Is there such a thing as an essential carbohydrate?

We’ve all heard of essential fatty acids.  We’ve all heard of essential amino acids.  But is there such a thing as an essential carbohydrate?  Essential macronutrients are required in the diet because the body can't produce them.  Chemical reactions in the body can provide non-essential macronutrients.

It’s important to note that ALL carbohydrates in food are broken down and converted into pure sugar (glucose and fructose) or indigestible fibre.  Although glucose, fructose, and fibre are all technically carbohydrates, they each have a different effect on the body. 

Is glucose bad?

Glucose has three main uses in the body:

1. It forms structural molecules called glycoproteins

2. Like fat, it is a source of energy (especially in the brain)

3. It’s a precursor to compounds that play a critical role in the immune system

The Keto diet crowd (high-fat) and the carnivore diet crowd (high protein) will often argue that protein can be converted into glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis.  There are two different ways we could think about this process:

1. If the body can produce glucose from protein, then it’s not essential, right?  

2. Glucose is so essential to our survival that the body has a mechanism to produce it.

One of the few differences between the human digestive tract and that of other true carnivores, like lions,  is that humans produce an enzyme called amylase. Amylase is used to digest starchy carbohydrates - long chains of glucose molecules that we can not digest - into single glucose molecules that quickly pass through the gut and into the bloodstream.

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Although carbohydrates are not classed as essential, the human body seems to be fitted with the tools to produce and to digest carbohydrates.  We could argue that glucose is so metabolically necessary that we humans have evolved to produce it and digest it.

Both the amount of simple sugars and the rate at which we digest and absorb them has an impact on our health and performance. While glucose from fruits, vegetables, and starches are generally well tolerated, too much in the form of sucrose-sweetened beverages or concentrated sweeteners can cause weight gain and metabolic problems.  

Although there is "no such thing as an essential carbohydrate", most humans will look, feel and perform better on a moderate carbohydrate diet 20-30% of calorie intake.  

There are certain circumstances where a low-carb or very low carb diet can be useful for A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.  They would include: 

When we eat a real whole food diet we should only count carbohydrates from starchy vegetables, starchy plants, tubers and fruit.

• Neurological issues (Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, etc..)

• Severe blood sugar issues

• Weight loss

• Gut issues

• Blood sugar regulation

• Mood Disturbances

• Digestive issues

A low-carb or very-low-carb diet should not be followed if:

When eating a whole food diet, such as Paleo, think about carbohydrate intake just in terms of how much starchy plants and fruit you are eating.

• You are generally healthy

• You have adrenal fatigue

• You have a thyroid issue (hypothyroidism)

• You are an athlete 

• You are highly active (active job and exercise regularly)

• You have a fast metabolism 

• You are pregnant or breastfeeding

The quality of the carbohydrate source matters. Just because it fits your macros doesn’t mean you should eat it. Real whole food sources of carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables are often the best sources. Most people don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables and they should be the foundation of every meal. When we eat a real whole food diet we should only count carbohydrates from starchy vegetables, starchy plants, tubers and fruit. It’s true that there are carbohydrates in non-starchy vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower or wintergreens, however:

1. It’s a really low number and most of those vegetables have just a few grams of carbohydrate in them.

2. The carbohydrate is stored in extremely fibrous material that is really difficult for humans to digest and break down. If we can break it down, it requires a lot of cellular energy, and guess what fuel we burn to produce this cellular energy? Glucose (carbohydrates). If the food source only has 3-4grams of glucose in it, and we have to burn a lot of cellular energy to digest it, I’d say the net gain of carbohydrate is probably minimal, if not zero.  When eating a whole food diet, such as Paleo,  think about carbohydrate intake just in terms of how much starchy plants and fruit you are eating.

I will talk more about the need for carbohydrates in the diet for sports performance, adrenal fatigue, gut health, and women’s health in another post.