Low-Carbohydrate Diet: Don’t Be Confused About Your Diet Plan

When it comes to the reliability and worth of low-carbohydrate diets, there is no wonder that several confusions can come into the path. After all fuzzy studies, the debates are still popping up everywhere. No matter, whether it is a South Beach, keto diet, Atkins, or any other low-carbohydrate diet, there is a wide group of people around the world who are on a low-carbohydrate diet.

It is contended that high-carb diets are the main reason for increasing health problems like diabetes, obesity, and many others. On the other side, it is also stated that due to the lack of fruits, vegetables, and grains in low carb diets can lead you to deficiencies of some important nutrients such as folic acid, fiber, vitamin C, and other minerals.

Any diet, whether high-carb or low-carb, it can help you in generating significant weight loss during the starting stages of your diet plan. But always remember, the success of your diet plan depends on whether you’re losing the weight or not. Your plan can be called successful only if you’re losing the weight permanently. In this blog, we’ve tried our best to solve the mystery about low-carbohydrate diets. Here are some points that are taken from the latest studies and scientific literature:

Differences between low carb diets

There are several diets developed just to lower carb intake. Reducing total carbohydrate consumption through your diet means you’re taking a greater amount of fat and protein.

Protein Power and Atkins diets restrict carbs to a point where your body gets into ketosis state automatically. Other low-carbohydrate diets including the Life Without Bread and Zone are less restrictive. Some, such as Sugar Busters claims only to discard sugar and foods that raise blood sugar level highly.

What to know about low-carbohydrate diets

There are a number of studies have been performed on this diet plan. The carbohydrate and calorie intake, duration of the diet plan, and characteristics of the participants varied highly. It is noticed that maximum studies have two things in common:

• None of the studies lasted longer than 90 days
• None of the studies had participants with a mean age over 53

The long-term results and results on older adults are insufficient. If you’re losing weight on a low-carbohydrate diet, it is a function of total calorie consumption and length of the diet. It suggests that, in order to lower weight, you have to take fewer calories and follow the same diet plan for a long period.

There is almost no or very less evidence on the long-term safety of low-carbohydrate diets. Even, there are no bad-effects have been noticed with glucose, blood-pressure, insulin, and cholesterol levels among the people on this diet. A loss in weight basically leads to enhancement in these levels. The overall changes in weight for low-carbohydrate and other diets are equal.

Most of the low-carbohydrate diets can cause ketosis. Vomiting, confusion, nausea, and abdominal pain are some of the potential consequences. When you start following a low-carb diet, you may have to feel constipation and fatigue initially but these symptoms disappear later.

Some report, when you’re on a low-carbohydrate diet, you can have more calories. Always remember, calories are calories no matter what you consume (fat or carbohydrates).

What should you do?

There are three necessary points to re-emphasize:

• The long-term success rate for low-carbohydrate and other kinds of diets is equal

• Apart from their popularity, little info exists on the long-range safety and efficacy of low-carb diets

• Strict low-carbohydrate diets are not sustainable as a common method of eating, and boredom normally overcomes willpower

It is quite obvious after reviewing this information that more controlled, severe, and well-designed studies or researchers are required in this process. The available information is not enough, especially related to long-term effects. Strict low-carbohydrate diets generate ketosis which is potentially stressful and an abnormal metabolic state. The results of the diet can cause various health-related issues as compared to the problems it solved.

The diet you select must be a blueprint of better eating for the lifetime, not just an instant weight loss plan to hit your weight loss goal. If you don’t see yourself following the prescribed meal plan longer than a week or a month, then the chances are that it is not the perfect diet. Overall, considering a low-fat diet plan with a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and other nutrients & minerals is advantageous.

If you have decided to consider a low-carbohydrate diet menu, remember that certain dietary fats are linked to disease reduction. Foods that are high in unsaturated fats (free of trans-fatty) including fish, nuts, olive oil, flaxseeds are preferred to fats from animal origins.

Now, even promoters of the Atkins diet plan recommend people on this diet plan to limit saturated fat and red meat consumption. The representatives of Atkins have told to health experts that only 20 percent calorie of a dieter should come from saturated fats, i.e. cheese, butter, meat. This change comes as Atkins faces competition from other famous low-carbohydrate diets that call for less saturated fat like the South Beach diet menu. The low-carbohydrate diet must not be considered as a license to gorge on red meat.

In other words, foods rich in processed snacks, white bread, and sugar would be avoided, but foods rich in complex carbs like potatoes, whole grains, and fruits, retained. The information available in this blog is just for educational purpose and is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat any health problem or disease. Consult a healthcare provider before starting any health care program.