Carb Addiction - Myth or Reality?

There is a lot of debate about the carb addiction, and some experts even bluntly state that carbohydrates may create more dependence than cocaine.

For this reason, according to them, the solution to our obesity crisis is rather simple: eliminate any starches or foods that contain simple sugars from your diet because they would make you obese, and maybe kill you.  

In other words, you would become indoctrinated to eat only vegetables and low glycemic fruits, and erase from memory any cinnamon buns, ice cream, chocolate, etc.

Now, besides that is pathetic, such strategy doesn't work because it's a matter of time until you will give up this restrictive regimen.

This would be possible if you were to live alone on an island or in a time when there were none of these carefully engineered, designed, and marketed goodies filled with rapid absorbing sugars that cause a burst of sensation that can't be matched by any natural food.

But if you grew up with them like every normal child, besides the fact that their great taste stimulates dopamine secretion in the brain, you most likely associate comfort foods with past events in your life, which further fuels the so called carb addiction.

It's virtually impossible to completely restrict them, although your taste buds would adapt after a few weeks. However, the psychological dependence is a different story, especially when you are surrounded by visual and olfactory cues.

No matter how long you resist the temptation, whenever you will see somebody eating chocolate waffles in front of you, or smell cinnamon buns around the corner, your willpower will get weaker and weaker.

It's well known that the anticipatory pleasure peaks when you are not allowed to do something, so eventually you will give up. Why do you think some folks enjoy so much doing sex in public places?

It's not possible to completely extinguish this dependence or desire or whatever you want to call it. (Of course, finding out that you are diabetic may override any carb addiction.)

Therefore, the solution is not to eliminate these foods from your diet, but to find the best time to consume them. As mentioned, your expectation for pleasure influences dopamine secretion much more than taste itself.

Therefore, consuming these “bad foods” at specific times will nourish your anticipation, and this will give you the real gratification. Also, you will feel more in control because, although it's not possible to eliminate the craving, it is quite possible to rewire the cues that trigger it.

As you may know, the best time to consume high glycemic carbohydrates is around workouts. Eating some bread pudding or chocolate cake one hour before exercising will increase muscle and liver glycogen, which may enhance performance.

(Not all studies support this conclusion, but there is enough empiric evidence showing that performance is improved by pre-workout carbs.)

Having some BCAA with your favorite food is also a good idea because this will suppress training induced muscle damage, and promote protein synthesis.

A full body workout normally depletes glycogen levels by 30-40%, and assuming that you are an average individual this will allow you to eat roughly 500g of carbohydrates. Boy, that's a lot of chocolate cake!

Regarding the timing, there is no need to consume your treat as soon as you put down the weights, especially if you had a pre-workout meal. Glycogen levels wouldn't be too low, so the necessity for a careful timing diminishes.

Unless you force yourself, you won't be able to eat anything right after your workout anyway. (It's important to note that during or right after a stressor, appetite and energy storage are suppressed.)

However, if you wait about 30 minutes (while you take a shower or what have you), cortisol levels will raise dramatically, and chances are that you will devour a whole Nutella jar.

In conclusion, you don't have to close your eyes, and make the sign of the cross with your tongue whenever you see yummy comfort food.

You are a human being, so carb addiction (or more correctly, highly palatable food addiction) is something normal. However, this shouldn't be a big problem if you educate yourself, and learn how to control it.

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