Creamy cookie dough ice cream, sweet juicy peaches, roasted red potatoes -all wonderfully delightful sources of carbohydrate. So many people these days are saying, “I need to cut carbs.” But do they really? Why are carbs so important?
Brain’s preferred source of fuel
Have you ever been really fatigued or drained after studying hard for a test? You probably needed to refuel with carbohydrate. Your brain itself burns 120g of carbs/day on average, which ends up being around 8 cups of peaches, 4 cups of ice cream, or 4.5 cups of potatoes. Should the average person eat 4 cups of potatoes and call it a day? No! Your body needs nutrients from a variety of foods, so it’s important to eat a combination of foods day to day.
Bursts of energy
Maybe you’re running late to class on your first day of school, so you start sprinting. This is a time that carbohydrate is being used for fuel. When you eat carbohydrate, it gets stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver to use throughout the day. Whether you’re doing a planned workout or an unplanned sprint, your body draws from your glycogen stores to burn energy, keeping a steady amount in your bloodstream, so your blood sugar doesn’t drop and cause all kinds of problems.
In carb deficit, body uses protein
Once your storage of carbohydrate (glycogen) has depleted, your body relies on protein and fat for fuel. This isn’t usually ideal because carbs are your body’s preferred energy source; however, without carbs, your body can take protein and convert it into a usable form of sugar. The problem with this is that protein contains nitrogen. Nitrogen isn’t great for your body in large amounts. So, when you’re eating excess protein, your kidneys have the taxing job of filtering excess nitrogen. Here and there, this is fine, but long term, it can cause issues with your kidneys. It’s better to eat the carbs so your body doesn’t have to take extra care to get rid of the extra nitrogen.
Back to the question: should I cut carbs?
It depends. If you are doing little physical activity and are finding yourself crashing after large meals, it might be good to scale back some. But, carbs are a super important macro, and getting plenty is important for good health.
If you’re not sure if you should be cutting carbs, reach out to a registered dietitian for personalized help!
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