The Myth That Everyone Should Eat Paleo And That Carbs Are Evil


Hardboiled eggs with amaranth and banana.

As both a nutrition coach and a strength coach I’ve noticed a few things about people’s knowledge about nutrition and dietary habits,

  1. People have no clue how to eat. There is so much conflicting information dumped on them by the internet and the media that they don’t know what is good for them and what is bad for them.
  2. Most people think that they should eat Paelo, because you know Nancy lost all this weight from going Paleo and she’s ripped now, and that carbs, specifically complex and starchy carbohydrates, are the root of all diet evil.

I’m not sure when it all started, maybe with the Atkins diet back in the late 90’s, but I am here to tell you that not everyone should be following a Paleo or a high protein and fat and low carbohydrate diet, and carbohydrates are not evil.

Sorry to burst your bubble but it’s the truth.

I learned my own lesson about how important complex and starchy carbohydrates were for my body, more important than healthy fats, last year. You can read more in my posts “Fat Is Fat” and “Fat Is Fat Part 2: I Love Carbs.

Read more about popular diet pitfalls from Julia Ladewski in her article “Popular Diet Pitfalls.”

Let’s get some facts down about carbohydrates first; and when I refer to carbohydrates I mean vegetables, fruit, as well as complex and starchy carbohydrates like oatmeal, rice, and potatoes, including white potatoes. Contrary to Paleo direction, white potatoes are not bad for you. Eat them. They are delicious. Especially baby potatoes roasted in the oven. Yum.

OK, onto information about carbs,

  1. Carbohydrates provide the fastest-acting macronutrient source for energy transfer.
  2. For any exercise that lasts beyond 10 seconds or 3 reps up to 80 seconds your body needs to use energy from the Glycolytic System, which uses glucose (per Precision Nutrition breaks down stored muscle glycogen and immediately available blood glucose), which is generated from carbohydrates. Glycolysis literally means “breaking glucose”. (Beyond 80 seconds your body taps into the oxidative phosphorylative system.) Read more in the Juggernaut Training Systems article, “Carbs: The Training Fuel” HERE.
  3. In addition, the storage of carbohydrates in the body is limited, therefore the glucose we use for energy transfer must often be generated from our dietary intake of carbohydrates. Read more from Precision Nutrition about carbohydrates in “All About Carbohydrates” HERE.
  4. We need carbohydrates for brain function, for energy for daily function outside of structured training, for energy for structured training, and for recovery from training as well as injury and surgery. Your body needs carbohydrates to heal and regenerate. So if you were at a workshop learning all day long and your brain is fried from the information you have been processing, your brain and needs carbohydrates to recover from this. Or if you have sustained an injury, and had surgery as a result (or even if you have not had surgery and just sustained an injury), your body needs carbohydrates to help the body heal and recover.

What is important when it comes to carbohydrates is,

  1. Eating the appropriate percentage of carbohydrates for your body type, weight/size, activity level, and goals (e.g. fat loss, muscle gain, weight maintenance, etc.).
  2. Timing your carbohydrate consumption appropriately based upon body type. e.g. Ectomorphs have a high tolerance of carbohydrates so they can consume carbohydrates throughout the day and can be less concerned about timing their carbohydrate intake for before and after workouts, whereas endomorphs have a lower carbohydrate tolerance and should time their carbohydrate intake to before and after workouts.


Body Type Definitions per Precision Nutrition,

  • Ectomorph: Naturally thin with skinny limbs. Characterized by long and thin muscles and limbs with lower fat storage; generally slim.
  • Mesomorph: Naturally muscular and athletic. Characterized by larger bones, a solid torso, wide shoulders, trim waist, controlled body fat levels.
  • Endomorph: Naturally broad and thick. Characterized by increased fat storage, wider waist, large bone structure.
  • Ecto-Mesomorph: A blend between ectomorph and mesomorph body types; athletic looking yet still on the thin side, especially in the limbs.

Why is Paleo not the best diet for everyone universally? Because people should follow a diet according to their body type needs, weight/size, activity level, and goals and the answer is not a one size fits all diet. Most people need to consume a certain percentage of carbohydrates, from vegetables and fruit to complex and starchy carbohydrates (including white potatoes), in order to have energy throughout the day, during their workouts, and to achieve their fitness and nutrition goals, and a one size fits all Paelo diet does not allow for this.



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