Are excess carbs turned to fat?

Carbohydrates are the body’s (and the brain’s) preferred fuel source. But what happens if you eat more then you need for fuel?
While the liver is capable of converting carbohydrates to fat – a process called de novo lipogenesis, the physiological fact is its very difficult to convert carbohydrate to fat. However, excessive carbohydrate consumption elevates your insulin levels which shuts down fat metabolism pathways. This makes calories easier to store in fat cells.
Dropping carbs from your diet will change the fuel your body uses, however this “new” fuel will come mostly from gluconeogenic amino acids (protein). That is, you’ll burn a whole lot of muscle in the process.
So what about the role of exercise in carb consumption? Intense exercise is an excellent “tool” you can use to channel carbohydrates to produce an anabolic response within muscle. Consuming most of your daily carbohydrate intake in the hours following a workout will ensure that your carbs go towards muscle recovery and growth.
The bottom line is that a diet high in sugars (carbs) may not necessarily be turned into fat, however, a high carb intake will promote fat gain, simply because this way of eating inhibits fat utilization and encourages energy storage.

-Paul Cribb Ph.D. CSCS

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