Just the Tips: Carbs

I’m that person who rips off band-aids. Sometimes I’ll ask, but usually I’ll just grip it and rip it. So I’m going to start with carbs. Grip it, and rip it.

Carbohydrates — a group of foods primarily composed of carbon chains. These carbon backbones are molecularly rather simple, and the differentiation between foods has more to do with the larger structure of the carbon chain and other chemicals present that might add smells, taste, or maybe even nutritional value.

Because of their typically simple composition, carbs are definitely “easier” for the body to break down. That said, there are still categories of carbohydrates that might help elucidate some of the differentiation between foods.

• Simple carbs are the foods that are as chemically simple as they can be. They’re usually synthetically produced, or processed, like the sugars used in candies or to produce products like white bread.
• Complex carbs are larger more complicated carbon chains. They’re found in less processed foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grain products.
• Indigestible carbon chains are the super complex molecules that your body just can’t manage to breakdown. This ends up being listed under ‘Dietary Fiber’ which is under the ‘Total Carbs’ section of nutritional facts.

Most of these things are carbs, it’s not just the bread.

When considering what to put in your body, it’s helpful to recognize that if it’s overly processed and manufactured, it’s probably easy to make. AND if it’s easy to make, then it’s easy to break. Your body will do a great job of breaking down simple carbs into energy. It means that calorically, they’re rather efficient. On the other hand, it will require more work (which here means you will burn more calories in digestion) to break down complex carbs into energy. You’ll get the same energy either way, but there’s a difference in delivery.

When you digest simple carbs, and your body is a rockstar at breaking them down, you’ll get the energy burst nice and fast. This is great if you NEED to burn energy in the near future. If you don’t, then you’re giving your body energy it doesn’t need.

When the body gets energy it doesn’t need, it does its best to store it for later. Physiologically speaking, energy stored in the body is fat.

Well, too much of a good thing and all that.

So, by providing your body with complex carbs instead, you reduce the caloric efficiency of digesting that food — it takes more energy to break it down, so the net gain in energy is less. In doing so, you’re not overloading your system with excess energy, provided you change literally nothing else about your intake of carbs.

Rule Two — Simple carbs are great for fast energy WHEN YOU NEED IT. Otherwise, prefer complex carbs.

There are two other dials to adjust in terms of dietary carbohydrate intake.
I’ve just addressed “which carbs,” but there’s also “when carbs,” and “how many carbs?”

The latter question is a bit easier; put shortly, you’re probably eating too many carbs. Carbohydrates are useful to provide energy through our bodies primary energy production process, glycolysis. Historically and evolutionary, I can imagine it was very helpful to be able to have a nice carb-heavy snack for a burst of energy for the labor of the day. With the advent of caffeine, combined with the average American’s largely sedentary lifestyle, the need for that amount and frequency of energy just isn’t there anymore.

Rule Three — The less active you are, the less carbs your body NEEDS.

I’m not suggesting you remove carbs entirely. That’s possible, but it’s a topic for another time. For now, I suggest first you get an idea of how many grams of carbohydrates you get each day. While you’re doing that, try to be mindful of how many of those grams are added sugars. For the average person to maintain their body weight and function, they should be ingesting around ¾ of a gram of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight everyday. So if you weigh 160 lbs, you’re looking at 120 grams. For reference, that’s about four large apples/bananas, OR about two and a half bagels/cups of pasta with NOTHING ON IT. It’s going to feel like less than you expect, and probably less than you want.

Rip the bandage off. There’s good news on the horizon.

Finally, it’s time to consider the “when carbs” question. We know now that carbs are great for quick energy, with simple carbs being best for super fast results. Considering that fact, I suggest limiting simple carbs to soon before or immediately after rigorous physical activity. You can get a nice burst of energy for the exercise, or provide your body the calories it’s craving quickly after expending a bunch.

For more complex carbs, in the states we are VERY used to the idea of “3 large meals a day.” It’s been baked into schedules and preferences, but large chunks of carbs do even less for us now than ever since we don’t usually have scheduled large-energy expenditures. It’s better for us to parcel out our carb intake to maintain the steady, small stream of energy our body genuinely NEEDS throughout our day.

Rule Four — Carbohydrates are best as small snacks eaten semi-regularly during the day.

I’ll come back to this with fats and snacks but roasted veggies are PRIMO snack material.

Genuinely, there is more that I’m not going to cover in earnest — fine nuance like the difference between Russet potatoes and sweet potatoes. For now, keep it simple and start to build a healthier relationship with carbs (if that’s earnestly something you want to do).

I didn’t talk about that third category of carbs — dietary fiber. You can’t digest it, it’s the fibers found in vegetables or grains that provide the plant-like structure of the food. You do need to eat fiber though; in the digestion process, fiber helps maintain a proper water balance by requiring the body to keep water in the digested slop that’s running through your intestines. If there’s not enough fiber, the body won’t give enough water, and you’ll get constipated. With a lot of fiber, your body will give too much water, and you’ll have diarrhea (and subsequently be dehydrated). With even MORE fiber, your body won’t have enough water to give and you’ll be constipated. Feels like a battle we’re destined to lose. Just try to aim for between 20 and 30 grams of fiber FROM FOOD a day. That’s a decently large range, but it should be easier to get if you prefer complex carbs, since the reduced processing of these carbs means their plant-based fibers are much more intact when you eat them.

You made it through. That’s the basics of carbs. If you want one simple takeaway:

Eat less processed carbs in smaller amounts more often.

Give it a try.

Sincerely Not Starchy,

August