I am in New York City. That alone can be exhausting (in a good way, of course). I flew in very late last night and had to get up pretty early, which is also exhausting. But in addition to all that, I had very few carbs (carbohydrates) for lunch and dinner, and now I’m wondering if that has contributed to my fatigue.
Carbohydrates are starchy foods (or glucose/fructose-containing foods) such as potatoes, corn, rice, pasta, bread, grains, cereals, milk, fruits, etc. I had lunch and dinner with some folks who follow a low-carb meal plan, which is why I didn’t get much carb today. I typically eat at least 50% of my calories as carbohydrate.
The recommendation for the general public is that about half of your food come from carbohydrate. The reason for this is that carbohydrate is our main source of energy. Carbohydrate is “clean burning” and is quickly and efficiently broken down into glucose, which is used for energy. Our brains depend on glucose to do their work.
So why would anyone follow a “low-carb” meal plan? It is true that when carbohydrate is broken down into glucose, the body has to make more insulin. For those with a tendency toward type 2 diabetes (insulin resistance), the body does not process the glucose properly, because insulin doesn’t work properly, and the liver ends up making/releasing extra glucose causing the blood glucose level to rise. This is a vicious cycle.
For these people, eating fewer carbs can actually help keep the blood glucose level stable and for many people, this approach also leads to weight loss. Weight loss, in turn, helps manage blood glucose. Most people, however, cannot go for long periods of time without carbs (or with severely limited carb intake). Once they go back to eating carbs, there is a tendency to overeat them and put the weight right back on.
For these reasons, the best approach may be to eat carbs in moderation. Perhaps take it down to 40% (check out the Zone diet) if you want to eat fewer carbs, but still get your energy needs met. This may be a carb intake you can live with long-term. If you are very active and burn your carbs off, you can head more to the 60% range. If you have extremely strong will-power (or just don’t enjoy carbs) and can do without carbs long-term, that’s up to you (as always), but remember not to overdo high-fat protein or other saturated fats. One of the main arguments with low-carb meal plans is that they tend to steer people toward a high-fat one, which can lead to elevated cholesterol and heart disease.
It all goes back to “everything in moderation”. If you want to tweak things in one direction or the other, just be sure to work with a professional and do it safely. And don’t forget to exercise! How do you approach carbohydrates in your daily eating plan?