Para sa nakararami, nakakalito talaga masyado ang usapang high/moderate carb vs low carb diet. Nanjan ang mga kapwa ko dietitians na laging concern at nagpapa-alala kung bakit hindi ok ang sumunod sa isang low carb diet sa kabila ng katotohanan na ang gaganda ng katawan or physique ng ilang advocates ng low-carb diet.
Bilang isang high performance dietitian na malimit na gumagamit ng carbohydrate manipulation as a means to achieve sports and performance goals of my clients, nasaan nga ba talaga ako sa magkabilang panig na ito?
Sa totoo lang, matagal na akong nag-silbing spectator sa tele-serye na ito. Sorry na pero kasi diba mas magandang mapalawak muna natin ang ating pang-unawa bago mag-comment or magreact.
At sa tingin ko, ang main cause talaga ng confusion and should I say “feud” ay ang statement na “CARBOHYDRATES ARE THE MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY. PERIOD”. Ito ang statement ng mga kapwa kong concerned health professionals na patuloy na dinidikdik ng mga advocates ng low carb diet sa kadahilanang pruweba ang kanilang mga sarili upang patunayan na hindi ito totoo.
But the real problem or mis-communication comes from the fact that the statement “CARBOHYDRATES ARE THE MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY” has not been qualified. We did not bother to ask WHEN DOES THIS METABOLIC OCCURRENCE BECOMES TRUE?
Meaning, YES, CARBOHYDRATES ARE THE MAIN SOURCE OF ENERGY, PERO KAILAN ITO NANGYAYARI TALAGA SA KATAWAN NATIN?
When sleeping?
When at rest?
During sub-maximal exercise?
During maximal or intense exercise?
Dahil ang bawat levels of physical activities na nabanggit ko ay may varying degrees of usage of carbohydrates. From very low to extremely high level of dependence on carbohydrates.
Merely stating that a low carb diet is unhealthy and unsustainable will not change the minds of LC advocates. Why? Because they have been doing it and in some cases have yielded good results, physically or physiologically to some people. TO SOME PEOPLE. Note that our muscles are the largest disposal for carbohydrates or blood sugar that is why sedentary or lightly active people dont rely much on carbs as a source of energy.
At pag dating sa mga athletes, may mga endurance and ultra-endurance athletes na nag-papatotoo sa epekto ng LC diets sa kanilang energy sustenance. And I have no problem with this. Endurance athletes do really have higher capacity for fat burning as a RESULT OF THE TYPE OF TRAINING THAT THEY DO, which is mostly SUB-MAXIMAL TRAINING OR NOT TOO INTENSE. And when this is combined with a high fat diet the more that they become dependent on fat as source of energy because it is the main fuel consumed. Syempre kung anong gasolina ang nilagay mo, yun din ang susunugin ng sasakyan mo. So kung sub maximal ang effort mo sa training, sub maximal din ang performance mo sa competition. And my assumption is, your goal is simply to finish the race or beat your personal record.
Ngunit sa mga pagkakataong race car performance ang hanap mo, sa mga instances na maximal muscle contraction ang kailangan para maproduce ang power output needed to breakaway from a pack of riders or group of runners, or to surge during uphill climbs, and more importantly to sprint to the finish line where a millisecond difference will make or break your dream for a podium finish, the availability of a high octane fuel has been proven for the longest time to be the game changer. And that high octane fuel is non other than CARBOHYDRATES.
Itong never ending debate sa pagitan ng low carb and high carb advocates ay ang rason kung bakit nananatili akong nasa gitna. At sa totoo lang hinding hindi ako pupunta sa kahit kaninong panig. Hangarin ko lang naman po ay maisulong ang context-based OPTIMUM nutrition recommendation para sa mga Filipino.
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