How are carbohydrates and sugar meaningfully different in the body? They both end up in the blood as glucose in the same ratios. With a slight time delay
Carbohydrates are long chains of sugars that get broken down in time and released slowly, sugar is just garbage glucose and fructose, the fructose being the garbage, 50/50. High fructose corn syrup. Glucose is used in the body as is and it’s good, that is what hospitals use for IV drips, the fructose on the other hand goes to the liver and gets metabolized into fat which then gets broken down into sugars.
You may recall Sports where the coach told you to eat pasta the night before a match and explained that complex carbohydrates are ideal. It seems like the younger folk we’re not taught this though because you are not the first to see him completely unaware of this.
The trouble is that persistently elevated glucose causes all sorts of problems in the body, the most famous being type 2 diabetes.
Carb loading for sports is in vogue, but only in the context of a metabolism that can’t mobilize fat, in a healthy adult who can use fat carb loading is unnecessary.
All that said: the difference between ingesting glucose and carbohydrates is minimal, a very small time shift.
You seem to know what you’re talking about, I won’t argue, I have also long thought that having food in your system is not necessary for physical activity, for a healthy person. For a good share of my adult life I did not eat until afternoon and often did long distance runs before I had eaten anything, and I felt great, if I did eat I would feel worse than if I did not. It would slow me down.
But the coaches and teachers in the 90s were big on carb loading the night before. They would Advocate oatmeal the morning of the contest.
How are carbohydrates and sugar meaningfully different in the body? They both end up in the blood as glucose in the same ratios. With a slight time delay
Carbohydrates are long chains of sugars that get broken down in time and released slowly, sugar is just garbage glucose and fructose, the fructose being the garbage, 50/50. High fructose corn syrup. Glucose is used in the body as is and it’s good, that is what hospitals use for IV drips, the fructose on the other hand goes to the liver and gets metabolized into fat which then gets broken down into sugars.
You may recall Sports where the coach told you to eat pasta the night before a match and explained that complex carbohydrates are ideal. It seems like the younger folk we’re not taught this though because you are not the first to see him completely unaware of this.
Agreed that fructose is a wrecking ball.
The trouble is that persistently elevated glucose causes all sorts of problems in the body, the most famous being type 2 diabetes.
Carb loading for sports is in vogue, but only in the context of a metabolism that can’t mobilize fat, in a healthy adult who can use fat carb loading is unnecessary.
All that said: the difference between ingesting glucose and carbohydrates is minimal, a very small time shift.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/31.11.1998
You seem to know what you’re talking about, I won’t argue, I have also long thought that having food in your system is not necessary for physical activity, for a healthy person. For a good share of my adult life I did not eat until afternoon and often did long distance runs before I had eaten anything, and I felt great, if I did eat I would feel worse than if I did not. It would slow me down.
But the coaches and teachers in the 90s were big on carb loading the night before. They would Advocate oatmeal the morning of the contest.
I share the same feeling, I go into the gym before I eat anything for the day!
Yeah, carb loading has a place historically, kinda a commonly held myth.