Fast carbs for good - a guide for sports and sweet lovers

One of the most interesting topics and discussed in modern sports is the effect of sweets on the athlete's body. Today we will talk about the so-called "fast carbohydrates" and why they are not recommended for athletes. Why don't CrossFit athletes use them as a nutrient during training? And most importantly, why, unlike representatives of other disciplines, marathon runners "indulge" in fast carbohydrates, among whom you do not often meet fat people.

You will get answers to these and other equally interesting and important questions by reading our article.

General information

Considering the topic of carbohydrate metabolism in the body, we often touched upon the issue of simple (fast) and complex (slow) carbohydrates. It's time to tell you more about this.

The main difference between simple and complex carbohydrates is their structure and the speed of their absorption.

Fast carbohydrates are the simplest polymers of sucrose and glucose, consisting of one or two molecules of monosaccharides.

In the body, they are broken down to the simplest elements that will transport energy in our blood.

The main difference between fast and slow carbohydrates is the rate of insulin response. Glucose compounds, which quickly enter the bloodstream, occupy the place in tissues and cells that is allocated for oxygen. Therefore, when an excess of carbohydrates (sugar) occurs in the body, the blood thickens, the amount of oxygen in it decreases. For the body, this is a signal that the blood needs to be thinned and made room for oxygen (source - Wikipedia).

This is done in two main ways:

1. Insulin response.
2. Lipid reaction.

The insulin response causes blood sugar to bind to glycogen molecules. Insulin itself is a "hole punch" for the cells of our body. It makes holes in the cells, and fills the resulting voids with glycogen molecules - a polysaccharide from glucose residues linked into a chain.

However, this process is only possible if the liver is not overloaded. In the case when the body receives an excess of fast carbohydrates, the liver is not always able to digest them all. A reserve mechanism is launched that helps to process slow and fast carbohydrates - lipid formation. In this case, the liver secretes alkaloids, which complete the structure of carbohydrates, converting them into triglycerides.

The processes described above concern not only simple, but also complex carbohydrates. The only difference is that the overall digestive system digests different carbohydrates at different rates.

If you consume extremely slow carbohydrates, then the insulin response is triggered much later.

Due to the small amount of sugar in the blood, the body uses it directly as fuel, leaving room for oxygen in the blood. In the case of fast carbohydrates, the insulin response fails, and almost all excess is transformed exclusively into triglycerides.

The importance of fast carbohydrates

Let's discuss the question that interests us the most: fast carbohydrates - what is it for an athlete. Despite the fact that many are skeptical about eating sweets, fast carbohydrates have a place in professional sports. However, you need to clearly understand how simple carbohydrates differ from complex ones, and how to use it correctly in sports.

Simple carbohydrates are great for filling the glycogen window that occurs immediately after a workout.

At the same time, fast carbs are used to control dopamine levels. Excess energy affects our body no less than caffeine-containing drinks. Fast carbohydrates help improve your emotional background. It is no coincidence that many people, after severe nervous shocks, are drawn to any endorphin and dopamine stimulants (alcohol, nicotine, sweets).

Sweets are much more acceptable to restore the emotional background. We must not forget about the fact that if you manage to spend all the energy that was received in the process of absorbing sweets, you will not get any harm from them (source - monograph by O. Borisova “Nutrition of athletes: foreign experience and practical recommendations”).

That is why athletes, whose sport is associated with long-term endurance, consume carbohydrate mixtures right during training or competition.

The simplest example: marathon athletes and many crossfitters who do not adhere to strict diets, do not deny themselves sweets.

Glycemic index

To accurately represent the effect of simple carbohydrates on the athlete's body, it is necessary to turn to the concept of the glycemic index of foods. The complexity of a carbohydrate is determined by this very factor and does not depend on the product itself and the structure of glucose in it.

GI shows how quickly the body breaks down the elements in the product to the simplest glucose.

If we talk about what foods contain fast carbohydrates, then these are usually sweet or starchy foods.

In addition, we must not forget that even complex carbohydrates can be digested by our body at an accelerated rate.

The simplest example is a well-chewed food. If you chew potatoes or bread for a long time, sooner or later a person will feel a sweet aftertaste. This means that complex polysaccharides (starchy products), under the influence of saliva and fine grinding, are transformed to the simplest saccharides.

Food List - Simple Carbohydrate Table

We tried to put together the most complete table with a list of foods containing simple (fast) carbohydrates with high GI.

Carbohydrates and exercise

Considering fast carbohydrates as part of a meal plan, the main thing to learn is that taking a large amount of fast carbohydrates for those who do not exercise is fraught with a set of excess fat mass.

As for athletes, there are several reservations for them:

1. If you consume carbohydrates shortly before the start of the training complex, they will not cause any harm, since all the energy will be spent on motor processes.
2. Carbohydrates cause hypoxia, which leads to faster filling and pumping.
3. Fast carbohydrates practically do not load the digestive tract, which allows them to be consumed shortly before starting a workout.

And most importantly, fast carbohydrates are great at closing the carbohydrate window. Also, fast carbohydrates perfectly “perforate” cells, which helps accelerate the absorption of important amino acids from proteins, such as taurine, etc., into the bloodstream, as well as creatine phosphate, which otherwise simply cannot be absorbed by our body (source - American Journal of Clinical Nutritionology).

Benefit and harm

Let's consider how carbohydrates affect the body of a professional athlete:

As you can see from the table, there is as much harm from fast carbohydrates as from any other food. At the same time, the benefits of eating fast carbs for athletes almost completely outweigh the cons.

Outcome

Despite the bias of many CrossFit athletes towards fast carbohydrates, these substances do not always harm the athlete's body.

Taken in small portions and at specific times, fast carbs can significantly increase energy levels.

For example, 50 grams of glucose before training will slow down the breakdown of internal glycogen, which will allow you to add an additional 1-2 repetitions to the complex.

At the same time, they are not recommended for use when following strict diets. It's all about the glycemic index and saturation rate. Precisely because fast carbohydrates quickly induce an insulin response, the feeling of satiety passes in 20-40 minutes, which makes the athlete feel hungry again and increase his energy level.

Takeaway: If you love sweets, but want to achieve serious results in CrossFit and other types of athleticism, you don't have to give up fast carbs. It is enough to understand how they act on the body and use their properties, achieving incredible results in the progression of loads.

Watch the video: BEST CARB FOR FAT LOSS (June 2025).