Other Problems With the High-Carbohydrate Diet

The High-Carbohydrate Diet is Associated with All Kinds of Bad Effects

The high-carbohydrate diet that’s in vogue today doesn’t represent a balanced diet.

Dr. Jan Karlsson, one of the original developers of the carbohydrate-loading regimen so popular among current-day athletes, has argued vehemently against a high-carbohydrate diet as a regular, everyday regimen.

He claims that such a diet is only acceptable for two or, at most, four days within the framework of the carbohydrate and muscle glycogen loading program.

Of course, if the body was fat-adapted, there would be no need to ever do glycogen loading, but this point has been thoroughly missed by everyone.

The carbohydrate-enriched diet leading to muscle glycogen loading has been widely accepted since the late 1960’s as an important way to prepare for endurance sports and training.

The dietary program, however, was to be applied only occasionally. Unfortunately, it was developed into a long-term treatment program and was used, not only by elite cross-country skiers and long-distance runners, but also by professional athletes in many different sports.

Even International Organizations such as the International Olympic Committee Medical Commission Recommended the Use of the High-Carbohydrate Diet for Athletes

Dr. Karlsson has stated that such long-term dietary regimens are synonymous with malnutrition. It has been shown that the intake of lipophilic (fat-loving) nutrients such as vitamin E is linearly related to fat intake.

Other risks are associated with such an extreme high-carbohydrate diet if followed for a long time. In fact, this dietary regimen means that individuals may actually sacrifice their own structural lipids (fats) for energy needs.

Vitamin Q and vitamin E are significant factors for the health of white blood cells; they’re the cells that are richest in antioxidants and, consequently, enhance the immune system. Significant immune system suppression is a possible result of low dietary intake of fats and the consequent use of one’s own fat stores as an energy source.

Athletes, with an extremely high intake of carbohydrates and, hence, subsequent impaired intake of lipid-based or lipophilic nutrients, have been in a situation referred to as the Carbohydrate Syndrome or the Carbohydrate Trap.

It seems reasonable to assume that this condition might:

•  reduce free radical elimination and lead to damage in muscles
•  increase cell injury
• inhibit the body’s inflammation and healing process in response to injury and infection
• hard-training athletes, who follow a high-carbohydrate diet, will suffer from overuse injuries due to a decreased ability to repair and rebuild damaged tissues
• vegetarians and others who consume a low-fat diet are also at serious risk for the same type of damage

People Who Have Extreme Energy Needs, such as Athletes and Those Involved in Manual Labor, Must be Very Careful About the Sources of  Their Daily Food Intake

If foods rich in carbohydrates come to serve as their primary source of energy, their risk of suffering from an insufficient supply of nutrients will increase.

Fats contain many of the essential nutrients we need each day to maintain our health. As I have proposed for many years, the low-fat diet is dangerous.

Sports medicine authorities have just recently recognized the existence of the Carbohydrate Trap or fat-phobia. The Carbohydrate Trap represents a stage of malnutrition imposed by unprofessional advisors and followed by unwitting, unknowledgeable clients.

This is one of the major difficulties in nutrition today: the emphasis on the low-fat diet in contrast to a diet that maintains an adequate fat intake.

How long will it take until our medical and scientific “experts” recognize the folly of their recommendation of low-fat eating?

Glycogen Loading: Good or Bad?

Even Though It’s Disproved, Glycogen Loading is Still King

In the late 1960’s, Swedish researchers developed a new dietary protocol to increase performance.

It went like this: cut way down on carbohydrates (breads, sweets, fruits, and some vegetables) and eat nothing but protein and fat for three days.

Then, on days 4, 5, and 6 (game day is day 7), load up on carbohydrates. In this way endurance performance would increase.

So glycogen (or carbohydrate) loading became the dietary king and still rules today. The trouble is that many people missed the point: carbo loading only works for events (or competition) where the athlete must perform for long periods of at least 90 minutes.

For other athletes, and that’s most sports (including football), the time of activity is short and muscle and liver stores of glycogen are not limiting factors.

Glycogen is the storage form of blood sugar or glucose. Your liver holds about 3/4 of a pound and muscles about 1/4 of a pound. The primary purpose of liver glycogen is to supply glucose for the blood. As glucose enters the muscles, brain, and other organs, the blood sugar levels drop and the liver provides additional amounts.

The Primary Fuel of the Body is Fat: at Rest 90% of Your Energy Comes from Fat

Most scientists do not understand this fact. With the assumed implication of fat to obesity and heart disease, very few scientists have researched the “fat as fuel” studies.

As exercise intensity increases, the body uses a higher percentage of carbohydrate to supply the energy for the event. This notion has led to an emphasis on carbohydrate as the primary fuel for exercise.

The percentage of total calories consumed each day has risen from about 40-45% years ago up to as high as 70-80% today. Some of the popular sports performance drinks and sports bars are 70-100% carbohydrate.

The increased use of carbohydrate has led to a decrease in protein intake. This shift to low protein-high carbohydrate has led to changes in body composition: less muscle and more fat.

Conventional Wisdom has it the Other Way Round: Most Athletes Believe They Need Lots of Carbohydrate to Build Muscle Tissue. Wrong!

In a study of bodybuilders, one group of athletes ate about 270 grams of protein per day including eating up to 82 eggs per week. Compared with the low protein group, the high protein group had 7 pounds more muscle and 4 pounds less fat on their bodies.

The high protein group also ate a diet higher in saturated animal fat. Contrary to popular belief, the blood fat levels of these athletes was excellent. Their risk factors for heart disease were also very low.

The movement to higher carbohydrate diets is of no value to strength/power athletes. A typical professional football game is about 9-13 minutes of physical activity.

A recent study showed that this amount of playing time hardly reduced muscle glycogen levels. Further, the high carbohydrate diet may actually decrease performance in several ways: 1) decrease energy, 2) decrease muscle mass, and 3) decrease strength.

In short, high protein-moderate carbohydrate diets will enhance athletic performance in strength/power athletes.

My recommendation is to reduce carbohydrate consumption to less than 25% of total calories to gain optimum athletic performance.