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by Betty Jo Thaman
Do you live by the "no-carbs" mantra? Are the Atkins and South Beach diet books a prominent part of your personal library? Contrary to what we are led to believe through the media, diet books, and the so-called nutrition experts - carbohydrates are not our enemy and ARE NOT the only reason we are continuing to get fatter as a society. In fact, carbohydrates are essential in supplying energy to your muscles so that you can get the most out of each workout. Diets deficient in carbs will almost certainly lead to decreased performance in your workouts. Carbohydrates are important after exercise as they replace the glycogen lost during training, thus allowing your muscles to recover faster.
The confusion lies in the fact that not all carbs are created equal. Some provide you with a slow and steady stream of energy (low GI), while others deliver fast and short bursts of fuel (high GI). GI (glycemic index) is a ranking system that assigns a number from 1 to 100 to a food based on how quickly the carbohydrates in it enter your system.
Here is what to eat and when:
· Before you exercise: Go low GI here. It has been shown that eating low GI foods about 2 hours before a workout help maintain steady blood sugar levels during exercise compared with high GI foods. Examples include fruit, oatmeal, and yogurt. However, if you are minutes away from working out and need a quick pick me up, go for a sports drink or energy bar, which will get carbohydrates into your system faster.
· During exercise: Go high GI. Sports drinks work great because they offer an immediate source of sugar for your hard-working muscles. Also, these quick release carbohydrates keep you feeling alert, as your brain thrives on sugar for fuel.
· After exercise: High GI foods are essential when you are trying to restock your glycogen stores. It has been shown that eating high GI foods after an exhausting training session boosts glycogen stores almost twice as much as equal amounts of low GI foods. After training, go for cereals, pancakes, bagels, and potatoes.
· Rest of the day: During the other 23 hours of the day while not training, research suggests low GI foods. Here is why: When you eat high GI foods, your blood sugar levels soar, resulting in a surge of your insulin levels in a response by your body to send the sugar into your muscles. Occasional insulin spikes are ok, but repeated spikes take a toll on your health. Countless research studies have shown a link in a predominately high GI diet to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
Therefore, the healthiest diets will consist of mostly fruits, vegetables, brown rice, lentils, oatmeal, and whole grain breads, cereals, tortillas, crackers and pasta, as they all tend to be low GI foods/complex carbohydrates.
Betty Jo Thaman, personal trainer at Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, can be reached at bjthaman@netzero.com.
