet to treat those with neurodegeneration, does not make it necessarily beneficial for the entire population. 

Let me clarify what I mean when I say starch. I think we all can agree that refined sugar and processed foods are bad for everyone. When I talk about starch I am referring to unrefined, whole-food carbohydrates such as fruits and root tubers. Fruits have been part of our diet since before we were even human. Dr. Daniel Lieberman goes into great detail about our evolution with food in his book titled The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. He is a doctor of evolutionary biology at Harvard University and he believes that starches such as root tubers were a major piece in our evolution and allowed us to carry on and spread as a species.

Due to these benefits of starch, we have developed an increased means to digest it. In fact, humans contain anywhere between two and fifteen copies of the amylase gene. Amylase is an enzyme used to breakdown starch. The numbers of copies of the amylase gene varies amongst populations. Populations consuming more starch have more copies of this gene. This shows a positive selection of this gene.² This shows natural selection favoring the consumption of starch. Is there a genetic variation in starch consumption? The answer to this question is more than likely yes. Some people will be able to tolerate higher levels of starch than others.

There are also modern day groups that eat a diet consisting of high amounts of starch. The prevelance of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and inflammatory disease is extremely rare. These groups include the Kitavans who consume 69% of their daily calories from carbohydrates, the Okinawans who consume 85% carbohydrates, and the Tukisenta who consume 95% of their daily calories from carbohydrates.

Having too few carbohydrates can have some negative side effects. For one, going too low carb can have some negative side effects on the thyroid hormones.³ This can make losing weight difficult, increase stress levels, and even make your hair start falling out. Also, going too low carb can have negative effects on steroid hormones such as testosterone.⁴

Gluconeogenesis is the process by which we make glucose from other substances such as amino acids and glycerol. The fact that we make glucose from other substances shows its importance to the human body. The process of gluconeogenesis is a stressor and raises cortisol levels. While a little bit of this can be good for weight loss, too much is a bad thing. Cortisol induces insulin resistance and insulin resistance can lead to diabetes and other major health concerns.⁵

Carbohydrates also play an important role in our ability to be physically active. Physical activity requires massive amounts of glucose. Carbohydrates are the only macronutrient that can be metabolized in an anaerobic state and depleting muscle glycogen, our storage form of glucose, actually leads to fatigue. This makes carbohydrates essential for performance and recovery.

Now, am I saying that everyone should be eating a high carbohydrate diet? Absolutely not. There are positive benefits to a low carb diet if we are overweight and have insulin resistance. Eating low carb can be a useful tool in helping reverse some parameters of metabolic syndrome. As I stated earlier there is also genetic variations amongst populations. Tinkering with carbohydrate intake may be necessary to determine where you feel best on the scale. Some people do much better on a lower carb diet and others do well on a higher carb diet.

But to remove an entire macronutrient group for preventative measures is unnecessary. Starch plays an important role in human function. It supplies us with the glucose we need to survive, it fuels physical activity, and in its absence we can run into thyroid and other hormonal issues. If we have some type of metabolic issues we may benefit from a lower carb diet, but healthy people, do not fear your carbs. Have some potatoes at Thanksgiving!

References:

1. Gasior, Marciej, et Al., Neuroprotective and disease-modifying benefits of a ketogenic diet. PubMed 2006. Retrieved on November 11, 2013.

2. Perry, George, et al., Diet and the evolution of human amylase gene copy number variation. Nature Genetics (2007). Retrieved on November 11, 2013.

3. Danforth, E, et al., Dietary induced alterations in thyroid hormone metabolism during overnutrition. PubMed (1979). Retrieved on November 11, 2013.

4. Anderson, KE, et al., Diet-hormone interactions: protein/carbohydrate ratio alters reciprocally the plasma levels of testosterone and cortisol and their respective binding globulins in man. Life Sciences (1987).

5. Khani, S and Tayek, JA. Cortisol increases gluconeogenesis in humans: its role in the metabolic syndrome. Clinical Science (1979). Retrieved on November 11, 2013.

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During the carbohydrate session, each athlete consumed a loading dose well before the exercise session. This dose was one gram of carb per kilogram of bodyweight. This equates to 50-70g of carbs for an average woman and about 75-100g of carbs for an average man. For the women, that’s equivalent to at least a 32oz bottle of Gatorade. Some of the men might require almost two bottles. Directly before the exercise session, each athlete consumed a much weaker dose of carbs and continued to consume that weaker dose throughout the session. Alternatively, during the placebo condition, each athlete drank artificially sweetened water.

