THE PERSONAL TOUCH
Simple or Complex:
Tough Choice
BY SEAN BURGESS (MSC)
Ground breaking news: Processed or refined
carbohydrates are bad for your health, fitness and
well-being! Well, not really ground breaking news
is it? So, all of us understand that these so called
‘bad’ carbohydrates do us no favours, but without
trying to poorly explain away technical sounding
definitions surrounding toxins, chemicals and
disease, how many of you and the rest of the
population truly understand the relationship
between this food source and the human body?
With many billions spent each year on processed
carbohydrates in the UK and still over 40,000
related deaths, the above question probably
answers itself.
Remember what Albert Einstein said about changing
your actions: ‘anyone can know something, the point
is to understand’. Let’s break it down then, whatever
you call them simple, bad, processed or refined
carbohydrates are typically foods which contain
white flour, are high in sugar and often have added
additives and preservatives amongst many other
harmful ingredients. Such mentioned foods are easy
to spot then on the supermarket shelf, but there are
others which you might not expect such as nonorganic jacket potatoes that often throw up a
curve ball.
CONTAINING WHITE FLOUR
Glycaemic Index and Load
08
WWW.THEGAMEMAGAZINE.CO.UK
To save any confusion, a scale called the glycaemic
index (GI) has been devised to help diabetics
especially distinguish between a good and bad
carbohydrate. In brief, this scale measured against
the glycaemic rating of white bread (100) assesses
the speed in which a carbohydrate food raises the
body’s blood glucose levels. The rationale behind
the table stems from medical evidence suggesting
that high glycaemic foods cause the body to become
insulin resistant, meaning that this secreted hormone
used to break down fats and regulate metabolism
no longer functions correctly. I recommend visiting
glycaemicindex.com to better understand how most
foods rate on the GI scale.
Just to get you thinking even harder, another curve
ball or point to consider is that every food as well as
having a GI index score has a glycaemic load (GL)
rating as well between 0 and 70, over 20 considered
as being high. GL principally measures how much
actual carbohydrate is released from a food…
confused? As an example then a watermelon with
a high GI rating of 75 has a low GL rating of just
7 because not that much carbohydrate is actually
released from the food into the body, a similar
principal applies to other fruits and vegetables such
as carrots. So, this means that unless consumed in
extremely high quantities, most fruit and vegetables
cannot be considered harmful, despite what you often
read and hear. If abiding by these scales then the
simple or bad carbohydrates remains as both white
flour and processed sugar.
Avoiding White Flour (Simple
Carbohydrates)
Did you know, three quarters of all bread sold in
the UK is still white (remember the glycaemic index
measurement scale mentioned above). It is seemingly
an accepted fact amongst all that consuming white
flour adds to the waistline but as Einstein states
knowing and understanding are two very different
things. The reasoning behind the detrimental effects
of white flour and its links to high obesity is quite
scientific.
Unbeknown to many, inducing white flour based
foods (simple carbohydrates) releases a chemical
called alloxan, which has been shown to kill the
beta cells of the pancreas (beta cells make insulin
through the increased release of free radicals);
free radicals are molecules which attack the body’s
cells and immune system causing disease. As a
consequence of this reaction the body is no longer
able to produce enough insulin, which is why type 2
diabetics are told to avoid white flour on the GI. It is
worth remembering that Insulin is used by the body
for the regulation of glucose (energy), breaking down
fats and the synthesis of protein (protein is primarily
used for muscle tissue repair). Therefore, you could
make the argument that whatever your training goal
is: cardiovascular endurance, weight loss or adding
muscle size, consuming white flour will do you no
favours.
Below is a list of common simple or ‘bad’
carbohydrates containing white flour.
Pastries
Biscuits
Bagels
Muffins
White Pasta / White Rice
Crackers
White Bread
(Check even on wholemeal bread that
refined flour has not been added)
Cakes
Due to the lack of fibre, there are a few other issues
with white flour intake as well, such as digestive
issues, setting off allergies, slowing your metabolism
down, stomach inflammation and even in some
reports chronic diseases such as arthritis and heart
disease.
Simple Carbohydrates and Weight Gain
Without insulin, the body is unable to utilise
carbohydrates for the conversion of glucose
to glycagon for energy. This causes sugar to
subsequently accumulate in the blood stream and
not reach the body’s working muscles, leading to an
accumulation of body fat. In individuals with healthy
insulin receptors, once the body has taken glycagon
(energy) from good carbohydrate foods, stored body
fat will then be metabolised for energy, providing
the working muscles are not malnourished and have
enough fuel. Type 1 diabetics without insulin to
regulate fat are often unable to lose body fat through
this process, instead any reduction in weight for them
will more likely be a loss of muscle (athrophy) leaving
the individual with a high excess of loose skin.
What are Healthy Carbohydrates?
To readdress the body’s balance of blood sugar levels, it is crucial
for any person but especially both type 1 (insulin dependent)
and type 2 (non-insulin dependent) diabetics to follow a healthy
balanced diet composed of mainly complex (good) carbohydrates.
The advantage of complex carbs is they slowly release glucose into
the bloodstream which means you have a longer more sustained
source of energy which prevents big insulin crashes and the body no
longer being able to burn fat.
The alternative to white flour ingestion is the more fibrous and
nutrient friendly whole-grains, sometimes called whole-wheat.
Consumption of this cereal grain or natural starch is found in most
complex carbohydrate foods and has been shown to help lower
triglyceride (type of fat) levels, a process which in turn stabilises
blood sugar levels and aids controlled weight loss. Numerous
studies on this type of grain have been conducted by many
academics across a series of nutrition trials. For example, over
2 years Esposito et al., (2003) noted a 10% average reduction in
weight amongst 60 women aged 20 to 46 who changed from a
wholemeal (processed) food diet to consuming just whole wheat
healthy carbohydrates with increased physical activity.
Below is a list of recommended whole-wheat food sources.
WHOLE WHEAT SOURCE
FOOD TYPE
Cereal Grains
Oats, millet, barley, rye, quinoa,
porridge, muesli
Pasta / Noodles
Buckwheat pasta, corn pasta, rice
pasta, rice noodles, buckwheat
noodles, biona SPELT pasta/
spaghetti
Crackers Unsalted
Oat cakes, rye cakes, corn crackers,
rice crackers
Flour Maize flour, millet flour, SPELT flour
*Aside from wheat, natural starches (complex carbohydrates) can
also be found in seeds, nuts, roots (lentils, root veg), corn and
potatoes.
I very much hope this short article helps you to now move on from
now not just knowing about the good vs. bad (simple vs. complex)
carbohydrate relationship but to actually understanding it; try
making a few switches In your diet and see what differences you
discover.
For further more personalised guidance on your exercise training
and nutrition please do not hesitate to book a free 30 minute
consultation by contacting me through my website:
www.seanburgesspt.com or by calling 07831 298610.