Analyzing One of My Research Sources: "Trying to build muscle? Don't Cut the Carbs."

As I was finding sources for my research project, I came cross a newspaper article on my school's database titled "Trying to build muscle? Don't cut the carbs." I know that carbs, specifically complex carbs, are vital for muscle growth, but at the time I found the article I wasn't really sure why. My expectations for finding the scientific explanation of that in this newspaper article were not high, but I was able to accumulate additional information about it.

Obviously the claim of the article is that carbs are essential for muscle growth, firstly because its a primary energy source for your muscles, but also because it raises insulin levels, allowing your muscles to absorb amino acids from the proteins you consume.

Since this is a newspaper article, most likely it is targeted to the everyday person interested in fitness. People usually browse through a newspaper and just read what interests them, so this would definitely catch the eye of someone who works out on a regular basis.

If this were discussed in something like a peer-reviewed article, it probably would have included a lot more terminology and included ore evidence and explanation behind the claims, as well as the author most likely would have a Ph.D. in the subject. However, the need for carbohydrates when building muscle is not new knowledge, but is not as common of knowledge as it should be. Therefore this may not be the topic of a recent peer-reviewed article or professional research document.

Because this is a newspaper article, it does lack a thorough explanation of the claim, along with the credibility of the author being debatable. I would say this does make the argument weaker than it would be in a more sophisticated, scientific piece of writing that includes concrete evidence and data to support the claim. Nevertheless, this is a short article that has some good information in it, although further explanation would be helpful.

This is a more technical explanation of how broken-down carbohydrates raise insulin levels and therefore allow one's body to take in amino acids more easily. You can find this image along with other information on carbohydrates at http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/a-comparison-of-carb-back-loading-and-the-renegade-diet