When the grueling gauntlet of leg extensions was over, researchers found that all six athletes had produced significantly more work during the carbohydrate session. The carbohydrates had kept their blood glucose levels higher than the placebo, presumably making glycogen more available to their muscles for energy production. In other studies, carbohydrate supplementation during exercise has also been shown to elevate growth hormone production up to six hours post exercise. All the data point to the fact that athletes need carbohydrates for optimum performance and recovery.

But many dedicated athletes view carbohydrates as the nutritional boogeyman. These athletes are usually well-informed on nutrition, and have used a limited carbohydrate diet to improve their body composition. I know this because I used to be one of these people.

Without consuming carbohydrates before and after exercise, your performance is going to suffer, putting on muscle mass will seem impossible, and you may start to feel adrenal fatigue from chronically elevated cortisol levels. If you’re performing a very high volume of training, you may need to pound carbs at most of your meals. A pre- and post-workout shake may not be enough.

But if you only train recreationally for two or three hours per week, then a limited carbohydrate diet is probably going to align better with your goals. Be honest with yourself about your goals and your volume of training. If you’re training high volume or trying to put on mass, you simply won’t get there without carbohydrate supplementation.

References:

1. Benjamin Wax et al. Effects of Supplemental Carbohydrate Ingestion During Superimposed Electromyostimulation Exercise in Elite Weightlifters. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. Nov 2013. Vol 27. Issue 11. p3084–3090. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31828c26ec

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However, some people believe these notions are simply supplement company hype combined with misinterpretations of existing studies. In a review published this month in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, researchers examined the existing literature on this topic. The researchers focused on the importance of carbs ingested with protein after a workout and also asked whether the carbs need to have a high glycemic index in order to be most effective as a recovery aid.

The first and foremost reason to ingest carbs post workout is to replenish glycogen stores. Glycogen is the chemical form of carbohydrates that is stored in the muscles. When you do any kind of exercise that requires you to burn your glycogen stores, it’s important you replace the gylcogen that was lost.

However, that’s not really the issue with a post-workout ratio of carbs to protein. In some workouts, you may burn a few grams glycogen for fuel, and in others you may nearly exhaust the glycogen in your skeletal muscle. You also need protein after exercise to repair and build muscle tissue. Getting enough protein after workouts will help stimulate protein synthesis, which is the creation of new muscle.

The main purpose of a ratio of carbs to protein is to further stimulate protein synthesis. Protein synthesis would theoretically occur as a result of an increase in insulin, which is where the high glycemic value comes in. When a carbohydrate has a high glycemic index, it enters the bloodstream quickly and usually stimulates insulin quickly. Insulin is an anabolic hormone, meaning it supports the creation of new muscle, generally by improving the uptake of protein – and, incidentally, the carbs that come in with the protein.

As it turns out, this extra insulin boost from high-glycemic carbs is probably not necessary. While insulin is needed for protein synthesis, it seems that the low amounts stimulated by protein alone are sufficient for the creation of new muscle. In fact, the researchers found post-exercise insulin levels that were thirty times higher than resting insulin levels did not seem to affect protein synthesis.

Further, protein degradation caused by exercise is sometimes cited as another reason we need high insulin-promoting carbs after exercise. However, once again, the amount of insulin stimulated by protein alone is sufficient to prevent protein breakdown after exercise.

Carbohydrates may be useful for recovery in some scenarios, such as when you need to recover quickly between workouts. However, when it comes to repairing or building muscle through the stimulation of protein synthesis, the researchers said more research is warranted. At present, there is no evidence to support the claim that post-workout carbs in any ratio are needed for protein synthesis. Protein seems to be enough on its own.

References:

1. Vandré Figueiredo, et. al., “Is carbohydrate needed to further stimulate muscle protein synthesis/hypertrophy following resistance exercise,” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2013, 10:42.

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The evidence to support a reduction in carbohydrate intake for athletes has been pretty substantial. But one area that has been poorly studied is the influence of carbohydrates on the technical demands of sport. In a recent study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, researchers wanted to find out if carbs affect technical components of gymnastics.

