Why You Need Carbohydrates

For bodybuilders and dieters everywhere, carbohydrates have seemingly been the “enemy” for decades. Quite a few people avoid excessive carb intake at all costs. Sure, if fat loss is your primary goal, carbs should be limited, especially sugary carbs. The reason is that excess carbohydrates beyond what the body can use for energy needs will be stored as fat. Still, to perform at your peak and look your best, you need a certain amount of carbs daily. Not only that, they should be from whole food sources, not created in a lab. Enter 5% Nutrition Real Carbs! This article will look at why you need carbohydrates and why Real Carbs is the best carb powder available. 

Why You Need Carbohydrates - Glucose & Glycogen

First of all, the major function of carbohydrates is to provide energy. Approximately half the energy used by your muscles comes from glucose and glycogen. Once digested, the body converts carbohydrates mostly into glucose for immediate energy. Glucose provides much of the energy for the brain. From there, excess glucose is converted into glycogen. Roughly 300-400g of carbs are stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Any excess carbs beyond this, are stored as fat. To reach this point, you have to be eating far more carbs than your body needs.

Another function of carbs is to pull water into the muscles. An adequate intake of carbohydrates not only gives you the energy to train but also keeps your muscles looking full. Finally, carbs are protein sparing. This is because in the absence of sufficient carbohydrate intake, the body will use protein as energy. Muscle tissue is largely made of protein, and can be attacked by the body to help meet energy needs. (1)

What About Simple Carbs?

There are key times of the day when simple carbs should be ingested. These include first thing in the morning with protein and the hours around your workout. Yet too many simple carbs will lead to fat gain. When people view carbs as the bad guy, this is why. Eating too many simple, sugary carbohydrates, causes insulin spikes. While it’s true insulin has strong metabolically positive effects, it’s also a double-edged sword. That’s because insulin causes excess carbs to be stored as body fat. The answer is to limit simple carb intake and make sure you’re ingesting simple carbs only at those key times mentioned above. 

How Many Carbohydrates You Should Be Taking In

Given the points above, what should your daily carb intake look like? Generally, 40-50% of your daily calories should come from carbohydrates. They should primarily be complex carbohydrates except, as noted, in the hours around the workout. This assumes that you are trying to build muscle mass, and eating accordingly. It also assumes you follow a clean, well-balanced diet. (1)

5% Real Carbs - The Best Carb Powder

Bodybuilders and athletes will often rely on carbohydrate powders to help them meet their carb needs. This especially applies to endurance athletes as well as many bodybuilders. But why use some “designer” carbohydrate created in a lab when you can use 5% Nutrition Real Carbs? 5% uses only whole food sources. These sources include sweet potatoes, oat flour, and wild yam. Plus, Real Carbs are low in sugar. One serving gives you 22g of carbs, 3g of that is sugar. 5% Real Carbs is real food, not some lab creation!