Most modern diets limit or almost eliminate the intake of carbohydrates. However, they are one of our most important sources of energy.

For quite some time, carbohydrates have been seen as the worst enemy of many diets and everyone tries to avoid them at all costs to keep their figure. However, contrary to what many people believe, they are necessary and essential for our health, whether we are trying to lose weight or not.

In fact, it is possible that your own body is sending you signals that you are not eating as many carbs as you should. If you do not want to base your diet on ill-founded myths and completely and unnecessarily banish these macronutrients from your diet, look out for these six signs.

1. You are very tired.

If you feel weak and have no appetite, it does not necessarily have to be related to an insufficient intake of carbohydrates, but it could be one of the main reasons. And even more so if you have just started a low-carb diet.

Doctor Nogués, head of the Nutrition Department at Teknon Medical Centre, says that one of her patients started a low-carb diet and made her whole family do the same. She was feeling OK, but her son had to quit going to the gym because he was exhausted. It is because of this that we need to be aware that carbohydrates are the products that give us the most energy.

Carbs should represent 55%-60% of our caloric intake.

Dr. Nogués
Head of the Nutrition Department at Teknon Medical Centre

According to the European Food Information Council (EUFIC), their main function is to provide energy as well as being fundamental in the structure and functioning of cells, tissues and organs.. Therefore, they are essential in our daily life and cannot be eliminated from our diet.

They should represent ideally 60%, or at least, 55% of our caloric intake. If, for example, we have to ingest 2,000 calories per day, at least 1,100 should be carbohydrates. Doctor Nogués claims that these diets that are appearing everywhere that are high-protein based or that drastically lower the intake of carbs, leave people weak.

2. Your breath smells like sour apples.

It is possible that you are not aware of this because it is hard to smell one’s breath, but this uncomfortable issue for everyone else is a sign that your body is not getting enough carbohydrates.

This phenomenon is called ketosis and it happens when your body stops using sugars (glucose) because it has run out and starts using the energy of ketone bodies that come from fat, experts say.

Their main function is to provide energy as well as being essential in the structure and functioning of cells, tissues and organs.

European Food Information Council (EUFIC)

If you follow a low-carb diet, you reduce your blood-sugar levels to the minimum and your body does not release insulin to balance it out. Therefore, it begins to use its stored fat reserves as a source of energy, and finally, it releases ketones into your blood stream. To many this can sound like the panacea of weight loss, but the symptoms produced by it are not pleasant at all.

Besides having bad breath issues, you can have headaches, nausea, vomiting, tiredness, weakness, thirst or a dry mouth. When you enter into ketosis you feel bad and have less appetite. You can survive like this, but in a much slower way. It is insane to use this process to lose weight, claims Nogués.

3. You can’t think clearly and have headaches.

Like every other part of our body, our brain needs carbohydrates too. In fact, according to EUFIC, our brain and erythrocytes (red blood cells) need glucose because they cannot use anything else as a source of energy: not fats, not proteins, nor any other type of energy.

Therefore, we need to maintain an optimal level of blood-sugar to cover the energy needs of our brain. Approximately 130 grams of glucose a day are needed, and they mostly come from the intake of carbohydrates. The brain only works with glucose so carbs are required for it to have an adequate intellectual response. We need them in order to be awake and alert, says the doctor.

When your body goes into ketosis, it stops using sugars (glucose) because it has run out and starts using the energy of ketone bodies that come from fat.

Dr. Nogués
Head of the Nutrition Department at Teknon Medical Centre

4. You lose muscle.

Although muscles can only be developed with exercise, it is essential to eat carbs in order to do so. Without energy you can’t do exercise, and without doing exercise you can’t work your muscles, it is a vicious cycle.

According to EUFIC, our body uses carbs in the form of glucose and it can also change into glycogen, a polysaccharide similar to starch that is stored in the liver and muscles as an easy-access source of energy for the body.

Some popular high-protein low-carb diets, limit carbohydrates to 10-20 g/day, which is a fifth of the minimum 100 g/day required not to lose lean muscle, claims the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association (AHA).

 
5. You binge eat.

Are you constantly hungry? Do you never feel fully satisfied after eating? And, you can’t control your binge eating? This may be another sign that your body needs more carbohydrates.

To cover the energy needs of the brain, approximately 130 g of glucose per day are needed. This mainly comes from the intake of carbs.

European Food Information Council (EUFIC)

When you feel like binge eating you hardly ever reach for fruit, you tend to go for muffins or bread. If you felt like eating green beans or lentils it would be wonderful, but it doesn’t usually happen. The worst thing is that these products are packed with sugars that are not good for our health, says Nogués.

It is also true that not all carbs are equally good, nor do all of them make us feel satisfied in the same way. According to the EUFIC, foods like pasta, rice, bread and wholemeal cereals are among those that satisfy the most, while pastries like cakes, croissants and cookies, are the ones that satiate less.

This is confirmed by the doctor and she explains that there are two types of carbs: the bad ones, which come from processed baked goods and are packed with saturated fats or refined sugars, and the good ones. In this last category, we can find complex carbs (of low absorption) like potato, legumes, rice or pasta, and simple carbs (of quick absorption) like orange juice.

6. You don’t go to the toilet as often as you should

A key stone for our health is going to the bathroom regularly in order to keep a well-working digestive tract. Our best ally to do so is fibre, which can be found in many carbohydrates

Some popular high-protein low-carb diets, limit carbohydrates to 10-20 g/day, which is a fifth of the minimum 100 g/day required not to lose lean muscle

American Heart Association (AHA)

Nogués states that all legumes (complex carbs) provide fibre, and so does fruit (simple), which, besides giving us energy the right away, are our most important source of fibre together with bread or wholemeal pasta.

However, the most important thing is to have a varied and balanced diet because according to Dr. Nogués, a monotonous regime will result in some sort of deficiency. Therefore, it is not about demonising or banishing carbohydrates, but knowing which ones are the best for our health.

Author: Alejandra Sánchez Mateos

Source: La Vanguardia