This may seem like a strange thing to study. Carbs are for energy, but it seems if we have enough fat to fuel most of our efforts, we are safe to reduce carbs. Looking at it from the perspective of providing energy for your muscles, it is true we can have great athletic success with low-carbohydrate diets. But it seems less likely that carbs would affect technique on the surface, especially when we don’t need much to fuel our muscles.

Looking at our blood we arrive at the reason why carbs can affect technique. We have blood sugar – a pretty consistent level of blood sugar, in fact. The purpose of consistent blood sugar isn’t actually for our muscles – they have their own store of carbs called glycogen – but actually for our nerves. Unlike our muscles, our nerves don’t store carbohydrates, so they need a constant supply. When we exercise, our muscles begin to draw from our blood sugar, potentially leaving less for our nerves, and voila, technique might suffer.

To study this phenomenon, researchers examined young female gymnasts during a balance beam workout. Some of them drank a carb drink and some of them didn’t. Some of them were already fatigued before getting on the balance beam and some weren’t. Considering what the researchers believed might happen – that those without carbs would take a header off the beam more often – it seems like a cruel test, but I suppose that makes it easier for study.

Sure enough, the girls who went carbless and were fatigued ahead of time fell off the beam over twice as much as those who were fatigued ahead of time but drank a twenty percent carb solution.

Now let’s consider what this means for non-gymnasts. Anyone engaged in a technical sport, such as a combat sport, can benefit from this knowledge. When a highly technical demand is coupled with fatigue, our technique fails. This may be obvious on a high beam like in this study, but in other sports the effect might be more subtle, although no less important.

I’ve been a proponent of diet plans like the paleo diet for athletes, but for those engaged in sports with a highly technical component, both avoiding fatigue and consuming carbs while working on technique is probably beneficial. If your technique were to succeed more than twice as often, think of what that means for your training. Under a paleo diet guideline, this means eating a banana or something similar while you train.

References:

1. Helena Batatinha, et. al., “Carbohydrate use and reduction in number of balance beam falls: implications for mental and physical fatigue,” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2013, 10:32.

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Wrong Idea?

I am not saying that you should go to McDonald’s and slam three Big Macs and a silo of soda just because it fits your daily macros. Obviously, it’s better to plan your diet around good, micronutrient-rich healthy foods. However, if you need to have that pint of ice cream or something else you have been craving, you may fit that into your daily macronutrients and not have it negatively affect your body composition.

But, what about the glycemic index (GI), dummy?

GI is absolutely irrelevant when it comes to body composition due to the metabolic equation, which is similar to the law of thermodynamics. There are always going to be insulin spikes, no matter what you eat. What is important is your total caloric content during the day. Your body will use the energy it needs, regardless of where it has to get the energy. Low GI or high GI, it does not matter.

I would add, for those athletes on performance enhancing drugs, there may be a small positive effect to eating lower glycemic foods and eating on a schedule, as hormone levels may be fluctuating much more. As such there may be added benefit depending on what “supplements” are being taken, but that’s not really relevant for most of us.

The Truth About Carbs

“Carbohydrate” is nothing more than a dressed-up name for sugar. I’ve said this time and time again – the end results of a bagel, a Pixy Stick, and a baked potato are essentially the same. The body will break them down into glucose.

The body needs readily available sources of energy like glucose and carbs, otherwise your body will tap into your muscle tissue. Anaerobic exercise (like weight training) uses almost exclusively glucose for energy, through the process of glycolysis. Carbohydrates, fatty tissues, and dietary fats all have great protein sparing effects, which is important in conserving muscle tissue.

The bottom line is, in the event of a calorie surplus (after carbs are converted to glucose), whatever is not used to fuel bodily functions is shuttled into fat stores. Unused carbohydrates (and other macronutrients, for that matter) will make you gain body fat. Our primary goal with carbohydrates is to provide enough energy for the body, but no more.

Carb Cycling

Carb cycling is a strategy employed by many athletes trying to lose body fat. This involves following a plan that would be three to four low carb days, followed by one high carb day. The low carb days will create both a carbohydrate deficit and a calorie deficit (typically) that will help burn excess body fat. The high carb day will “fool” your body into thinking you are not dieting anymore, and some of those hormones that we need to burn fat will start to rise again. One of the reasons I believe this works is that your body likes homeostasis, and you are constantly changing a large variable here, leaving your body reacting in order to seek equilibrium.

