A hummingbird’s energy needs are so great that it would starve to death after a carbohydrate fast lasting only a few hours. If hummingbirds suddenly opted for a low-carb/high-protein diet, you’d find yourself dodging dead hummingbirds as they fell from the sky. Luckily, hummingbirds have better sense than that. You should, too. For runners, carbs are crucial.
Carbohydrates, also called saccharides, are one of the three macronutrients that fuel our bodies (proteins and fats are the other two). At the heart of every carbohydrate is a sugar molecule, which is a marriage of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (hence the name “carbohydrate”). Carbs are found in a wide variety of foods—beans, fruit, popcorn, potatoes, corn, cookies, pasta, pie, and just about everything else that isn’t pure protein or fat. And while they come in a variety of forms, most are sugars—starches and fibers, two of the most common carbs, are basically chains of sugar molecules (some containing hundreds or even thousands of sugars).
Carbs are the main source of energy for your running body. It’s no hyperbole to say that, without them, you’d be stuck on the couch.
In order to understand carbohydrates, you’ll need to put on your science cap and acquaint yourself with the saccharide family, consisting of four groups by which carbs are classified.
With that information in hand, it’s time to discuss the difference between complex and simple carbohydrates.
In the good old days, carbohydrates were grouped into two categories: complex and simple. Simple carbohydrates included the mono- and disaccharides. Complex carbohydrates included all of the polysaccharides.
Complex carbohydrates, like those found in beans, starchy vegetables, and whole grain products, were considered healthier to eat than simple carbohydrates, such as those found in fruits, sweets, and refined grain products. Complex carbohydrates do, in fact, have more nutrients and more fiber, and they take longer to break down in the body. Simple carbohydrates offer little more than calories—the reason they’re referred to as “empty calories.”
But this simple dichotomy doesn’t tell the whole story. The digestive system aims to break down all carbs to single sugar molecules of glucose, your body’s key source of energy. And that’s where the glycemic index enters the picture, and where simplicity goes out the window.
Your body turns carbohydrates into glucose, which subsequently enters your bloodstream and raises your blood sugar (glucose) levels. When blood sugar rises, the pancreas releases insulin, a hormone that directs cells in your muscles and liver to absorb the sugar (and store it as glycogen). When blood sugar levels drop, insulin release decreases, and when blood sugar falls to a certain point, the pancreas releases glucagon, a hormone that triggers the conversion of glycogen in the liver back into glucose, which is released into the bloodstream.
Problems arise when dramatically fluctuating blood sugar levels occur over a long period of time. This seesaw of glucose, insulin, and glucagon can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions. Currently, seventeen million Americans have type 2 diabetes, and millions more have insulin resistance and are at risk for diabetes.
There are ways to lower the risk of developing blood sugar–related conditions. For instance, natural carbohydrates (such as those found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etc.) enter the bloodstream more slowly compared to the carbs found in processed foods, leading to a gentler spike in insulin and blood sugar.
This is where the glycemic index (GI) comes into play. Carbs enter the bloodstream at different rates. The GI measures the rise in blood sugar triggered by different carbohydrates. Carbs that enter your blood quickly score a high GI. Those entering more slowly—because they take longer to break down—earn a low GI.
The GI doesn’t take serving size into consideration, however, so it can be misleading. For example, watermelon has a high GI, but its actual glycemic load (the amount of carbohydrate in the food) is relatively low. For this reason, a food’s glycemic load can be a better measure of a food’s impact on blood sugar levels than GI. A unit of glycemic load is roughly equivalent to the effect one gram of glucose has on your blood sugar levels. With this in mind, a glycemic load of 20 or more is considered high, a load of 11 to 19 is considered medium, and a load of 10 or fewer units is scored as low.
