The Win On Purpose Podcast

15: "Let's Talk Macros" Series: PT 3- Carbohydrates

• Adam Kelley • Episode 15

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Carbohydrates are essential for energy, brain function, and overall health, yet they have been misunderstood and vilified in recent years. This episode explores the benefits of carbohydrates, dispels common myths, and emphasizes the importance of balance and context in nutrition.

• Explaining what carbohydrates are and their chemical composition 
• Identifying sources of healthy carbohydrates, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains 
• Discussing the multiple benefits of carbohydrates for the body and brain 
• Debunking myths, including the notion that all carbs are harmful 
• Emphasizing the importance of moderation and balance in carbohydrate consumption

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to another episode of the Win On Purpose podcast. This week we are covering all things carbohydrates, so we're in a series called let's Talk Macros. This is part three, so you guys make sure you check out the other episodes if you haven't yet. But we're going to break down carbohydrates what they are, the benefits of them and also dispel some misconceptions that have been put out there in recent years against carbohydrates, because I promise you spoiler alert, they are not bad for you. All right, guys, enjoy the episode and we'll see you on the other side.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Win On Purpose podcast From health and fitness, business, personal development, relationships and more. We promise you will find inspiration to help you win on purpose in all areas of your life journey. Now for your host, adam Kelly.

Speaker 1:

What's up everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. Appreciate you guys for tuning in. Coach AK here with another episode and we're continuing on in our series called let's Talk Macros. So this is going to be part three. We're going to be talking about carbohydrates, giving you guys a thorough breakdown or at least probably more like a elementary entry-level breakdown. But we're going to be talking about carbohydrates. The last episode we broke down protein, the importance of it, how to get it in, what the benefits are and ways that you can start implementing adequate protein into your life, just by kind of guesstimation. So really good to check out there the first part before the protein episode we give just kind of like a general overview of macronutrients the three macronutrients, how many calories are contained per gram, the three macronutrients, how many calories are contained per gram, and just entry level. So start with that one, then work your way to this episode, part three. So, like I said, we're talking about carbohydrates. But before we get into that, let me just start by saying, if you guys don't mind, give us some stars, give us some likes on whatever you're viewing or listening to this on, rather, youtube, on the actual video, or if you're on a podcast streaming platform of any type. Please, guys, help us out there. It's extremely beneficial. It helps us get the message out there, helps us get the podcast out there and helps us help as many people as possible. So appreciate the love there.

Speaker 1:

All right, so on carbohydrates. What is a carbohydrate? Great question. Carbohydrates encompass a broad range of sugars, starches and fiber. The basic building block of a carbohydrate is a simple union of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The chemical definition of a carbohydrate is any compound containing these three elements and having twice as many hydrogen atoms as oxygen and carbon. All right, so there's a little scientific definition, breakdown of what carbohydrates are. You're welcome.

Speaker 1:

Now let's talk about some sources of carbohydrates. Where can you get the best carbohydrates from? Because, again, there's a broad some sources of carbohydrates. Where can you get the best carbohydrates from? Because, again, there's a broad range of different carbohydrates. So what we always suggest is to start healthy, because this is all about transforming our health, becoming best versions of ourselves, and that's going to be. Fruits and vegetables are always going to be the top. Probably vegetables over fruit, just because of it's a little bit more fiber content, probably some more micronutrients in there and just a little bit easier to control consumption. Also grains. So whole grains, another great option of carbohydrates. And many dairy products also naturally contain carbohydrates in varying amounts, including sugars. So your you know, milk cheeses, things like that, may contain a little bit of carbohydrates in there, especially milk per se, and they'll add some sugars to some dairy products as well.

Speaker 1:

All right, so here are some benefits of carbohydrates. So again, we're not touching every benefit because it would take forever. We're just going to touch are some benefits of carbohydrates. So again, we're not touching every benefit because it would take forever. We're just gonna touch on a few of them. And here I just have seven benefits.

Speaker 1:

So, number one carbs, or glucose, help fuel your brain and body. So the brain runs off of about 70% of glucose. So very, very important for brain function, for mental clarity, all that kind of stuff. And a lot of the cells in our bodies operate off of carbohydrates, specifically our liver and our muscle tissue. It actually uses a form of glucose or carbohydrate called glycogen. That's basically our body takes blood glucose, the glucose that's in our bloodstream, it converts it into glycogen, which is the stored form of glucose in liver and muscle tissue. So all the contractions that happen in the muscle come from glycogen and glycogen Very important there.

Speaker 1:

Number two can help with sleep regulation. So some people, if they cut out carbohydrates of their diet, they just don't sleep very well. So adding in more carbs around bedtime even though I know that's forbidden, you know people say don't eat anything after seven or nine, but it's specifically carbs. That's hogwash guys, completely false. It can actually help improve sleep. So it's not for everybody. Some people, you know, maybe less carbs help them sleep better, more carbs help them sleep better. It's totally based on the individual but there could be some validation for helping with sleep. Number three it's a quick source of energy. So it's the quickest breakdown, especially compared to fat. So fats digest a little bit slower or quite a bit slower. So actually if you eat fats with carbs and protein it'll slow down the digestion of those as well. So carbs are a great quick source of energy If you're going to be training, if you're just kind of lagging in energy, and quick energy for the brain as well. Again going back to number one, with that mental clarity and cognitive abilities and things like that.

