RBS FITNESS MYTH #1:

"Carbohydrates aren't essential"

I've seen this statement thrown around carelessly for years and years, and it often stems from very legitimate resources whom I respect tremendously and definitely help the industry overall.  However, it's extremely short sighted and "unrealistic" more than anything because literally every human being that has walked the face of the earth circles back to eating carbohydrates at some point no matter how much disdain or willpower they possess. Lets be real here. Yet, we relentlessly and tirelessly keep prescribing diets that attempt to eliminate them.  At what point do people just surrender the idea and admit it's not working and try something entirely different?  It's pretty absurd at this point.  

You can undoubtedly remove carbohydrates and continue manufacturing the key energy substrate; glucose.  Glycerol, specific amino acids, and lactate can get the job done to a degree.  Please recognize though, that glycerol conversion to glucose in the liver (i.e Gluconeogenesis) will be heavily limited, and lactate because you won't have the energy to sustain it appreciably, and of course protein can fill the gap too.  Research has shown protein can generally contribute up to 10 percent during exercise.

But let me ask you the question, why would you ever want to risk losing internal or endogenous body protein to support energy needs when you need it to drive recovery, rebuild tissues, hormones, etc?  Seems very foolish to me, and there is zero upside and reason to risk it, except for the fact the fact that a family member or your next neighbor may despise you for awhile for wanting to eat carbohydrates, and you dared to question the failed societal norm.  Especially when research "clearly" shows low carb diets cause distinct muscle loss, and reduced performance 2 3 4 5 6 7

Don't Carbohydrates help you stay hydrated and isn't water essential to survival as well?

If I was to pick one sub-topic associated with carbohydrates to try and positively persuade anyone this would undoubtedly be it. Any fool would tell you that you need water to function well and have good quality of life. What's more is that it's the only macronutrient to actually promote better hydration levels as you will see shortly. Yes you read that right. Protein can actually dehydrate you to some extent in the absence of carbohydrates. If that is not a sign that God created carbohydrates for our enjoyment then I'm at a loss for words at this point. Here is an excerpt from my peer-reviewed Athletic Nutrition book compliments of Dr. Edmund Burke:

"I’ve heard many people say you don’t need carbohydrates and electrolytes. All science

aside, why do you think Gatorade has existed for decades now? According to Dr. Edmund Burke, the thirst drive in our body is regulated by two primary factors: blood volume and salt-electrolyte concentrations in our blood. Ideally we want a healthy balance of each. When we exercise long enough and hard enough to signal perspiration, there is an obvious reduction in water which reduces blood volume levels, with a simultaneous and proportional increase in electrolyte levels to help stimulate thirst and maintain water in circulation through osmosis. If we opt to drink only water, then the signal of fullness will arrive sooner than necessary. “In one study, six volunteers underwent two exposures to heat and then engaged in an exercise regimen that caused mild dehydration, resulting in a 2-3 percent decrease in body weight. Each volunteer then drank either water only, or a water-sodium blend to replenish fluids. Subjects who drank the blend increased hydration levels by 15%!”30 Please understand this study pertained to endurance athletes, who were exercising for seven hours. Pragmatically, this information wouldn’t apply to a large part of the population, but definitely indicates the value of electrolytes, fast acting carbohydrates, and water itself for optimal hydration." Along these same lines glucose from carbohydrates can increase sodium and water absorption across the intestinal tract." 1

You could seriously go on for days about the benefits and profound value of carbohydrates, and I will simply for the betterment for anyone who happens to read this blog. It doesn't matter what context you reference carbs are necessary for "optimal" function and performance, unless you simply just want to survive, settle for less, and still function like clever authorities like to argue and try to lead you to successfully believe.

You've witnessed some, but definitely not all of the literature that shows muscle loss with lower carbohydrates. Second, there is no metabolic advantage to low carb or ketogenic diets in research compared to higher carbohydrate diets for fat and weight loss. Third, the oldest living cultures in the world eat moderate to high carbohydrates, and no healthy carbohydrate is linked to any disease state (i.e. whole grains, fruit, starch, or dairy), fortunately. The only exception here could be whole grains since they have been shown to raise blood sugar, but even then you can find less popular healthy alternatives to combat this effect, such as: red and black rice. Moreover, the nutrient, phytonutrient, and fiber profiles of several types of fruits and starches is fantastic, and I will be doing blogs or vlogs in great depth about each and everyone of these "powerhouse" foods in the future, so please stay tuned.

And lastly, research on sports performance is most telling as moderate to high carbohydrates completely demolish low carbohydrate diets on this front, and that is exactly why mainstream authorities don't reference this population or fitness enthusiasts because they know better and the evidence is overwhelming.

Rebecca ate plenty of carbohydrates throughout her entire diet and lost nearly 100 lbs., and so should you.

SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES;

#1-Burke, Edmund R. Optimal Muscle Recovery: Your Guide to Achieving Peak Physical Performance. Avery, 1999.

#2-43-Dipla, K. An isoenergetic high-protein moderate fat diet does not compromise strength and fatigue during resistance exercise in women. Br J

Nutr. 100: 283-6, 2008

#3-Mitchell, JB. The effect of pre-exercise carbohydrate status on resistance exercise performance. International Journal of Sports Nutrition (3)

185-96, 1997

#4-Paoli, A. Ketogenic diet does not affect strength performance in elite artistic gymnasts. J int Soc Sports Nutr, 2012

#5-Escobar, K. The effect of a moderately low and high carbohydrate intake on Crossfit Performance. International Journal of Exercise Science,

(4): 460-470, 2016.

#6-Chappell, A. J., et al. “Nutritional Strategies of High Level

Natural Bodybuilders during Competition Preparation.” Journal of the

International Society of Sports Nutrition, vol. 15, no. 1, 2018,

doi:10.1186/s12970-018-0209-z.