Originally posted by MatthewO
If sugar was not a necessity of living...why would your body convert proteins to sugar when there is a deficiency? Glucose is an extremely important nutrient for many functions involving your mind also.
The (average) brain requires somewhere in the region of 20g glucose/day.
The whole "carbohydrates are not essential" is totally dependant upon the individual actually eating sufficient protein.
You drop the protein, and besides probably getting really ill, the body will use straight glucose for brain functioning (depending on how much you're taking in each day).
From the carbs also, and the brain will run off ketones. Of course you'll be in a fucked up state after several days of eating pure fat for your diet with no protein or glucose.
If you eat nothing, in time, you die. Ain't life full of trade-offs?
That's not the whole picture, but it's the general gist.
And if you are bulking...remember sugar transports amino acids for muscle building as well.
You're confusing sugar with insulin.
After a workout...this shuttling is very important. Whole fruits are an excellent source of the sugars you'd want to ingest after a workout.
Hmmm...banana, maybe, but not ideal. Fibrous and watery fruits aren't too brill alone during this time.
I suppose it depends upon your goals at the end of the day, but i can think of quite a few sources of carbohydrate i'd select before fruit.
