04/08/2020
Cutting Carbs and Fats - Do we HAVE to? 🧐
Short answer? - Hell No.
I will preface this by saying the quality of the carbs and fats you consume are incredibly important!
So here we go!
Carbs… besides being your body’s preferred source of energy, what else do they do?
The primary source of most of our nutrients comes from carbohydrates - both starchy carbs such as potatoes, wholewheat pasta, bread (amen! 🙏) quinoa etc. and fibrous carbs such as fruit and veg. These vitamins and minerals are essential for keeping our body functioning optimally and long term deficiency can cause illness and death - need I say more?
Well I will.
Eliminating or reducing your carbohydrate intake means you are limiting your vitamin and mineral intake making it more difficult for your body to source these from the remaining food groups - some of which are not available at all.
Your brain works exclusively on glycogen - a polysaccharide from (you guessed it) carbs!
What about Fat?
Fat is a great source of energy - your body uses a combination of carbs and fats as energy for workouts and physical activity. The duration and intensity of the workout determines what percentage of carbs and fats will be used.
Vitamins A, D, E and K are all fat soluble vitamins meaning they cannot be absorbed without the presence of fat in the diet. Note vitamin A and E are also both antioxidants. A deficiency of these vitamins can cause things such as: (A) night blindness, (D) loss of bone density (Vitamin D helps your body absorb Calcium), (E) nerve and muscle damage leading to loss of feeling in limbs, (K) excessive bleeding (Vitamin K helps assists in blood clotting).
Fat provides protection and insulation to the body.
The importance of maintaining good levels of ALL food groups in your diet cannot be overstated.
If you are looking to lose weight, the best way to approach this is with balance and keeping things steady and consistent. Don't jump from one fad diet to the next.
Feel free to drop any questions you may have about diet and/or exercise and I would be happy to respond!!
Summary: Eat Yo’ Bread and Avocado!! ❤️
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