Speaker 1:

Number four provides glycogen for muscle energy. So we touched on that. On number one, you know we need this glycogen to help with muscle contraction, to help with producing force in the muscles. So we want our muscle cells to be saturated with glycogen, as well as our liver, because our liver uptakes a lot of the glucose, forms it into glycogen, as well as our liver, because our liver uptakes a lot of the glucose, forms it into glycogen. And then whenever our body or there's tissues in our body that are low in glycogen or glucose, our body can release that glycogen stored in the liver, convert it back into glucose or shuttle it into muscle tissue. So it's kind of like a little protectant agent there.

Speaker 1:

Number five fiber. Specifically the type of carbohydrate fiber can help with satiety and gut health. So there's very few things that we know about the microbiome and about gut health, even though everybody claims to have all these answers. Scientifically there's very little that we know about gut health. But we do know that fiber has a positive impact on gut health because there's a lot of the good bacteria in our digestive tract that feed off of soluble and insoluble fiber, which is two different types of fiber, and we definitely want that because that provides a very nutrient rich you know, good bacteria rich environment whenever we're digesting food and getting rid of the toxins that we're eating in those foods.

Speaker 1:

Number six it can help increase metabolism in the right amount. So you know we can overdo anything and it can cause weight gain because, at the end of the day, if you consume more calories than you burn, you're going to gain weight. So you know it can help increase metabolism in the right amount. Um, and there's a benefit there. Number seven it can help with speed, with the speed of muscle recovery. So if you've gone keto before, a super low carb, you know, especially those first few weeks, you're not recovering as well. You know you can't push as hard in your training. You know your energy levels are lower, brain fog, all those things. So, um, we know that carbohydrates have a big impact on the speed and rate and efficiency of muscle recovery from training, which is why we always emphasize carbohydrate consumption around your training.

Speaker 1:

Now there are some carbohydrate misconceptions. There's lots of rumors, there's lots of ideas of how carbs are this, how they're bad, how they're evil, how they're causing diabetes, how they're doing all these negative things as if it's some evil molecule that's being introduced into our body. But I assure you guys, I promise you, this is not the case, all right. So in recent years, carbohydrates have received a bad rap, a bad reputation, from social media zealots and fad diet promoters. They have been blamed for the obesity epidemic, as well as many other health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. These notions couldn't be further from the truth. Within themselves, okay, context is everything.

Speaker 1:

Carbohydrates are a perfectly healthy source of nutrients and energy, especially for athletes and gym enthusiasts. So if you care about taking care of your body, you need to understand how carbohydrates can help you in this process. Glucose, which is the broken down form of carbohydrate in the body, is essential for brain function, as well as other important processes in the body. One should focus on energy balance primarily, and not demonizing any specific nutrients. So protein is not bad, dietary fat's not bad, carbohydrate's not bad. It's all about energy balance how much we're consuming of anything, because anything could be bad for you.

Speaker 1:

You consume too much water. It can kill you, right? Does that mean we should cut out water? You consume too much water it can kill you, right? Does that mean we should cut out water? Probably not. You know there's toxic molecules that are in animal products that we've shown at extremely high rates, and high amounts of these molecules can cause cancer and all these different things that we demonize carbohydrates for. Does that mean we shouldn't consume animal products? Absolutely not. It's all about context and something that Dr lane norton always says that I really, really like. This phrase really hit home for me and something that's helped me understand all things health in a better scope, especially when it comes to nutrition and consuming anything.

Speaker 1:

And that is the dose makes the poison okay. It's about it's not about necessarily what you're consuming, it's how much you're consuming, because there's lots of things If you were to get extremely abnormal amounts in your diet can have a negative impact. Again, water if you drink water too fast and too much, you can kill yourself from it. But again, that doesn't make healthy bad. It's essential for our health, we have to have it. But again, that doesn't make healthy bad. It's essential for our health, we have to have it. So the dose makes the poison. And carbohydrates and dietary fats no different. Dietary fats and high amounts, especially saturated fat, has shown to have a negative impact on heart health. It just is what it is. Does that mean that you shouldn't eat saturated fat? Probably not. But if you're over consuming it, especially in a calorie surplus, you may see some of these issues.

Speaker 1:

Again, the dose makes the poison. So, with all that being said, that's a little breakdown on carbohydrates, where you can get them what they are, and some misconceptions, so we can get over all these lies and just misinformation and actually figure out what is best for our personal health. So hope you guys enjoy this information. Stay tuned for part four, where we go over fats, and it's going to be good guys. So, whatever you do today, do something good for yourself, something good for your health, something good for those you care about and, whatever you do, make sure you win on purpose. Talk at you next time you.