Make me realise that carbohydrates are not the devil
Every article I read, carbohydrates are stated as "solely for energy", thus I constantly feel inclined to restrict carbohydrates. However, I know that I don't need that much protein anyway, can any more informed person help me out here?
Thanks (:
If you like reading articles you can counterbalance the 'anti-carb' ones you've seen with this excellent one about the benefits of Starchy Foods. Carbohydrates are the body's main source of short-term energy... that's very true. Rather like a car needs petrol or diesel, your body also needs fuel. But they don't 'solely' provide energy.... that's only part of the picture. Luckily for us, there are a wide range of different carbohydrates.
Fruit and vegetables are carbohydrates chock full of vitamins and minerals plus lots of useful dietary fibre. Pulses/legumes are carbohydrates that also give us useful protein, iron and again, dietary fibre. Nuts and seeds are another type of carbohydrate providing essential fatty acids, calcium, protein and fibre. Wholegrains like wheat, brown rice and oats are carbohydrates with a very rich vitamin B content... essential for the body to repair.... plus other essential nutrients also yet more dietary fibre. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, squashes and root vegetables are another form of carbohydrates... they have an excellent vitamin C & vitamin A content, for example.
Refined carbohydrates deliver the same energy but contain less of the other benefits. Strip the bran and the germ from a grain of wheat to make white flour and you lose a lot of the minerals and vitamins. But even then... a slice of white bread is a long way from 'evil'.
Carbohydrates are the building block for good health and a long life..... Enjoy them all!
you need all three; carbs, proteins and fat. don't "restrict" any of them.
carbs are used for energy, yes. but they're not just used for exercise energy, they're used to help you stay awake during school or work and have the energy to focus and do your best. carbohydrates are important, and they taste really good ;)
protein is also important for building and maintaining good muscles. even if you don't do alot of exercise or strength training, you still need protein to maintain the muscle you have!
and everybody eneds to eat some fat because it insulates your body, and it cushions your brain. infact, 60% of our brains are made of fat.
let me add this little note: if your body didint need carbs... why would it turn more than 10 percent of the fat you eat into carbohyrates from glycerol if you didnt eat enough of em?
With a name like toasttoasttoast? Tsk, tsk (just kidding!) Anyway, gi-jane summed it upped very well but, as I know you are interested in building muscle, I thought you might like to hear about something I read recently. Preliminary studies indicate that oatmeal (a carbohydrate) raises the levels of free testosterone in your body, enhancing the body's ability to build muscle and burn fat.
There is a reason, as stated, for having carbs. In fact, a diet consisting of mostly carbs is probably your best diet. Fats and protein have their place, and are necessary as well.
Most notably you need fat to restore and create cell membranes (on every cell in your body), and help maintain myelin sheeths around nerve fibers. The reason you hear about "good" fats and "bad" fats are the different effects they have on membranes (i.e. they can cause too much fluidity, or too little, and restrict proper balance between the intra and extra cellular environments).
Proteins are necessary, as stated for maintaining and building muscle among other things
Carbs, oh our dear friend carbs. These are the workhorses of the body, and provide your main source of energy. Energy is NECESSARY, even if you're not working out and running around like a goon. Your BMR is probably somewhere around 1700 calories or so, and you need to get that from somewhere. It is easiest for the body to use carbohydrates, so why not use them. Also, they provide the necessary breakdown products that can "power" red blood cells...and you can't get that from any other source.
So the main story here is that you need a balance of all 3. IF you're going to restrict one of the three, the best bet is carbs...but not any where near the restriction that some diets call for. The best idea is to maintain the ratios and just cut down on everything. When you do this, and fall below your BMR as far as intake is concerned, your body switches to fat metabolism (from your fat stores) and you lose weight while maintaining proper intake of all the building blocks your body needs to function correctly.
I think it depends on the person. I feel terrible & tired when my daily diet includes a lot of carbs. I'm talking about carbs coming from grains. I do eat one slice of bread a day with breakfast and one big salad for either lunch or dinner. Otherwise, my meals/snacks are basically protein based.
If you overeat carbs, you play havoc with your blood sugar. Type 2 diabetes, high triglycerides, foot ulcers, cardiac problems.
If you overeat fats, arteriosclerosis and high cholesterol are your fate.
I don't know what would happen overeating protein, but normally it comes along with lots of fat (meat or veg diet) or carbs (veg diet)and their problems.
I agree that unless one has a medical condition that restricts a certain food, there are no BAD foods, maybe bad quantities or bad combinations.
I do agree that one loses weight quickly while restrticting carbs, I've done it myself.
Many, many 
times.
Get my point.
Carbohydrates are turned into glucose & raise insulin levels. In other words: when you eat carbs they're processed into sugar, your insulin spikes & after your insulin begins to fall you feel hungry again.
I am on a restricted carbohydrate diet for medical reasons. They are not the building block for good health, many people just choose to eat them.
To the person who suggested that a high fat diet leads to high cholesterol, that is simply untrue. Studies have been done on those following a high fat diet & actually found they had less cholesterol. Here are some articles:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/ 080826190948.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25708495/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=7732955
http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/10786A.htm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,384362,00.html (yeah, I know, fox news. I'm rushed & these are the results of page 1 google)
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20031111/low-c arb-high-fat-diet-drops-weight
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20031111/low-c arb-high-fat-diet-drops-weight
http://dir.salon.com/story/news/wire/2002/11/ 18/atkins/index.html
In the end it's your choice how you eat. Don't let anyone on the Internet tell you what's best for you. If you're inclined to restrict carbs, follow a plan and see what happens. The best part about trying something new is that if it doesn't work for you, you can change it!
i second high fat DOES NOT lead to high cholesterol.... it does lower it you need cholesterol to manage cholesterol
on the carbs deal... i dont really eat them much at all,
but i will however sit down and eat and entire______(insert any animal/nut here) hahaha
ill also chow down all ____(insert any veggie) cooked in butter/cheese
only usually eat the skin if i have to eat a potato with ketchup... dont really eat much bread unless again i have to and dont do rice/pasta junk its not real food to me
ps- i prolly wasnt much help on the "you need them" but if you eat up the other stuff a lot you really dont
It's a different story at normal weight. I dropped a lot of carbs from my diet to lose weight, and added more fats, and I counted calories in order to maintain a deficit. My cholesterol numbers came down as the weight came off. This surprised me, but it confirms malibu2008 and carleyrepp's contention that eating fats in a balanced diet doesn't raise cholesterol. The devil is overeating them.
