yangYing t1_ivei7wt wrote
Reply to comment by McBleezy8 in Restricting sugar or carbohydrate intake does not impact physical activity level or energy intake over 24 h despite changes in substrate use: a randomised crossover study in healthy men and women - European Journal of Nutrition by Meatrition
Sorry for a basic question, but - what is 'substrate'?
tjdux t1_ivelvmr wrote
In general, a substrate is a basic building block or underlying surface.
For this instance they are describing different forms of simple sugars that the human body can metabolize.
Carbohydrates are a basic sugar that the body can easily break down and use as energy, they are an example of 1 type of substrate in this convo. Biology has always considered carbs relatively "efficient" because the body doesn't need to change them to use their energy.
Another substrate would be created when the body converts fat cells into sugars that can be used by the muscles.
The overall point of the study is saying that the sugar the body converts from fat is just as powerful muscle fuel as pure carbohydrates for most people, except high level athletes.
Disclaimer, I'm just a guy who has done a lot of reading on nutrition and weight loss, specific to low carb diets.
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