Fitness guide: Scaling up Carbohydrates
Tags: carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, energy, exercise, fats, food, grains, guide, healthy, healthy food, sporting, sportspeople
Current advice for sportspeople is to obtain a maximum of two-thirds, or 67 percent, of their energy requirements from complex carbohydrates. The more glycogen the body can store, the more long-term energy it has available to put into sustained exercise. Glycogen is the main fuel that muscles use to move. Rice, pasta, potatoes, pulses and seeds are all high in complex carbohydrates, which are converted into glycogen.
Aim to obtain 10-15 percent of your calories from protein, 20-30 percent from fats and the rest from complex carbohydrates. Remember that low fat does not mean no fat – you need essential fatty acid. Your fat intake is best gleaned mainly from vegetable oils, oily fish and nuts and partly from dairy products, with a limited intake of red meat to keep your consumption of saturated fats down.
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