Why We Need Carbohydrates
For as long as I can remember, carbohydrates have had a pretty negative light cast upon them. Their front and center role has been mainly part of a “low-carb diet,” always encouraging people to consume as little to no carbohydrates at all, as society has deemed the most important part of a person is both their weight and outward appearance. By the end of this post, I am hoping to be able to not only educate you a bit on the importance of what carbohydrates do, but also to change your mind so that they can work their magic and be a bigger part of your daily intake, especially if you’re restricting them!
Despite always wanting to cut this particular nutrient out, it is well known that a carbohydrates main function is by being the body’s primary energy source, but that’s not all that it does. It also helps to control blood glucose, insulin, and cholesterol metabolism as well as has a big relationship with your thyroid hormone. Food sources range from starchy vegetables, fruits, legumes, cookies, chocolate, nuts/seeds, grains; and it’s great to be getting them from such a diverse group, too!
Now let’s dive a little deeper here
When talking about the thyroid hormone and its role in glucose/carbohydrate metabolism, it can both positively and negatively impact said metabolism depending on what your carbohydrate intake is. The thyroid hormone actually stimulates a process known as glycolysis, which is the breakdown of glucose to be used for energy production. But, if we aren’t consuming enough carbohydrates, then thyroid production decreases since it is not needed to stimulate this process. One step further, if thyroid production is low, this means that the thyroid hormone T4 will be decreased, which can eventually lead to hypothyroidism, and complications associated with that can be depression, sluggishness, aching joints, poor overall metabolism of nutrients. As the role of the thyroid is to make sure cells in the body are working properly, hormones are delivering their messages throughout body, as well as nutrient breakdown and metabolism, all of these processes can be greatly inhibited when we aren’t consuming enough carbohydrates in the diet. Moving onto the importance of glucose metabolism and the adrenal glands, the hormone epinephrine plays a huge role here. When our glucose/carbohydrate intake is low, the adrenals are then stimulated to release epinephrine, which then starts one of two processes: glycogenolysis (converting stored glucose to usable glucose) or gluconeogenesis (creating glucose/energy from fatty acids or amino acids). While this is, of course, great that the body knows to go through these steps, often stress can get in the way here. When someone is stressed, the body releases epinephrine (think of an adrenaline rush!), even if they aren’t in the need of energy in the form of glucose, and this can then lead to excess turned into triglycerides. Now, if gluconeogenesis occurs, the fatty acids may compete with thyroid hormones, slowing down thyroid function yet again.
So, what I am hoping you gain form this?
First and foremost, that consuming carbohydrates is a necessity in the diet – whether the form is from bread, grains, fruits, starchy vegetables, legumes, nuts, cookies, the list goes on and on, as it is the key nutrient for energy production. Second, that not consuming carbohydrates has a huge and negative impact on many other functions in the body, from thyroid hormones to adrenal glands to insulin resistance to nutrient metabolism. As so often we are told to be smaller, be ever-so-mindful of what we’re consuming, it can lead to restriction and stress around the “right” things to be eating. There is such importance in eating a wide range of foods, food groups, foods that make us feel good, bring us joy—all giving benefits beyond just the nutrient content but also what we just discussed above as well as from a stress standpoint as well. I hope that this encourages you to always add in foods when looking at meals or snacks and leads to you feeling empowered by the choice to be eating all food groups, whether that is carbohydrates or otherwise, as our body works so hard for us, so let’s show it some love by eating delicious, nutrient-filled and joy-filled foods!
Written by Katie Henry, Evolves nutritionist and chef. If you’d like to learn more about the services Katie offers, contact us today!