Originally Posted by
terrymorse
Your body has a huge store of body fat to fuel exercise. Exercise needs carbs for energy.
I mean, the first sentence negates the second one because it suggests that carbs are not needed for energy (as fat already provides for energy), which I'd largely agree with.
In fact, the latest research that has gone through more than 160 studies suggests that exogenous carbs don't need to go beyond ~10 grams per hour to maximize performance, which is like 1 fig:
The data reviewed herein present the novel interpretation that nutritional strategies to maximize performance during prolonged exercise (>2-3 hours) should be geared to maintaining the small glucose pool (blood + liver) during exercise rather than filling (or overfilling) the large glucose pool (skeletal muscle) before exercise. The present evidence indicates that this can be achieved by ingesting relatively small amounts of carbohydrates (∼10 g/h) during exercise. ... These data demonstrate that the main benefit of carbohydrate ingestion before or during exercise is to prevent exercise-induced hypoglycemia, highlighted in prolonged efforts (>2-3 hours) and individuals with insufficient hepatic gluconeogenesis.
Source:
https://doi.org/10.1210/endrev/bnaf038