Discuss the importance of carbohydrates as a fuel source for physically active individuals

Answer 1

Carbohydrates should be between 45 and 65 percent of a person's daily dietary intake. You can store approximately 2,000 kilocalories of glucose and glycogen, which makes carbohydrate a prime energy source because it provides fuel to your anaerobic and aerobic energy pathways. All the cells in your body depend on glucose as a fuel, and the brain and central nervous system depend almost exclusively on glucose for energy. Consuming adequate amounts of carbohydrate spares the breakdown of protein for energy and is the only fuel that can be used to generate ATP, both from anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. If too little carbohydrate is available to drive metabolism, fat is not metabolized effectively and produces fat fragments that form ketone bodies, which accumulate in the blood, causing ketosis. The ability to replenish glycogen is important for the restoration process.