ABSTRACT
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Reduced Carbohydrate Diets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Carbohydrate Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Sugars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Simple Starches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Resistant Starches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Fiber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Carbohydrate Uptake and Hormonal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Metabolic Stores of Carbohydrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Carbohydrates Promote Hydration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Glycemic Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Glycosylation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Summary of Clinical Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Carbohydrate has numerous, critical physiological roles in muscular health and development. In fact, while protein and fat have often received the most attention with respect to their influence on muscular health, carbohydrate is the ratelimiting macronutrient with respect to muscle growth, repair, and maintenance. Carbohydrate has an essential role in energy production, even though body carbohydrate stores are scant compared to protein stores in muscle and fat stores in body fat. When the body has insufficient exogenous carbohydrate from diet, it mobilizes endogenous carbohydrate via glycolysis. When endogenous stores are depleted, carbohydrate is synthesized from protein. In addition to meeting energy needs, carbohydrate is used in the regulation of fat and protein metabolism, governing the activation of and sorting enzymes, identifying cell surfaces and transport channels, water absorption and retention, and the delivery of dietary antioxidants.
