How the Body Stores and Uses Carbs
How the Body Stores and Uses Carbs
Carbohydrates are an important fuel for exercise.
Carbs are stored as glycogen in your liver and muscles, and must be re-stocked each day.
Approximately 100 grams of glycogen (equivalent to 400 calories) may be stored in the liver, and up to 400 grams of glycogen (equivalent to 1600 calories) in muscle cells.
The purpose of liver glycogen is to maintain steady blood sugar levels. When blood glucose dips, glycogen in the liver breaks down to release glucose into the bloodstream.
The purpose of muscle glycogen is to fuel physical activity.
The more active the client is and the greater their muscle mass, the higher their carb needs.
How Much Carbohydrate?
While high-carbohydrate diets (more than 60% of energy intake) have been recommended in the past, experts now prefer to express carbohydrate requirements in terms of grams(g) per kilogram (kg) of body weight (BW).
Guidelines for daily intakes range from 3 to 7 grams per kilogram of body weight per day for low and moderate-intensity daily training lasting up to one hour.
Depending on the fuel cost of the training schedule, a serious athlete may need to consume between 7 to 12 grams of carbohydrates per kg of body weight each day (e.g. 350-840 g per day for a 70kg athlete) to ensure adequate glycogen stores.
How Do Carbs Help Recovery?
To promote rapid post-exercise recovery, experts recommend consuming 1 to 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per hour within 30 minutes after exercise and then at 2-hour intervals up to 6 hours.
If your client plans to train again within 8 hours, it is important to begin re-fuelling as soon as possible after exercise.
Moderate and high glycaemic index (GI) carbohydrates will promote faster recovery during this period.
However, for recovery periods of 24 hours or longer, the type and timing of carbohydrate intake is less critical, although you should choose nutrient-dense sources wherever possible.
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