I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on how endurance athletes can obtain the best fuel to help them keep on trucking mile after mile. I’ve come across some interesting research that shows how our ancient ancestors got by without many carbohydrates for extended periods of time. Granted this was tens of thousands of years ago and the environment we are currently in is nothing like what our ancestors experienced.
Some things they did experience that we still experience today is high stress incidents. For them it was not getting eaten for lunch by a lion. For us it not getting our heads bitten of by the boss. Either way, the stress response and subsequent fuel usage by the body to combat the situation is the same.
During a stress response, the blood is shunted from the brain and organs to the limbs. Things like cerebral thinking and food digestion are slowed to a minimum so that all the blood and energy can go to escaping.
Carb energy versus fat energy
What I have learned is carbohydrate energy is like rocket fuel. It’s easily for the body to break down quickly and get us moving fast. It is an energy source that supports the fight or flight system of the body. It’s a quick fuel for running fast and lasts for about an hour. That let our ancestors have the possibility of outrunning the lion because the lion eats secondary energy foods, other animals, which causes them to have a very short energy burst giving plant eaters an advantage in escaping.
Carb energy is like rocket fuel in our bodies and can made us overly hyper, even agitated with this burst of energy. Then we hit a slump that can come on just as fast leaving us lethargic, sleepy, and even feeling depressed.
Fight or flight versus plant based sustainable energy sources
On the other hand there is healthy fat sources such as coconut oils, avocado, palm oil, nuts, and seeds that provide a much larger amount of energy for the consumer. While it can seem counter intuitive based on all the false propaganda that fat makes you fat, when we look at how energy is utilized in the body it only makes sense to eat higher fat and lower carbohydrates most of the time. I believe seasonality is another factor but we will get into more details on that in other articles.
For now, understand that fat will provide the body 3 times the energy per gram than carbohydrates. Fats will keep you feeling full longer but they must be raw. When we damage the molecular structure of the fat with cooking there will be a much less desirable effect on each of our cells gumming them up just like the oil left on the bottom of your cooking pan and stove top.
Sustainable Energy Recipes
Fit on Fat Smoothie
1/4 cup raw organic almonds
6 frozen organic strawberries
1 cup raw organic strawberries
Stevia and Himalayan Salt to taste
Step 1: Place first 3 ingredients in a high speed blender, such as a Vitamix blender.
Step 2: Add about 2 cups of purified water
Step 3: Blend ingredient until smooth, about 1 minute in a high speed blender.
Step 4: Add desired amount of Stevia and Himalayan salt to taste along with some ice to make it colder.
Step 5: Blend until ice is well incorporated.
Step 6: OPTIONAL – you can add some coconut oil to make it creamier as well as non-GMO lecithin to thicken the smoothie and help you digest the fats better. This is important if you have digestive weakness or are an A blood type, which has a harder time digesting higher fat foods.
What more would you like to know about fats versus carbohydrates? eMail me your excellent questions at syncrawnicity@gmail.com
To YOUR health!
Leave a Reply