Another good reason to have a high carb day is to replenish muscle glycogen. This is important to have as a direct source of energy for our workouts. I would recommend not going any lower than 100 grams of carbohydrates on low days, as we would like to avoid ketosis. With this kind of diet, you can plan on seeing some big results, and be able to really take a day to relax with more carbs.

Back To IIFYM

There is no such thing as eating “clean” foods or “bad” foods (again, as far as body composition is concerned, not overall health). Body composition is regulated by macronutrient targets and calorie requirements, and you can fill those with foods of your preference.

For example the following two meals are roughly equal:

1. 600 calories, 30 grams carbohydrates, 40 grams protein, and 25 grams fat derived from 8oz chicken breast, 8oz broccoli, 8oz white rice, and 2 tsp Smart Balance butter.
2. 600 calories, 40 grams carbohydrates, 30 grams protein, and 20 grams fat derived from 3 slices of Papa John’s chicken Alfredo pizza.

Now, for myself personally, to cut from where I am now to 7% body fat, my macronutrient breakdown is something like 250 grams protein, 230 grams carbohydrates, and 80 grams of fat. I can meet these numbers by eating traditionally “clean” foods for the most part. If I choose to meet them by eating pizza and a dish of ice cream or drinking a Coke, I may not feel quite as well, but it will make no difference in body composition.

Summary

When it comes to body composition, IIFYM is a great slogan to live by. Understanding the truth about carbohydrates and macronutrients can make all the difference between you giving up on your workout, diet or exercise regimen solely because you “gave in” to something greasy and continuing onward and upward toward obtaining your fitness goals.

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One thing most people know is that insulin responds to carbohydrates, and because diabetes is a metabolic disease centered on the insulin systems of the body, control of carbohydrate intake is paramount. A study this month in the Nutrition Journal examined the consumption of fruit in regards to diabetes.

Many doctors recommend the restriction of fruit intake to their patients afflicted with diabetes, and researchers wished to find out if this was a valid method of improving diabetes symptoms. Fruit is healthy, but amongst natural foods, it does tend to be higher in carbohydrates. By restricting fruit, you lose beneficial nutrients, but you also reduce carbohydrate intake, leaving doctors and diabetics with a dilemma.

The researchers looked at two groups of diabetic subjects. Both groups received medical care but with differing advice regarding fruit intake. Every patient completed the trial, and all but one followed the guidelines for eating fruit. Participants in the high fruit group were allowed more than two pieces of fruit a day, while those in the low fruit group were allowed no more than two pieces of fruit per day.

The high fruit group increased fruit intake from previous to the study by an average of 125 grams a day, which is about as much as a small apple. The low fruit group decreased intake by about 51 grams, which is only around half a cup of apples. These aren’t earth shattering differences in fruit amounts, but on average the difference between their respective adjustments was about the size of one standard piece of fruit.

The researchers examined waist circumference, body weight, and HbA1c, which is the amount of hemoglobin in your blond bonded with glucose. Each is a predictor of diabetes and the severity of existing diabetes cases. When the results came back there was no difference in any of those areas in either group, and in fact, both groups had a reduction in HbA1c.

Now, it’s important to be careful about what exactly is being studied. When you think about it, you’ll notice this study has as much to do with adherence to advice as it does with fruit intake. The difference of fewer than 200 grams of fruit total between each group is only about as much as a medium-sized apple a day. (And you know what they say about eating an apple every day.) The carbohydrate difference there was only perhaps about 25 grams daily, and that’s just in fruit. Since the fruit was higher in fiber, and the study wasn’t controlled for total carbohydrate intake, we need to examine the impact of these results with a fine-tooth comb.

With adherence to standard advice, there is no difference in markers of diabetes. However, this isn’t free license for a diabetic to go crazy eating fruit non-stop. Remember, carbohydrate intake is and will always be a necessary component to control for a diabetic. Eating one piece of fruit a day will probably give a diabetic health benefits, but beyond that, total dietary carbohydrate is probably more important.

References:

1. Allan Christensen, et.al., “Effect of fruit restriction on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes – a randomized trial,” Nutrition Journal, 12:29 (2013)

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