Carbohydrates you should and shouldn't eat

There are many runners and runners who have doubts about the consumption of carbohydrates. In this article we are going to talk about the carbohydrates that you should eat and those that you should avoid on a regular basis and only consume them occasionally. We are going to try to shed light on the dreaded (for many athletes) carbohydrates.

because yes, there is alimehealthy nts and highly recommended with carbohydrates that must be present in the diet of athletes and especially runners who carry out significant loads of kilometers throughout the week.

The carbohydrates they are an important nutrient which is talked about a lot in society and, on many occasions, with a lot of ignorance. As a consequence of this, in consultations with dietitians-nutritionists we find that there are many myths very widespread regarding their consumption: if they are bad, if they make you fat, if they should not be taken at night, if they should be avoided to lose weight, etc.

Well, we are going to shed a little light on carbohydrates (HC) in order to help you improve your eating habits.limentarios as well as your sports performance.

AlimeFoods rich in carbohydrates: fruit, vegetables, legumes, pasta, rice, cereals, bread...

Before indicating the carbohydrates that you can (and should) eat and those that should not be part of your diet (and that you should only consume occasionally) we must know how tolimento are carbohydrates. Well, the main groups of alimeFoods rich in carbohydrates are the fruit, vegetables, vegetables, rice, pasta, pan, cereals… and although to a lesser extent they are also present in dairy.

Do you think that a healthy diet should avoidliments like fruit or vegetables? The undoubted answer is "no." Therefore, you should not run away from carbohydrates or be afraid of them. It must be made clear that carbohydrates are necessary for the proper functioning of the body.

And while it is true that there are healthy carbohydrates (fruit, vegetables, legumes, rice, pasta and bread, cereals...) it is also true that there are unhealthy carbohydrates and that we must avoid, as is the case with added sugars, mainly.

Added sugars, the main unhealthy carbohydrates

Added sugars are those that the industrylimentaria added to a certain product; There are many examples of products with added sugars: refreshments, Bakery, processed ice cream, precooked products both sweet and salty commercial juices (they don't really have real fruit juice or if they do it's a ridiculous percentage), Smoothies, candies...

It should be remembered that sugar is an ingredient that is not found in nature and that it is obtained thanks to a process industrial refining and bleaching.

not consume atlimeultra-processed nuts

More than worrying about whether or not a product has carbohydrates, we should worry about not consume tolimeultra-processed nuts. It is not necessary to eliminate them one hundred percent, but almost; their consumption must be very, very, occasional because they contain a large amount of Trans fat, added sugars and flavor enhancers that, in addition to many unnecessary calories, accelerate cell aging, as a study by the University of Navarra published in the journal American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), it is aboutlimeThey are very unbalanced nutritionally, and it is that the modifications that their ingredients have suffered make them lack vitamins and minerals, while they have too many calories.

The WHO, in its report on the significant increase in the consumption oflimeUltra-processed foods and their effects on health, he also explains that they are characterized by having an excess of some of the following components:

1. Sugars: glucose, sucrose, fructose ...
2. Hydrogenated fats
3. Saturated fats
4. Sal Island
5. additives

Between 45-55% of daily calories should come from carbohydrates

The carbohydrates must be consumed dailyIn fact, between 45-55% of daily calories should come from carbohydrates, compared to 15-25% from protein and 30% from fat. But carbohydrates are of special interest to athletes, specifically in endurance and ultra-endurance sports.

An athlete of these characteristics must consume at least 50% of their daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, even reaching 60-65% of the total energy value of the diet at certain times.

When should carbohydrates be taken?

For the whole day. For example, having breakfast with cereals or toast, having lunch with some bread or fruit (idem snack), eating pasta, rice, legumes, potatoes, quinoa, couscous, etc. Fruit will also be an ideal dessert, both at lunch and dinner, and in the case of athletes who require extra carbohydrates, take garnishes at dinner with potatoes, rice or accompany lunch and/or dinner with bread. Don't you know the alimentation runner?

So, you already know that the carbohydrates you should eat are those that are present in a multitude of alimeSome of those that we consider healthy and recommended, while those that you should not take (or if you do, let it be occasionally or very occasionally) are those that are in alimeultra-processed nts.

Athletes may also require extra carbohydrates before, during and after training. Furthermore, although we have previously mentioned them aslimeThings to avoid, certain sugars are necessary due to their rapid absorption and digestion. This is the case of honey, jam, quince, isotonic drinks, dried fruits or sports bars and gels. are tolimeSugary snacks, to be avoided except very occasionally by anyone who does not play sports, but necessary for endurance athletes.

The consumption of this type oflimeThese must also be trained, never experienced in a race or competition. For this reason, it is always advisable to go to a registered dietitian-nutritionist, preferably specialized in sports nutrition, so that they can carry out a correct guideline for the dietary plan, taking into account the needs, characteristics and objectives of the patient.

Remember one correct tolimentation is synonymous with health, so going to the corresponding professional is always the best option.

oh! And by the way, when they tell you that carbohydrates are fattening, answer that 1 gram of carbohydrates has exactly the same calories as 1 gram of protein.

As a final reflection, I would like to leave you this sentence: gain weight from excess calories in the diet, not because of poor carbohydrates.

Text to 42K of :

Ismael Martinez Garcia

Dietitian-nutritionist

Dietitian - Nutritionist from the University of Valencia. Master in Nutrition in performance in endurance/ultra-resistance sports from the Spanish Academy of Nutrition. Collegiate number CV00678 in the College of Dietitians and Nutritionists of the Valencian Community
Diet Valencia

Other entries by Ismael Martínez García

• What to eat after a race
• What to eat before a race
• Trying to lose weight in the middle of the season is a bad idea