But even though glycemic load may be a better way to estimate the impact of carbohydrates on blood sugar, it’s GI that’s used on a wider basis, with healthier carbs generally coming in with a lower GI. Some low GI foods include milk, yogurt, lentils, pasta, nuts, and northern-climate fruits like apples and oranges. Moderate GI foods include soft drinks, oats, and tropical fruits (e.g., bananas and mangos). High GI foods include refined bread, potatoes, sweetened breakfast cereals, and sports drinks—the latter good for quick blasts during endurance events but not so good for your body while watching TV.
Runners wondering how the GI affects their running should consider the following:
High GI foods after you run: High GI foods enable quick replenishment of burned glycogen stores. High GI foods have been shown to increase glycogen stores post-workout at a rate twice that of low GI foods.
The National Academy of Sciences has determined what percentage of your total daily caloric intake should come from carbohydrates, protein, and fat (i.e., your AMDRs: acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges). It’s recommended that 45–65 percent of calories come from carbohydrates, 10–35 percent from protein, and 20–35 percent from fat. For a 2,000-calorie diet, that means consuming 225 to 325 grams of carbs every day.
Of course, athletes have higher carbohydrate and protein requirements than less-active people. See the charts in Chapter 10 for a breakdown of carbohydrate and fat use during various workouts. In general, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that endurance athletes get 2.3 to 5.5 grams of carbs for each pound of body weight. As you can see, that’s a wide range. Then again, there’s a wide range of carbohydrates burned between runners doing fifteen miles a week and those doing one hundred.
It’s not surprising that when it comes to carbs—as with most things in life—one serving size doesn’t fit all. While many athletes thrive on carbs, others have a few objections:
While not opposed to carbs, ultra-runners sometimes favor a diet high in fat rather than carbs, since fat is a more plentiful stored-energy source and because energy needs at the paces at which they train and race can be met almost completely through fat-based aerobic energy production.
Athletes have long known that carbs aid performance, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that researchers from Sweden figured out how. They concluded that a diet high in carbs increased muscle glycogen, which provides 80–90 percent of your fuel for 5Ks and 60–70 percent for half marathons and marathons. Further research confirmed that a high-carb diet also boosted a runner’s ability to absorb repeated heavy training loads. Thus, the relationship between runners and piles of steaming pasta was forever sealed. For more on carbo-loading, see the Chapter 10 sidebar, page 174, “Do carbo-loading and fat-loading work?”
Unlike other carbohydrates, fiber isn’t broken down into sugar molecules by your body. Instead, it passes right through, undigested. But while it doesn’t provide nutrients, it’s essential for good health. Fiber helps regulate the body’s use of sugars, and it slows down the digestive process, leading to a steadier supply of nutrients and a longer-lasting sensation of satiety. Ideally, adults should get 20 to 30 grams of fiber per day (i.e., roughly 14 grams per 1,000 calories consumed), though most Americans only get about 15 grams.
Of course, for all that’s good about fiber, it can present problems for runners. Namely, it can lead to temporary gastrointestinal distress (not pleasant during a workout, a nightmare during a race). For this reason, runners have to be smart about fiber intake. Fiber takes about two hours to navigate its way through your body, so save fiber-rich foods for post-run, not before. Also, increase fiber in your diet in small increments. That way, your body can adjust. Start by adding whole wheat products, some fruits and vegetables, and beans as a replacement for meat.
If you run, you need carbs. It’s that simple. Skimping on carbs is begging for sluggish runs, decreased strength, and muddled thinking. Remember that all intense training efforts are fueled by carbs. And running at mile race pace or faster, resistance training, plyometrics, drills, and most of the connective tissue exercises in the book are fueled only by carbs. So choose your carbs wisely, using the tips from this chapter, and then eat them.
ABOUT 15 3-INCH PANCAKES
For a carb-heavy meal, few things satisfy like yummy pancakes. The trick is to make them healthy without tasting like fried cardboard. The secret? A little miracle known as white whole wheat flour. Traditional flour is made with red wheat, but this is made with a lighter version, meaning less whole wheat flavor and color (if not found at your supermarket, check Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour online). This recipe uses yogurt and milk instead of buttermilk, because who keeps fresh buttermilk in their fridge? But, naturally, feel free to swap it in.
