Carbohydrates are said to the chief energy source for several vital organs, including your brain, kidneys and central nervous system. Carbohydrates get converted into glucose in the digestive system and your pancreas secretes insulin (a hormone) for helping the transfer of glucose from the bloodstream to the cells.
The popularity of diet plans based on low carbohydrate content is increasing day by day. Most medical practitioners are not in favor of these diet plans as they contain fat in excessive amounts (especially saturated fat) and doesn't contain adequate amount of vegetables, fruit, cereals and high fiber breads.
Individuals who are in favor of this diet plan opine that consuming kilojoules chiefly from fat and protein sources is absolutely fine. This implies that you need to limit the intake of some fruits and vegetables, cereals and consume fat, diary products and meat in sufficient quantity.
Some common foods included in the diet plan based on low carbohydrate are as follows: chicken, beef, eggs, bacon, non-starchy vegetables, mayonnaise, butter and fish. However, diet plans based on extremely low carbohydrate content fails to meet your regular nutritional needs. Hence, in order to remain healthy you need to intake fruit (2 serves), vegetables (5 serves), milk (2 cups), cereals or bread (4 serves) regularly.
The fact that consuming foods, which contain carbohydrate may result in weight gain is often misleading. In reality, weight gain results from the consumption of excessive calories or kilojoules-it does not matter whether they come from fats, proteins or carbohydrates.
Diet plans based on low carbohydrate content may help you in losing weight as they limit energy or calories. This approach deprives your body of the essential nutrients and may lead to severe metabolic disturbances.
Opting for a diet plan containing rich source of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and low-fat dairy products helps you to lower your weight to a sustainable extent. It has been observed that vegetarians are usually slimmer and are at a lower risk of getting cancer, heart disease or obesity compared to non-vegetarians.
This approach suggests that diet plan based on high content of unrefined carbohydrates help in preventing obesity and overweight. Bad breath, dehydration, constipation, appetite loss, dizziness and lethargy are some of the short-term side effects of low carbohydrate diets.
The long term side-effects of low carbohydrate diets are still not known clearly. However, a low carbohydrate diet may not be nutritionally adequate as they contain very few vegetables and fruits. They also contain inadequate amount of vitamin A, B6 and E, folate, fiber, magnesium, potassium, antioxidant phytochemicals and thiamin.
Going in for such a diet that is deprived of all the essential nutrients (particularly fiber and antioxidants) may increase the chances of getting cancer. Extremely low carbohydrate diets contain saturated fat in high contents which may lead to cardiovascular attack.
Diets containing high source of fats and protein often lead to abdominal obesity and disorders associated with obesity such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Diets based on high proteins usually contain cholesterol and saturated fats in high content. Opting for these diets may increase your cholesterol levels; lead to gall bladder colic, liver problems etc.
If you are determined to go in for a low-carbohydrate diet, see to it that you don't avoid carbohydrate all together. It is because you need them in your diet for metabolizing fat. Go in for foods containing rich source of carbohydrates (unprocessed or unrefined) such as fruits and grains instead of going in for energy dense and refined forms like sweets, soft drinks and cakes.
Include substantial amount of fresh vegetables in your diet. Finally in order to avoid further gain in weight, make sure that energy consumption doesn't exceed energy expenditure. Next opt for some simple exercises in order to keep your weight in check. So friends, what are you waiting for?
Put the suggestions into practical use and see how they work wonders for you.
The phenomenon occurs when positive carbohydrates are consumed, while negative carbohydrates are avoided. When a diet consists of only positive carbohydrates a phenomenon occurs that signals her body to very efficiently burn the stored triglycerides in her adipose tissue (fat). This results in weight loss.
Negative carbohydrates are absorbed rapidly into the blood, and have a substantial affect on the release of the hormone insulin from the pancreas. These hyper-insulin (high insulin) levels, as well as sharp insulin spikes, are associated with weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes.
Negative carbs include white rice, potatoes, white bread, high fructose corn syrup, natural sweeteners, table sugar, and all sugary drinks. Table sugar and white bread/potatoes have the same negative consequence on the carb loading phenomenon. If you can understand why sitting down and eating tablespoon after tablespoon of sugar from the sugar bowl is bad, then you can understand why sitting down and eating white bread and potatoes is bad. The effect is the same.
Fruit juices, such as orange juice and apple juice, should also be avoided. Fruit juices have the same negative effect on the carb loading phenomenon as soft drinks. In the preparation of juices, such as orange juice, fiber is the part of the fruit that is eliminated. All you have left is sugar water with some vitamins. The sugar in orange juice is the same sugar in table sugar, and it has the same negative effect.
On the other hand, positive carbohydrates do not have this negative effect on the release of insulin, and therefore do not increase your risk of any of these problems. Positive carbohydrates generally contain the non-digestible carbohydrate, fiber.
These fiber containing positive carbohydrates decrease a womans risk for colon cancer and heart disease. They also increase satiety, the feeling of fullness, which results in less caloric intake.
Most popular diets tend to focus on either carbohydrates or lipids (fats). We now know that focusing on just one of these is not a complete plan for health and weight loss.
The most effective weight loss plans include a precise balance of positive carbohydrates, positive lipids, and lean proteins. They also restrict the consumption of negative carbohydrates, and negative lipids.
Once again, being educated on any particular topic always leads to the best results, and weight loss is no different. The best way to lose weight safely and effectively is to study different diet plans and choose the best one for you.
Both Alex Fyfe & Jay Snaric 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.
Alex Fyfe has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Anti Oxidant and Personal Finance. Alex Fyfe is an expert in the area of health & Fitness and has published numerous documents which can be seen various article sites and on