Breakfast: Simple or Complex Carbs?

Quick question: Is it better to consume simple or complex carbs in the morning? And why? Should this be treated like a postworkout period, or are we not as insuling sensitive at this time? And if we are not insuling sensitive at this time, why should we consume carbs at all for breakfast?

[quote]jimmyjames66 wrote:
Quick question: Is it better to consume simple or complex carbs in the morning? And why? Should this be treated like a postworkout period, or are we not as insuling sensitive at this time? And if we are not insuling sensitive at this time, why should we consume carbs at all for breakfast? [/quote]

Breakfast is one of the best times to have carbs, but it’s an oversimplification to say that simple carbs are high GI and complex carbs are low GI since we know this isn’t always the case.

There’s no reason to spike your insulin in the morning, leave that for post workout. Stick to complex carbs for breakfast (a piece of fruit is fine). The only one I would recommend sugars to (except post WO) would be a skinny hardgainer trying to gain weight.

[quote]ChrisKing wrote:
jimmyjames66 wrote:
Quick question: Is it better to consume simple or complex carbs in the morning? And why? Should this be treated like a postworkout period, or are we not as insuling sensitive at this time? And if we are not insuling sensitive at this time, why should we consume carbs at all for breakfast?

Breakfast is one of the best times to have carbs, but it’s an oversimplification to say that simple carbs are high GI and complex carbs are low GI since we know this isn’t always the case.[/quote]

Could you give some examples of when this would not be the case?

[quote]jimmyjames66 wrote:
ChrisKing wrote:
jimmyjames66 wrote:
Quick question: Is it better to consume simple or complex carbs in the morning? And why? Should this be treated like a postworkout period, or are we not as insuling sensitive at this time? And if we are not insuling sensitive at this time, why should we consume carbs at all for breakfast?

Breakfast is one of the best times to have carbs, but it’s an oversimplification to say that simple carbs are high GI and complex carbs are low GI since we know this isn’t always the case.

Could you give some examples of when this would not be the case?[/quote]

Fruits = fructose, a sugar that is the sweetest of the sugars. However, due to the lengthy digestion process of fructose, it’s pretty low GI.

In the most recent article on the front page, Poliquin lists carrots as a high GI food that produces a low insulin response. As suggested in the article, look at glycemic load over glycemic index.

[quote]challer1 wrote:
jimmyjames66 wrote:
ChrisKing wrote:
jimmyjames66 wrote:
Quick question: Is it better to consume simple or complex carbs in the morning? And why? Should this be treated like a postworkout period, or are we not as insuling sensitive at this time? And if we are not insuling sensitive at this time, why should we consume carbs at all for breakfast?

Breakfast is one of the best times to have carbs, but it’s an oversimplification to say that simple carbs are high GI and complex carbs are low GI since we know this isn’t always the case.

Could you give some examples of when this would not be the case?

Fruits = fructose, a sugar that is the sweetest of the sugars. However, due to the lengthy digestion process of fructose, it’s pretty low GI.

In the most recent article on the front page, Poliquin lists carrots as a high GI food that produces a low insulin response. As suggested in the article, look at glycemic load over glycemic index. [/quote]

These are correct, but some complex carbs are so highly processed that they essetially are the same as consuming table sugar.

A prime example is white bread which has a GI of 100.

[quote]HK24719 wrote:
These are correct, but some complex carbs are so highly processed that they essetially are the same as consuming table sugar.

A prime example is white bread which has a GI of 100.[/quote]

White bread only has a GI of 100 if that is the reference food. In such a rating scale, glucose has a GI of 140.