1 cup white whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup raw sugar
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
½ cup 2 percent milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Butter for the pan
1. Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl; mix wet ingredients together in a separate bowl and then add to dry ingredients.
2. Lightly stir, leaving some lumps—pancake batter doesn’t like to be over-stirred.
3. Place a skillet on medium heat and brush with butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and cook until small bubbles form in the pancake. Flip, cook, and place on a warm plate. Continue cooking until batter is gone.
Per pancake: 53 calories; 8 g carbs; 2 g protein; 1 g fat.
4 SERVINGS
Whole wheat pasta plays well with big flavors, and this recipe is big on big. Based on tomatoes and other vibrant flavors, this quick recipe is also packed with salty things. So if you’re watching your sodium (or find anchovies challenging), you can swap canned tuna and roasted red peppers for the anchovies and olives. But if you’re looking for a salty meal (see Chapter 22 for why this might be the case) and you revel in savory anchovies, indulge in this as is.
1 pound whole wheat linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Jalapeño, optional
3 large tomatoes, chopped
One 2-ounce tin of anchovies
⅓ cup Kalamata olives, chopped
2 tablespoons capers
Salt and pepper to taste
Sourdough croutons, fresh basil, or Parmesan for garnish, optional
1. Boil the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
2. While the pasta cooks, add the olive oil and garlic (and the jalapeño to taste, if using) to a large sauté pan, and heat on medium heat until sizzling. Add the tomatoes and olives, stirring occasionally. Cook until the tomatoes begin to soften and release their juice. Stir in the anchovies to taste (start with a few and see how many you can take) and the capers. Cook through until heated.
3. Strain pasta and toss with the sauce, season with pepper and an extra sprinkle of olive oil if desired. Pasta topped with croutons adds a great crunchy texture, or finish with fresh basil and/or a few shavings of Parmesan.
Per serving: 514 calories; 84 g carbs; 17 g protein; 14 g fat.
4 SERVINGS
This recipe began as a healthy makeover for chiles rellenos, then evolved into something entirely its own. It may not be the gloppy, saucy Mexican meal of your dreams, but it’s fresh, bright, and spicy, and it hits all the right flavors, while being a fantastic source of carbs and protein, and still satisfying your every craving for Mexican food.
4 large chile peppers (Anaheim, poblano, and pasilla all work well)
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup corn off the cob
1 can black beans
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
4 whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup salsa
¼ cup grated cheddar cheese for garnish
1. Roast peppers on a gas burner by turning up the flame and placing peppers directly on the grate. Turn with tongs until even black and burnt all over. If you don’t have gas burners, place peppers under a broiler. When cool enough to handle, rub the charred skin off. This step can be skipped entirely, but it adds a nice smoky flavor.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, stir together the onions, corn, beans, and feta cheese.
3. Make a slit in each pepper and remove the seeds, then stuff with the corn-and-bean mixture. Wrap each pepper with a tortilla so that the pepper seam is on the top and the tortilla seam is on the bottom. Nestle them together in a baking or casserole dish. Stir the salsa and yogurt together to make the sauce, then pour the sauce over and around the chiles. Sprinkle cheddar on top and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden on top and bubbling. Remove, let sit for 5 minutes, and serve.
TIP This dish can be served with rice to boost the carb content even more.
Per serving: 445 calories; 67 g carbs; 26 g protein; 12 g fat.
1 SERVING
Following a cool or rainy morning run, few snacks soothe like hot chocolate, which provides the same wallop of carbs and protein as its cooler cousin, chocolate milk (considered by many to be the best post-run recovery drink on the planet). This version takes its cues from south of the border, with a dash of cinnamon and a spicy kick. It doesn’t lack for calories, making it perfect for runners who’d prefer to warm up before they chow down.
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 generous pinch of cayenne
1 pinch salt
Add all ingredients to a pot, then whisk over medium heat until well-combined and hot.
Per serving: 267 calories; 47 g carbs; 10 g protein; 6 g fat.