{"id":92335,"date":"2023-01-05T12:12:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T11:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/the-carbohydrates-you-should-eat-and-those-you-shouldnt\/"},"modified":"2023-01-05T12:12:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T11:12:18","slug":"the-carbohydrates-you-should-eat-and-those-you-shouldnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/the-carbohydrates-you-should-eat-and-those-you-shouldnt\/","title":{"rendered":"The carbohydrates you should eat and those you shouldn’t"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many runners have doubts about consuming carbohydrates<\/a>. In this article, we’re going to talk about the carbohydrates you should eat regularly and those you should avoid, consuming them only occasionally. We’ll try to shed some light on carbohydrates, which are feared by many athletes. <\/p>\n

Because yes, there are healthy and highly recommended foods with carbohydrates that should be present in athletes’ diets, especially for runners who cover significant distances throughout the week.<\/p>\n

Carbohydrates are an important nutrient<\/strong> that is widely discussed in society, often with a great deal of misinformation. As a result, in dietitians’ and nutritionists’ offices, we find that many widespread myths<\/strong> exist regarding their consumption: that they are bad, that they cause weight gain, that they shouldn’t be eaten at night, that they should be avoided for weight loss, etc. <\/p>\n

Well, let’s shed some light on carbohydrates (HC) with the aim of helping you improve your eating habits and your athletic performance.<\/p>\n

Foods rich in carbohydrates: fruit, vegetables, legumes, pasta, rice, cereals, bread…<\/h2>\n

Before listing the carbohydrates you can (and should) eat and those that should not be part of your diet (and should only be consumed occasionally), we need to know which foods contain carbohydrates. Well, the main groups of carbohydrate-rich foods are fruit<\/strong>, vegetables<\/strong>, legumes<\/strong>, rice<\/strong>, pasta<\/strong>, bread<\/strong>, cereals<\/strong>… and to a lesser extent, they are also present in dairy products<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\"Pasta<\/a>
Pasta is a carbohydrate-rich food.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do you think a healthy diet should avoid foods like fruit or vegetables? The undeniable answer is “no.” Therefore, you shouldn’t shy away from carbohydrates or be afraid of them. It must be clear that carbohydrates are necessary for the proper functioning of the body<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

And while it’s true that there are healthy carbohydrates<\/strong> (fruit, vegetables, legumes, rice, pasta, bread, cereals…), it’s also true that there are unhealthy carbohydrates that we should avoid, mainly added sugars.<\/p>\n

Added sugars, the main unhealthy carbohydrates<\/h3>\n

Added sugars are those that the food industry adds to a specific product; there are many examples of products with added sugars: soft drinks<\/strong>, pastries<\/strong>, processed ice creams<\/strong>, pre-cooked products<\/strong>, both sweet and savory, commercial juices<\/strong> (which actually contain no real fruit juice or a ridiculous percentage), shakes<\/strong>, sweets<\/strong>… <\/p>\n

It’s worth remembering that sugar is an ingredient not found in nature and is obtained through an industrial process <\/strong>of refining and bleaching.<\/p>\n

\"Carbohydrates<\/a>
Runner hydrating.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/h3>\n

Do not consume ultra-processed foods<\/h3>\n

More than worrying about whether a product has carbohydrates or not, we should worry about not consuming ultra-processed foods<\/strong>. It’s not necessary to eliminate them one hundred percent, but almost; their consumption should be very, very occasional because they contain large amounts of trans fats<\/a>, added sugars, and flavor enhancers that, in addition to many unnecessary calories, accelerate cellular aging, as demonstrated by a study from the University of Navarra published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition<\/em>. <\/p>\n

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a>, these are nutritionally unbalanced foods, as the modifications their ingredients have undergone mean they lack vitamins and minerals, while having an excess of calories.<\/p>\n

The WHO, in its report on the significant increase in the consumption of ultra-processed foods and their health effects, also explains that they are characterized by an excess of one of the following components:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Sugars: glucose, sucrose, fructose…<\/li>\n
  2. Hydrogenated fats<\/li>\n
  3. Saturated fats<\/li>\n
  4. Salt<\/li>\n
  5. Additives<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    45-55% of daily calories should come from carbohydrates<\/h3>\n

    Carbohydrates should be consumed daily<\/strong>; in fact, between 45-55% of daily calories should come from carbohydrates, compared to 15-25% from proteins and 30% from fats. But carbohydrates are of particular interest to athletes, specifically in endurance and ultra-endurance sports. <\/p>\n

    An athlete with these characteristics should consume at least 50% of their daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, reaching even 60-65% of the total energy value of the diet at certain times.<\/p>\n

    When should carbohydrates be consumed?<\/h3>\n

    Throughout the day. For example, breakfast with cereals or toast, lunch with some bread or fruit (same for afternoon snack), eating pasta, rice, legumes, potatoes, quinoa, couscous, etc. Fruit will also be an ideal dessert, both at lunch and dinner, and for athletes who require an extra boost of carbohydrates, include potato or rice side dishes at dinner or accompany meals and\/or dinners with bread. Are you familiar with runner nutrition<\/a>? <\/p>\n

    So, now you know that the carbohydrates you should eat are those present in a multitude of foods we consider healthy and recommended, while those you shouldn’t consume (or only very occasionally) are found in ultra-processed foods.<\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>
    Photo: Deep Blue Series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Athletes may also require an extra boost of carbohydrates before, during, and after training. Furthermore, although we previously mentioned them as foods to avoid, certain sugars are necessary due to their rapid absorption and digestion. This is the case with honey, jam, quince paste, isotonic drinks, dried fruits, or sports bars and gels. These are sugary foods, to be avoided except very occasionally by anyone who doesn’t exercise, but necessary for endurance athletes. <\/p>\n

    The consumption of these types of foods must also be trained; you should never experiment during a race or competition. Therefore, it is always advisable to consult a registered dietitian-nutritionist, preferably specialized in sports nutrition, to create a proper dietary plan taking into account the patient’s needs, characteristics, and goals. <\/p>\n

    \"Sports<\/a>
    42K race bib belt with gels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Remember that proper nutrition is synonymous with health<\/strong>, so consulting the appropriate professional is always the best option.<\/p>\n

    Oh! And by the way, when they tell you that carbohydrates make you gain weight, respond that 1 gram of carbohydrates has exactly the same calories as 1 gram of protein. <\/p>\n

    As a final thought, I’d like to leave you with this phrase: weight gain is due to an excess of calories<\/strong> in the diet, not because of poor carbohydrates.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Many runners have doubts about consuming carbohydrates. In this article, we’re going to talk about the carbohydrates you should eat regularly and those you should avoid, consuming them only occasionally. We’ll try to shed some light on carbohydrates, which are feared by many athletes. Because yes, there are healthy and highly recommended foods with carbohydrates […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":92336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1602],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition-sports-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}