All about “macros” (part 1 of 3 – carbs and sugar)

To understand macros, you need to know a little about the science behind it. Nutrition science is all about chemistry and categories. We refer to what we get out of food as “nutrients.” When we look at food, there are 2 categories of nutrients that we consider:

Macro-nutrients (aka “macros”) – nutrients that our body use as energy
Micro-nutrients – nutrients that our bodies use to create chemical reactions

Both categories have layers and further sub categories. What’s more, anything that is considered “food” has a combination of these macro and micro-nutrients. Check out the image below to see how complicated it can get. 

Simply put, macronutrients are “types” of calories. There are 4 categories of macronutrients that our bodies recognize as energy: Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat, and Alcohol. All of these nutrients (except alcohol) are essential for our bodies to function. ​

For this post, I’m just going to talk about one of the most controversial and misunderstood macronutrients – carbohydrates.  

Popular culture refers to grains and sugars as carbs. However, when I talk about carbs, I am referring to the chemistry of the food (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen). All carbs are created from sugar molecules (glucose, fructose, galactose). What changes between the types of carbohydrate (sugar, starch, and fiber) is complexity of the bond between the molecules.

Carbs can have chains of 1, 2, or 3+ molecules of glucose, fructose, and galactose linked together with varying bond strengths to make up things like sugar, starch, and fiber. The more complicated the carbohydrate chemistry, the longer it takes for our to turn it into glucose and then energy. 

​That means relative to other types of carbohydrate a simple molecule like sucrose (such as granulated sugar made 2 molecule chains) is converted to energy more readily than starch (such as potato which has much longer chains). Additions such as fiber and protein make the conversion even MORE complicated therefore delaying the process and therefore the amount of blood sugar in the blood stream.

Ultimately, any food with sugar or starch will be converted to blood glucose (aka blood sugar) which goes on to become ATP – energy used by the mitochondria in our cells or is stored for later at glycogen or lipid (if you want to nerd out with the actual chemical process, google “glycolysis.” Want the heavier chemistry? CLICK HERE).

Carbohydrates are found in many food groups – grains, lentils/beans, fruits, milk/yogurt, and even vegetables. Any food that comes from a plant will have some degree of carbohydrate. Meat / animal protein (eggs, poultry, beef, pork) do not have any carbohydrate.

​What changes between each food group is: 

• the amount of water in the food (which dilutes the carbohydrate content)
• the chemistry of the carbohydrate (sugar, starch, fiber)
• other macronutrients present (protein, fat) 

​These aspects affect the energy density, amount of blood sugar created, and the food’s affect on our hunger / satiety. ​

Here’s an example: Most vegetables are primarily water, fiber, and a little starch. Much of what’s in a vegetable like lettuce we cannot use as energy. Compare that to rice which is primarily made up of starch with some fiber and protein making it more energy dense. However neither will keep you full for a very long time relative to a protein or fat rich food. Ultimately, the best balance for our bodies is to eat relative to our energy  needs. 

GRAINS
(per 1 slice bread, 1/2 c potato / cereal / beans, 1/3 c rice/ pasta)
80 calories
15 g carb

The below images gives you a general guideline about which parts of the plant have more or less carbohydrate. But keep in mind food that general guidelines aren’t written in stone – there can be exceptions.

There’s a lot of confusion and concern about carbohydrates these days. So let’s set the record straight. Carbohydrates are valuable! Here’s a little more about what they do for the human body:  

1. Energy  – quickly gives the body energy to move and think. Fat and protein can’t be converted to energy as quickly as carbohydrates
2. Fiber – beneficial for GI health, disease prevention, and feeling fuller longer. You cannot get fiber from animal based foods. Fiber by definition is a type of carbohydrate. 
3. Antioxidants – prevention against free radicals that can cause disease. You won’t find antioxidants in animal based foods. 
4. Protein – can provide all of the essential amino acids that the body needs when properly pairing a grain with a bean / lentil (more on this in the protein post – coming soon!)
5. Vitamins and minerals  – carbohydrates provide a wide variety of nutrients including calcium (dairy, greens, almonds), iron (greens, beans) to name a few!

Sugar tends to get some pretty bad press.  But sugar really is  just one kind of carbohydrate that can be helpful for our bodies. Here are some things to consider…

• What has sugar? Sugars are made up of 2 molecule chains which means they’re easily digested. Most people think of sugar as white sugar, brown sugar, syrup, honey, agave. These are sweeteners. But sugars are also naturally found in milk and fruit. Sugar is sugar is sugar no matter where it comes from. Our bodies recognize the chemistry. What makes a difference is what comes WITH the sugar. For example, when you eat fruit, you’re getting sugar along with water, fiber, and antioxidants. When you drink milk, that sugar is also coming with protein and fat. These additional macros keep us fuller longer and reduce the total amount of blood sugar that enters the blood stream. But when you eat a food that is almost exclusively sugar (eg, soda, juice, sweeteners) you miss out on vitamins / minerals and it also tends to take up less room in our stomach. 

• ​All types of “sugar” (honey, white sugar, brown sugar, syrup, agave) are essentially the same per serving.  They all contain ~30 grams of carbohydrate in 2 tablespoons. There’s little research to say one has benefit over the other in terms of metabolism and health properties. If there is one you will use LESS of to get the desired sweetness, that’s the one for you. 

