Low Carb Diets - Full Review of Leading Low Carb Diets: Feature Article
A low carb diet is just that, a diet that encourages low intake of carbohydrates. So, if you are not consuming carbohydrates, you are consuming high volumes of fats and proteins instead. There are only three energy sources for the body: carbs, fats, and proteins. If you cut out the carbs, the body has to convert fat to ketones for energy. This results in weight loss because fat is being used for energy. Thus you can see why people choose low carb diets. Not to mention the fact that people choose low carb diets simply because it appeals to their taste buds, allowing them to eat all the meat and fat they want and justify it with a diet.
It is true that low carb diets have proven to be an effective short-term weight loss strategy. Short term is the key word. The fallacy of a low carb diets is that this is not a long term approach to health and weight loss, and can often lead to decreased health.
So, if low carb diets mean you can eat what you want, and you are going to lose weight, what exactly is wrong with this kind of diet?
The biggest problem with a low carb diet is that it does not promote the principles of long term health, weight loss, and vitality. Instead, it promotes a band aid type solution for weight loss, that when no longer being practiced leads to weight gain, often times in higher volumes than original weight lost, and poor health.
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For long term maintenance of the body, the body requires important constituents that from carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are the only way to get what is needed for the following:
- In order to maintain healthy RNA and DNA: Some of the essential building blocks of RNA and DNA can only come from carbohydrates.
- To feed the brain so that it functions properly: The brain's natural energy source is glucose, and only half of its energy needs can be met by ketones. This means that when you eat a low carb diet, and go into ketosis, you will experience mental deprivation due to the fact that the brain is not getting the energy it needs to process information and function appropriately.
- To promote nutrient receptor growth: In order to keep the regulatory system of the body functioning properly. Every cell has nutrient receptors that send signals to the brain to let it know what nutrients it needs. The brain then signals the endocrine system, and that releases hormones that regulate these functions. Nutrient receptors are critical to health because it monitors what goes on in the cell. So, the problem with a low carb diet is that it cuts out carbohydrates, which contain essential constituents needed for nutrient receptor growth.
Helpful Resources: Low Carb Diets This site offers some information about low carb dieting, the most popular low carb diets, some debates about low carb diets, and an easy to read format. Ketosis Low Carb Lifestyle Wikipedia Reducing Body Weight Zone Diet Atkins Free Diet Profile
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So why else are low carb diets such a bad idea?
Low cab diets lead to chronic halitosis (bad breath). Ketones really stink. When you are on a low carb diet, your body has to convert fats to ketones in order to produce energy, one bi-product of ketones is the stench that comes from ketones.
Low carb diets lead to chronic constipation. Low carb diets are naturally low in fiber, thus the bowels are unable to function properly, and the result is often constipation or irritable bowel syndrome.
Low carb diets lead to a depletion of minerals. One of the minerals that is often depleted is calcium, which of course leads to bone loss, osteoporosis, kidney stones, and more. The highest predictor of bone health known is the ratio between calcium and animal protein consumption. A calcium to animal protein ratio, where calcium is low, and animal protein is high, is generally an indicator that bone health will be poor. So, if you are on a low carb diet, you are in taking high amounts of animal protein, and very low amounts of calcium. Also, most people who eat a lot of animal protein eat high amounts of salt. Salt has a significant affect on calcium loss from the body.
Low carb diets increase risk for colon cancer, heart disease, auto-immune disorders, and other degenerative diseases. Why? Because low carb diets are by default high in animal based proteins, and diets that are really in animal based proteins have an exceptionally high blood levels of hormone IGF-1, which is a known risk factor for numerous types of cancer.
Prominent researchers suggest that eating animal protein is not problematic as long as you do not exceed the amount needed for body growth and repair. When consumption of animal protein consumption goes beyond the body's need for protein, the protein is broken down and excreted from the body. The byproducts of this process lead to several common degenerative diseases. Thus, in a low carb diet, your intake far exceeds the amount of animal protein your body needs, resulting in poor health, and higher risk for degenerative disease.
Low carb diets are not all bad:
The merit of a low carb diet is that you can lose weight quickly. However, if you are going to choose a diet, it does not make sense to waste your time and energy learning how to apply a diet that does not sustain long term health when you can get the same results or better with other diets that give you the same weight, but without the adverse side effects. When it comes to spending your valuable resource and time, invest your energies toward diets that not just help you lose weight, but that are satisfying, meet the needs of the body, and are simple to execute and sustain.
Review of leading low carb diets:
Atkins
The theory: Dr Atkins' theory is really quite simple: when you cut out carbs, your body is forced into burning its fat stores to provide it with energy; because you are burning fat, you'll lose weight more quickly; also, by cutting out carbs, blood sugar levels remain more stable throughout the day, and so prevent overeating. There are four phases to this program.
You can expect to lose 6-10 pounds during the first phase, and 1-3 pounds a week thereafter.
The side effects of the Atkins diet have been reported to include: bad breath, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, insomnia and nausea. Other concerns are the risk of heart disease, and that the unbalanced nature of the Atkins diet may lead to nutritional deficiencies, which cause health problems in later life
The verdict: You lose a lot of weight, but in the process can hurt your body!
The South Beach Diet
The South Beach diet claims that you can lose up to a staggering 13lb in just two weeks, it suggests you can also expect to lose most of that weight from your tummy.
This isn't a low carb or low fat diet, rather it focuses on eating the "right" carbs and the "right" fats. The diet severely restricts carbohydrates in the first two weeks, before gradually re-introducing those with a low glycemic index. It also recommends swapping saturates for unsaturates.
The theory is based on the glycemic index, and on craving more carbs. Like many diets, the South Beach is divided into three phases. It claims you can lose 8-13 pounds in the first two weeks. Once you enter Phase Two, you can expect a more reasonable loss of 1-2 pounds a week.
The side effects are feeling weak during the first phase. Not to mention it leaves you missing out on some vitamins and minerals. Eliminating all carbohydrate-rich foods during this phase also means you'll be cutting out some other good sources of fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Zone Diet
The Zone Diet works on the theory that excess insulin, a hormone that helps control our blood sugar levels, makes us fat and keeps us fat. By closely regulating our blood sugar levels and therefore keeping our levels of insulin in a tight "zone", the body burns fat more efficiently so that we lose weight.
The idea is that to reach "The Zone", every meal and snack should provide 40 percent of calories from carbohydrate, 30 per cent from protein and 30 per cent from fat. Zone Food Blocks have been developed, where each `block' contains a standardized amount of carbohydrate, protein or fat. To lose weight, a certain number of blocks are allocated for each meal and snack. From there it gets complicated because how many blocks you can have is determined by your height, weight, body fat, etc. It is a complicated diet that many people can not follow.
However, those that do follow it claim you can lose at least 5lb in the first two weeks, followed by 1-1.5lb every week after this
The side effects are similar to those of Atkins of South Beach, you lose weight, but your health suffers, and your body is often calorie deficient.
