Carbohydrates A carbohydrate is one of three macronutrients and is the most important energy source for the entire body. Men’s Health Magazine talks about how Today people are mislead by diets such as the atkins diet and sugar busters diet. These diets deceive us into thinking that our bodies actually don’t need carbohydrate and that our bodies would rather rely on fats and proteins for energy. According to the text book Nutrition An Applied Approach, this information is false, that in reality our bodies actually prefer to use carbohydrates and fats for energy, and that 60% of our daily intake needs to be Carbohydrates. When doing high intensity short duration workouts such as weight lifting our bodies rely on carbohydrates for energy. This energy produced from carbohydrates is called adrenosine triphosphate also known as ATP. What happens is the carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and undergo a process called glycosis to create this ATP. The end result of all of this is pyruvic acid. When your doing these high intensity exercises the oxygen in your cells become limited and then the pyretic acid converts to lactic acid to supply fuel for our muscles and our hearts. If a person is not consuming enough carbohydrates their body and brain then has to use alternative options for energy which can lead to ill health. Lets start with the brain, in my textbook, it says the brain on average uses 130 carbohydrates daily to function at normal capacity, so if there are not sufficient carbohydrates our body will then start to make its own energy called ketones through a process called ketosis. Ketosis is normal however if the brain has to continue using ketones for energy serious side effects can occur such as suppressed appetite, dehydration, and high blood ketone levels. Ketones are highly acidic and can interfere with everyday body