Do you eat pasta?

Amy Miracle, MS, MA, RD
Registered Dietitian & Exercise Physiologist

The Scenario
An increasingly popular diet trend among endurance athletes is to reduce carbohydrate foods and increases the amount of protein they eat.  The rational is that if carbohydrate intake is reduced it will lead to weight loss and thus improved performance.  As evidence of this trend I often get comments that go something like this “I really like pasta and bread but I know they are bad for me so I stay away from them”.  So, I sit here (scratching my head) wondering where all of these endurance athletes (athletes that run on carbohydrates) got the notion that carbohydrate foods are bad for them. 

The Explanation
I believe that the idea that a reduction of carbohydrates in the diet can cause weight loss comes from the fact that when we eat carbohydrates there is a hormonal response that impacts fat gain.  What happens is that when we eat carbohydrate foods our bodies respond to the corresponding increase in blood glucose with an increase of insulin in the blood.  Insulin activates glucose storage in the muscles and liver, fat storage, and protein synthesis in the muscle.  Based on this explanation, it appears that if we lower dietary carbohydrate intake, insulin would not increase as high and therefore the body would store less fat.  In fact what happens in actuality is that this eating method of high protein and low carbohydrate lowers the variety of available fuel and quality of the diet and causes weight loss.  The weight loss is due to a decrease in body water and increasing energy loss due to the demands of metabolizing protein and not due to the alteration in hormonal balance related to low insulin levels.  What is also a fact is that insulin is a very sensitive hormone and is found is ample amounts in the bloodstream, even in a state of low carbohydrate intake.  Another concern is that when the body is very low on carbohydrate it will seek out alternative fuels during exercise and one place that is uses is muscle protein, this is another contributing factor to weight loss during a low carbohydrate diet.

Endurance events (like Silverman) rely predominantly on the use of carbohydrate as a fuel source.  It is essential that we provide enough carbohydrate fuel for training sessions but also build up glycogen stores in the muscles and liver after each workout.  The more glycogen storage available, the longer you can go be for you experience fatigue.  That will definitely enhance training sessions as well as performance on race day.  I believe that pastas and breads can be a great addition to the diet due to the fact that they are high carbohydrate foods that contain very little fat and can be paired with most anything.  Here is a great pasta recipe you may want to try out.

Pasta Primavera with Chicken (from www.foodfit.com)

Ingredients
2/3 pound fettuccine
4 teaspoons olive oil
2/3 pound boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, cut into strips
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/3 medium carrots, cut into thin strips
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2/3 red pepper, cut into thin strips
2/3 pound asparagus, cut into 2-inch lengths
2/3 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2/3 clove garlic, minced
12 ounces non-fat sour cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4 teaspoons chopped chives

Cooking Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the fettuccine and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta is al dente. Drain.
  2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the chicken is golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside.
  3. Return the skillet to medium-high heat, add the carrots and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth by the quarter cup, as needed, to keep the vegetables from sticking.
  4. Add the red pepper and asparagus and cook for 2 minutes more. (Continue adding chicken broth as needed.)
  5. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.
  6. Turn the heat to low and add any remaining chicken broth and the sour cream to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth and sour cream are well blended. Add 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Add the chicken and toss it with the vegetables to coat it in the sauce. Add the fettuccine and toss again to combine.
  8. Immediately serve the Primavera in warm bowls. Serve the remaining Parmesan cheese on the side for sprinkling at the table.

Serving Size: 1 bowl of pasta with chicken and vegetables

Nutrition Information


Number of Servings: 4


Per Serving

Calories

471

Carbohydrate

46 g

Fat

14 g

Fiber

6 g

Protein

41 g

Saturated Fat

6 g

Sodium

601 mg

 

 

 

If you have questions, feel free to contact Amy at amymiracle@aol.com .

 

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