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The TRUTH About Low Carb Diets!
from: Big "Fat" Lies Newsletter (for Weight Loss)With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy
interpretation of information, it's no wonder that
confusion reigns when it comes to the value and safety
of low-carb diets. It seems like heated debates are
raging everywhere!
Whether it's Atkins, the South Beach or some other
low-carb plan, as many as 30 million Americans are
following a low-carb diet.
Advocates contend that the high amount of carbohydrates
in our diet has led to increasing problems with
obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. Critics,
on the other hand, attribute obesity and related health
problems to over-consumption of calories from any
source, and lack of physical activity. Critics also
express concern that the lack of grains, fruits, and
vegetables in low-carbohydrate diets may lead to
deficiencies of some key nutrients, including fiber,
vitamin C, folic acid, and several minerals.
Any diet, weather low or high in carbohydrate, can
produce significant weight loss during the initial
stages of the diet. But remember, the key to successful
dieting is in being able to lose the weight
permanently. Put another way, what does the scale show
a year after going off the diet?
Let's see if we can debunk some of the mystery about
low-carb diets. Below, is a listing of some relevant
points taken from recent studies and scientific
literature. Please note there may be insufficient
information available to answer all questions.
- Differences Between Low-Carb Diets
There are many popular diets designed to lower
carbohydrate consumption. Reducing total carbohydrate
in the diet means that protein and fat will represent a
proportionately greater amount of the total caloric
intake.
Atkins and Protein Power diets restrict carbohydrate to
a point where the body becomes ketogenic. Other
low-carb diets like the Zone and Life Without Bread are
less restrictive. Some, like Sugar Busters claim to
eliminate only sugars and foods that elevate blood
sugar levels excessively.
- What We Know about Low-Carb Diets
Almost all of the studies to date have been small with
a wide variety of research objectives. Carbohydrate,
caloric intake, diet duration and participant
characteristics varied greatly.
Most of the studies to date have two things in common:
None of the studies had participants with a mean age
over 53 and none of the controlled studies lasted
longer than 90 days.
Information on older adults and long-term results are
scarce.
Many diet studies fail to monitor the amount of
exercise, and therefore caloric expenditure, while
participants are dieting. This helps to explain
discrepancies between studies.
The weight loss on low-carb diets is a function of
caloric restriction and diet duration, and not with
reduced carbohydrate intake. This finding suggests that
if you want to lose weight, you should eat fewer
calories and do so over a long time period.
Little evidence exists on the long-range safety of
low-carb diets. Despite the medical community concerns,
no short-term adverse effects have been found on
cholesterol, glucose, insulin and blood-pressure levels
among participants on the diets. But, adverse effects
may not show up because of the short period of the
studies. Researchers note that losing weight typically
leads to an improvement in these levels anyway, and
this may offset an increase caused by a high fat diet.
The long range weight change for low-carb and other
types of diets is similar.
Most low-carb diets cause ketosis. Some of the
potential consequences are nausea, vomiting, abdominal
pain, and confusion. During the initial phase of
low-carb dieting some fatigue and constipation may be
encountered. Generally, these symptoms dissipate
quickly. Ketosis may also give the breath a fruity
odor, somewhat like nail-polish remover (acetone).
Low-carb diets do not enable the consumption of more
calories than other kinds of diets, as has been often
reported. A calorie is a calorie and it doesn't matter
weather they come from carbohydrates or fat. Study
discrepancies are likely the result of uncontrolled
circumstances; i.e. diet participants that cheat on
calorie consumption, calories burned during exercise,
or any number of other factors. The drop-out rate for
strict (i.e. less than 40 grams of CHO/day) low-carb
diets is relatively high.
What Should You Do? - There are 3 important points I
would like to re-emphasize:
- The long-range success rate for low-carb and other
types of diets is similar.
- Despite their popularity, little information exists
on the long-term efficacy and safety of
low-carbohydrate diets.
- Strict low-carb diets are usually not sustainable as
a normal way of eating. Boredom usually overcomes
willpower.
It is obvious after reviewing the topic, that more,
well-designed and controlled studies are needed. There
just isn't a lot of good information available,
especially concerning long-range effects. Strict
low-carb diets produce ketosis which is an abnormal and
potentially stressful metabolic state. Under some
circumstances this might cause health related
complications.
The diet you choose should be a blueprint for a
lifetime of better eating, not just a quick weight loss
plan to reach your weight goal. If you can't see
yourself eating the prescribed foods longer than a few
days or a week, then chances are it's not the right
diet. To this end, following a moderately low fat diet
with a healthy balance of fat, protein, carbohydrate
and other nutrients is beneficial.
If you do decide to follow a low-carb plan, remember
that certain dietary fats are associated with reduction
of disease. Foods high in unsaturated fats that are
free of trans-fatty acids such as olive oil, fish,
flaxseeds, and nuts are preferred to fats from animal
origins.
Even promoters of the Atkins diet now say people on
their plan should limit the amount of red meat and
saturated fat they eat. Atkins representatives are
telling health professionals that only 20 percent of a
dieter's calories should come from saturated fat (i.e.
meat, cheese, butter). This change comes as Atkins
faces competition from other popular low-carb diets
that call for less saturated fat, such as the South
Beach diet plan. Low-carb dieting should not be
considered as a license to gorge on red meat!
Another alternative to "strict" low-carb dieting would
be to give up some of the bad carbohydrate foods but
not "throw out the baby with the bath water". In other
words, foods high in processed sugar, snacks, and white
bread would be avoided, but foods high in complex
carbohydrates such as fruit, potatoes and whole grains,
retained.
About the Author
----------------------------------------
This article provided courtesy of the 'Big *FAT* Lies'
report. *WARNING* Don't waste your time and money
on another diet plan until you read our 100% FREE report:
http://www.pushbuttoncontent.com/free-weightloss.html
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