Are Carbs Necessary for Building Muscle? with Alan Aragon

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Alan Aragon, a nutrition researcher and educator with over 30
years of success in the field. He is known as one of the most
influential figures in the fitness industry’s movement toward
evidence-based information. His notable clients include Stone
Cold Steve Austin, Derek Fisher, and Pete Sampras.


"If there's enough total calories in the diet, enough total carbs
in the diet, and of course enough protein in the diet, then the
shifting around and the positioning of carbohydrate is best left
to pretty much individual preference as far as positioning it for
maximizing muscle hypertrophy." - Alan Aragon


Links for this episode


Nutritional Peak Week and Competition Day Strategies of
Competitive Natural Bodybuilders


Effect of protein/essential amino acids and resistance training
on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A case for whey protein


The Effects of Creatine Supplementation Combined with Resistance
Training on Regional Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic
Review with Meta-Analysis


Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the
gut microbiota


High-dose saccharin supplementation does not induce gut
microbiota changes or glucose intolerance in healthy humans and
mice


Episode Overview:


00:07:17 - Carb timing for muscle growth, 
Carb timing is less important than protein timing when it comes
to muscle hypertrophy. 

00:13:59 - Ketogenic diet for muscle growth, 
While Ketogenic dieting works for many, it's not the optimal tool
for maximizing muscle mass and retention. According to
elite-level natural bodybuilders, an average of 2 grams of
carbohydrate per pound of body weight during prep can help
maximize muscle retention while losing fat. 

00:15:43 - Carb timing and lifting capacity, 
Carb timing has less importance than protein timing when it comes
to muscle hypertrophy. However, some literature suggests that
lifting capacity is compromised when carbohydrates are not
consumed, regardless of timing.

00:16:21 - The Effects of Fasted Lifting on
Performance, 
Lifting fasted can compromise performance, so it's recommended to
have a mixed macronutrient meal with some level of carbohydrate
within one to two hours prior to the lifting session.

00:17:40 - The Anabolic Window, 
The idea that quickly absorbing protein and carbohydrates
post-workout maximizes muscle protein synthesis has been
debunked. Constant dosing of protein, carbohydrates, and fats
throughout the day negates the need to hyper-focus on the
immediate post-exercise period.

00:22:17 - The Role of Carbohydrates in Maximizing Muscle Protein
Synthesis, 
A study showed that when you have enough protein, you don't need
to add carbohydrates to it to maximize muscle protein synthesis.
The optimal dose for protein is between 0.4 to 0.6g/kg of body
weight, which appears to maximize the short-term anabolic effect
or maximize the muscle protein synthesis response.

00:26:47 - The Benefits of Flexible Thinking, 
Training fasted vs fed depends on the goal and the population.
While fasted training can lead to stronger anabolic signaling,
compromising performance is a possibility. The best approach is
to train when you can train, and when you can't, you can make it
up later.

00:32:58 - Fasting and Fat Loss, 
There's no net difference over a 24-hour period between training
fasted and fed when it comes to fat loss.

00:34:17 - Fasted vs. Fed Cardio, 
A study was conducted on untrained women comparing the effects of
fasted and fed cardio on body composition, which revealed no
significant differences in muscle preservation or fat loss
between the two groups. 

00:40:04 - Creatine Meta-Analysis, 
A meta-analysis was conducted on the effects of creatine on
muscle hypertrophy and revealed a disappointing increase in
muscle thickness among untrained subjects. However, the analysis
showed a substantial increase in strength gains across multiple
studies, even in highly trained subjects. 

00:48:15 - Creatine Non-Responders, 
Creatine non-responders constitute about 20-30% of individuals
who poorly respond to creatine due to various reasons, including
high initial levels of muscle creatine saturation and differences
in fiber type distribution across individuals. However, the
majority of people who use creatine can expect to gain lean mass
and strength. 

00:52:09 - Benefits of Creatine, 
Creatine offers multifaceted benefits ranging from neurological
health to musculoskeletal health and metabolic benefits. It can
improve cognition, bone and joint health, and glycemic
control.

00:53:39 - The Benefits of Creatine, 
Creatine has been shown to help with cognitive function, joint
health, lean tissue function, and even increase bone density.
It's a conditionally essential compound that can be obtained
through diet or supplementation. 

00:56:10 - Seed Oils and Gestational Diabetes, 
There is speculation that Creatine could help manage gestational
diabetes due to its ability to increase insulin sensitivity and
muscle glucose uptake. Seed oils have been talked about as a
monolithic species, but they should be considered on a
case-by-case basis. 

01:03:15 - Evidence-Based Nutrition, 
It's important to look at the evidence when it comes to nutrition
and not just blindly follow internet fairy tales or appeal to
nature fallacies. Vegetable oils have consistently shown better
health outcomes compared to saturated fats. 

01:06:20 - Appeal to Nature Fallacy, 
Just because something is natural or organic doesn't necessarily
mean it's good for you (e.g. cancer). While there are benefits to
going natural when possible, technology can enhance human quality
of life in multiple domains, including food
technology. 

01:11:39 - Non-Nutritive Sweeteners, 
There are different categories of non-nutritive sweeteners, such
as sucralose and saccharines. 

01:12:07 - Artificial Sweeteners and Health Concerns, 
Artificial sweeteners are relatively harmless, and the doses
necessary to achieve what they achieve are negligible. Stevia,
for instance, has an array of potential therapeutic effects,
whereas Saccharin has been shown to cause unfavorable changes in
gut microbiome.

01:19:01 - Reverse Causation and Disease Processes, 
Large-scale population studies that investigate the association
between artificial sweeteners and heart disease, diabetes, or
obesity are poorly controlled. It is much more likely that the
opposite is true, with the state of having these diseases driving
the consumption of artificial sweeteners to a greater
degree. 

01:21:08 - Convergence of Evidence, 
When both controlled interventions (randomized controlled trials)
and observational studies (epidemiology) converge, we can
confidently conclude that artificial sweeteners cause disease
processes at the intermediate level and lead to actual disease
endpoints. 

01:23:40 - Personal Opinion, 
While Alan advocates for drinking plain water, he believes that
consuming artificial sweeteners is a reasonable trade-off if it
helps individuals reduce their sugar intake.


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