Some of the more popular diets out there today come in the form of low-carb. There are multiple approaches to why they say this works, from the idea that it’s easier to gain weight from carbohydrate calories than from protein and fat calories to the idea that eating fewer carbs will promote weight loss due to the fact that unbalancing your diet will cause an increase in your metabolism. Your body doesn’t need carbohydrates for fuel, it can survive solely on protein and fat if necessary, but your brain can’t, the brain requires carbohydrates, it has no way of using protein or fat energy, which is enough reason for many people to avoid low-carb diets. Low-carbohydrate diets also promote ketosis, when weight loss occurs, fats and proteins are used by your body to create energy, when the body has a lack of carbohydrates it can’t properly break down the fats into fatty acids for fuel which produces ketone bodies, causing ketosis. Ketosis sounds bad but it really isn’t, however one of the side effects of ketosis can be bad breath, caused by acetones (one of the bodies from ketosis) being expunged through your breath. As I mentioned earlier one of the benefits claimed by the promoters of low-carb diets is that unbalancing your diet will increase your metabolism, this simply is not true. Other than short term bursts from drugs, the only way to raise your metabolism is through exercise. The American Heart Association has plenty to say on low-carb diets, including the Atkins, the Zone, Sugar Buster, and the Stillman diet. Robert H. Eckel, M.D., chairman of the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee had this to say, “They put people at risk for heart disease and we’re really concerned about this". “These diets will raise the… bad cholesterol and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attacks." Judith Stern, professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California, Davis said this on the subject, “You want my response to Atkins saying that his diet can lower your cholesterol and do all sorts of good things for your heart, you know what my response is? Bull!" Yes, LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) does usually drop as people lose weight from low-carb diets, however, that is due to the weight loss itself, NOT the manner in which it was lost. Plus, it has been shown that if people continue on this diet as a weight sustainer after the weight is lost, “Many people’s LDL goes up if they remain on the diet…" said Eckel. Plus, the nutrition committee of the American Heart Association issued a science advisory warning about high-protein diets, they stated: •Such diets may produce short-term weight loss due to dehydration. •Weight loss may also occur through caloric restriction resulting from the fact that the diets can be relatively unpalatable. •These diets often restrict healthful foods that provide essential nutrients. •Individuals who follow these diets are at potential risk of cardiac, renal, bone and liver abnormalities overall. •Any improvement in blood cholesterol levels and insulin management would be due to weight loss, not the change in your food. •A very high protein diet is especially risky for patients with diabetes because it can speed the progression of diabetic kidney disease.
What happens after your body has shed its water weight? It starts to burn the left over fat and then, because it lacks carbohydrates to burn for energy, it starts to burn protein - your muscles. These diets induce a metabolic condition known as ketosis which is really an unhealthy condition found in people who suffer from kidney disease and diabetes. It is not usually found in healthy people. Burning protein is not healthy because protein is nature's building material and is vital for repairing and rebuilding your body's cells, tissues and organs. Advocates of the Low Carb/High Protein/Fat diets play down ketosis and claim it's proof your body's burning fat. That's true in part. Ketosis does burn fat but will also, eventually, burn your body's muscle tissue.
If you've ever been on one of these diets, you've noticed that your urine gets yellow. This is due to ketones which is a by-product of ketosis. This is evidence that your body is burning and breaking up muscle tissue which is protein. That's dangerous because if too much of your body's protein is broken down you could suffer irreparable liver and kidney damage. Further symptons of muscle breakdown is evident in general weakness, fatigue and lack of energy.
Another thing to consider about Low Carb/High Protein diets is that during the process of ketosis your body also breaks down fatty acids and converts them to ketones and acetones which are used for fuel. A side effect of this is that your body loses vital minerals like potassium and sodium. This reduces your thyroid hormone level which in turn slows down your metabolism and subsequently your rate of weight loss. Furthermore ketosis could boost your blood cholesterol levels which is definitely not a safe situation.
Once you stop the regimen the weight piles right back on and then some.
There's a simple way to avoid this. Do not restrict your diet to any one food group or category.
Rather than blindly cutting Carbohydrates and increasing protein and fat intake, you should opt for a healthy ratio of 30% protein, 15% fat, and 55% Complex Carbohydrates. This ratio will help you to lose weight steadily and safely. The key is to reduce fat and SIMPLE carbohydrates not Carbohydrates in general.
Another downside of Low Carb/High Fat diets is that studies show that the less carbs you consume the more likely you are to consume more fat. And this excess fat is stored up in your body's fat cells where they'll linger indefinitely, clogging up your arteries with unhealthy cholesterol. Thus the more fat you eat the more your body will retain no matter how little carbs you eat, even if you eat no carbs at all.
Now here's the secret about eating complex carbs. Because complex carbs have a low glycemic index your body has to use 250% more energy to convert these carbs into fuel than it does to convert fat into fuel. Your body works harder to metabolise and burn calories from complex carbs than it does High Protein/Low Carb. The result? Safe, systematic weight reduction - the best way to avoid health problems and sagging skin caused by too rapid weight loss.
Both Eric Schmidt & Haley Abrams are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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