The 3 biggest carbohydrate myths you still believe
Carbohydrates polarise. There's no other way to put it. On the one hand, they are loved. People talk about how important carbohydrates are for building muscle and for health. And on the other side, the exact opposite is true: low carb supporters see carbohydrates as the root of all evil in the world. Of course, this is an exaggeration, but it is still more or less true. And most of these radical views arise from a lack of knowledge and a misinterpretation of individual claims or observations. So it's time to take a closer look.
Myth 1: Carbohydrates make you fat
Anyone who hasn't heard this claim before must really be living behind the moon. There is no other way to describe it. But the truth is, carbohydrates do not make you fat. Too many calories over too long a period of time make you fat. And nothing else! In fact, the body has no real interest in efficiently storing carbohydrates as body fat. This can be seen in various overfeeding studies. Normally, the process of building up fat from carbohydrates is relatively poorly developed. Only after overfeeding for several days, after the body has tried everything to utilise the carbohydrate energy through more exercise, more heat production and glycogen storage, does the storage of carbohydrates into body fat occur. So if you do the right calorific exercise, you won't have to be afraid of carbohydrates!
Myth 2: The glycaemic index is the deciding factor
The main issue here is insulin. This is because many so-called "experts" still believe in the insulin theory. Roughly speaking, this theory states that it is not the calories that are decisive for body fat gain or loss, but the hormone insulin. If you cut carbohydrates out of your diet, your insulin levels will be low and fat stores can be broken down. However, the higher the insulin secretion, the worse the fat breakdown and the more serious the fat build-up. This is where the glycaemic index comes into play. It describes the insulin response after a carbohydrate-rich meal. The truth is, however, that the release of insulin has no influence on the breakdown of body fat, as insulin cannot override the rules of thermodynamics. The bottom line is that calories determine the build-up and breakdown of body fat and not how much insulin is released.
Myth 3: We need carbohydrates to build muscle
It is actually the case that some signalling pathways within the cell that lead to protein synthesis being triggered and activated and muscle building being able to take place to its full extent are triggered by carbohydrates. Or by insulin. And an increase in carbohydrate intake also leads to an increase in insulin levels. The fact is, however, that the importance of carbohydrates is of a secondary nature for muscle building. Proteins and amino acids are much more important. As a rule, these also provide a sufficiently high insulin release, which can then support the muscle building process. With the same amount of calories and identical protein intake, carbohydrates will only provide minimal benefits in muscle building. Accordingly, when choosing whether to consume more carbohydrates or more fat, you should be guided by your own preferences.
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