Carbs

Myth Busters – no carbs diets – good or bad?

If you want to perform well in sport or boost fitness, you need to eat carbs!

At Pete Fraser Fitness we advocate the use of good quality, unrefined carbs to our clients and here’s why…

  • Most nutrition scientists agree that diets high in carbohydrate are essential for general health and sport performance
  • Carbs are essential for energy supply for moderate to high intensity exercise, e.g: fast/sprint athletics, swimming, cycling, circuit training, contact sports and ball sports
  • They participate significantly in both aerobic and anaerobic (with and without oxygen) energy pathways (the physiological route from eating to muscle energy supply)
  • They help prevent certain chronic diseases

How much do you need?

  • 300g of good quality carbs and 25g of dietary fibre per day or around 600g for endurance athletes

Good quality carbs: those of a low glycaemic index (low rate of absorption) e.g. porridge, whole wheat pasta/rice/bread, oat cakes.

Top tips:

  1. Before/during/after exercise boost and regenerate muscle energy supplies by eating small amounts of banana, dried fruit or a good quality cereal bar
  2. If you are an endurance athlete and need refueling during your sport, just add 10% glucose powder to 90% water to create an instant muscle energy boost that will not interfere with exercise intensity or digestion