• How much sugar is too much? When the healthcare field refers to the dangers of sugar, they are typically referring to “added sugar” found in drinks and processed foods such as yogurt, cereal, juice, soda, cakes, candy, etc from sources such as honey, syrups, brown sugar, agave it, corn syrup, etc. They are not talking about the sugar naturally occurring in milk and whole fruits. The jury is still out about how much is too much. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to 6-9 teaspoons / day for women and men respectively. That’s 25 – 38 grams or ~12 oz can of soda or 2 Tablespoons of honey or syrup. 

• Simple chemistry = hunger sooner! If you eat carbohydrates with a simpler structure (and they make up a lot of what you eat), you will feel hungry, sooner. The more your hungry grows, the more likely you are to overeat later. Also, typically the hungrier you are, the more you crave sugar, starch, and fat. ​Complicated macros such as fiber, protein, and fat take longer for the body to break down. You literally stay fuller, longer. 

• Sugar has benefits. Sugar is quickly broken down into fuel with little effort by the body. So for someone who needs energy fast (eg, an athlete staying fueled or a diabetic whose blood sugar is low), sugar is essential. Additionally, sugar increases the absorption of electrolytes in people who are dehydrated.

• Sugar can affect our mood. There’s a lot of research going on to understand how sugar affects brain chemistry and relationships with food. There’s some research that suggests that sugar can trigger the release of dopamine (a neurotransmitter that makes people feel really good).  However, when you eat a lot of sugar or starch at once, blood glucose quickly rises and then drops as it’s brought into the muscle. That drop in available energy leaves you feeling tired.  Mood can also decrease then. When you’re tired and unhappy, you tend to want sugar again. So the cycle continues. It’s unclear whether this is a behavioral dependence or a biological addiction.  

• Complicated chemistries reduce the total amount of blood sugar created. That doesn’t mean that foods with simple chemistries like sugar and low fiber starches are off limits. It just means planning and creativity are helpful. For example, if you really want and love pancakes with syrup, consider adding berries and a side of eggs with a smaller portion of pancakes and syrup. 

Fiber is a part of fruits, vegetables, and grains that our bodies cannot convert to energy. It passes through the GI system largely undigested. Along the way, it acts like a brush to clean out the intestine. It’s recommended that women eat 25 grams of fiber / day and men eat 38 grams of fiber / day.
​
Fiber is found in the meat and skin of plants. It’s not destroyed through cooking. In grains, the fiber is primarily found in the outer layer of the grain call the “bran” layer. When a grain is processed, that layer is often removed. That’s why “whole grains” are recommended – because the bran layer is still there. In fruits and vegetables, the fiber is found in the skin and the meat of the plant. When you juice the plant, you are removing fiber so you’re just left with the liquid portion of the plant (which contains all of the sugar). 

​The food label can tell you a lot about the chemistry of the food and how it will impact your body. There are some tricky things to consider: 

• Remember that ALL of the information applies to 1 serving. The serving size changes by package and food. If you eat 2 servings, the numbers double etc. 
• The TOTAL carbohydrate number refers to the total amount of fiber, sugar, AND starch. They separately label the amount of fiber and sugar but they don’t label the amount of starch. If you are a diabetic, this is tricky because sugar AND starch create blood sugar
• If you don’t speak in grams, divide the # grams of sugar by 4. That’s how many teaspoons it equates to. For example, 8 oz of juice has 21 grams of sugar (or ~5 teaspoons)

Consider the above labels comparing orange juice and oatmeal. 

• Both have the same amount of total carbohydrate (27 grams)
• Both will create blood glucose (quick energy)
• BUT oatmeal will keep you fuller longer and create less total blood sugar

Why? 

•  77% of the carbohydrate in orange juice comes from sugar (21 / 27 grams).
• But in oatmeal, 77% of the total carbohydrate comes from starch (21 grams) and fiber (4 grams) – which take longer to digest. The oatmeal also has 6 grams of protein which takes longer to digest 

The only time I encourage people to count carbohydrates is if they are a diabetic dosing insulin. Other than that, there is little to no reason to be precise about how many grams of carbohydrate you’re eating. Most bodies do best with at least 45% of calories from carbohydrate (225 grams for 2000 calories). For people who are more active (athletes, physical labor) that percentage may increase to 60% at times. There are rare medical exceptions to severely restrict carbs lower than 45%.  Restricting carbohydrates results in short term weight loss (primarily due to water loss). Most people who restrict carbohydrates end up avoiding sugar and starch – which starves the body resulting in low energy and general misery making it a tough lifestyle to follow. 

Additionally, there are signs from your body signaling imbalanced: 

• Constipation (not enough fiber / water)
• Energy followed by  exhaustion (large % starch/sugar). Most commonly seen as the afternoon slump
• Really hungry 1-2 hours after eating (not enough fiber, protein, fat)
• General exhaustion (can be a sign of high blood sugar OR excessive restriction)

Carbohydrates are an energy source for the body. The more complicated the structure, the more satisfied you will feel. Simpler structures (such as starch or sugar) should not be feared  – these chemistries have physical and emotional value. We eat for health but we also eat for pleasure and joy – it’s part of being human. Our mind and bodies thrive when we eat a balanced diet. Not sure which balance is right for you? That’s the magic of nutrition counseling.