07/03/2025
OK, sir! I have to stop you there and correct you… the carbohydrate macronutrient is the only one that is nonessential.
🚨 ‼️ 🚨 ‼️ 🚨
This isn’t speculation, this is nutritional science. The term “essential” has a very specific definition in physiology: a nutrient is considered essential if the body cannot synthesize it on its own and must obtain it through diet.
•Essential amino acids (from protein): must be consumed for survival.
•Essential fatty acids (like omega-3 and omega-6): must also be consumed through diet.
•Essential carbohydrates? None. Zero. The human body has no requirement for dietary carbohydrate to survive or thrive.
The liver is perfectly capable of producing all the glucose the body needs through a process called gluconeogenesis, primarily from amino acids and from glycerol (a byproduct of fat metabolism). This is not ignorance; this is biochemistry 101.
🧠 Brain Fuel from Protein and Fat
(No Carbs Required)
1.Initial Energy Shift (First 3–10 days):
•When carbohydrates are absent, glycogen stores deplete.
•Blood glucose drops, insulin follows.
•The body ramps up gluconeogenesis to meet glucose demand—primarily for the brain, red blood cells, and parts of the kidney.
2.Gluconeogenesis Mechanics:
•Amino acids (especially alanine and glutamine) from dietary or stored protein convert to glucose.
•Glycerol from triglycerides (fat) also contributes.
•This process is tightly regulated and sufficient to supply 20–30% of the brain’s minimal glucose need during transition.
3.Fat Adaptation (Around Day 10–14+):
•The liver produces ketone bodies (β-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate).
•The brain, muscles, and even the heart adapt to using ketones for fuel.
•Up to 75% of the brain’s energy can come from ketones in a fully fat-adapted state.
•Remaining glucose demand (which never fully goes away) continues to be met via gluconeogenesis—no carbs needed.
This is how the Inuit, Masai, early humans, and even modern-day carnivores thrive without any significant carbohydrate intake. It is efficient.
It is metabolic freedom.
👊 Carb Cycling: The Cleanest Version of a Cop-Out
Let’s call it what it is… strategic indulgence dressed up with sciencey buzzwords.
Some people incorporate carb cycling (rotating between low and moderate carb days) under the pretense of performance or hormone regulation.
In fairness, when done right, they:
•Stick to clean, minimally processed sources like sweet potatoes, fruit, or raw honey.
•Time their carb intake post-workout or on high-demand days.
•Maintain low inflammation by avoiding grains, seed oils, and refined sugar.
But even in its cleanest form, carb cycling is not necessary unless you’re training at an elite level or have metabolic inflexibility from prior abuse.
The truth?
Most people who carb-cycle are either trying to hedge their cravings, avoid full commitment, or justify their attachment to sweet-tasting foods.
You don’t need carbs to build muscle. You don’t need them to fuel your brain. And you sure as hell don’t need them to survive. The body has built-in redundancies for energy production from protein and fat that are far more elegant and stable than the volatile rollercoaster of constant glucose spikes.
Summary:
Carbs are not essential. That’s not an opinion, it’s the foundation of metabolic physiology. If someone’s using “essential” status to defend carbohydrates, they’re either misinformed or misleading. Choose your energy source like your life depends on it, because it does.
