The Truth About Low Carb Diets

For sure you’ve heard about the low crab diets that have become the fad these days. Low carb diets such as South Beach, Atkins New Diet Revolution, Protein Power Diet and the Sugar Busters Diet are gaining in popularity. It seems that carbs are the new fat. The low fat diets of the 80s and 90s have been replaced with low carb and sometimes high fat diets. Of course, the media is partly to blame for the popularity of these diets. That is why it sometimes hard to discern what is the truth about the.

There are people who claim that they are very effective especially in losing weight. Advocates of low carb diets also said that it is effective in treating other health problems. Some of these health problems include is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), diabetes, obesity and even insomnia. But before you go to your kitchen and ditch all the carbohydrates. It is better that you first learn the truths about low carb diets.

Not all low carb diets are the same. It is a fact that most low carbohydrates diets are designed to lower the consumption of carbohydrate. It is also true that almost all low carb diets requires protein and fat to take up a great portion of the caloric intake of an individual. However, the different low carb diets have fundamental differences.

For one, some low carb diets are more restrictive than others. The Atkins diet for example, limits the consumption of carbs to the point where the body goes into a state called ketosis, an unhealthy physiological state that is a type of metabolic acidosis. Ketosis may caus many health problems, some of which are serious. One of the negative effects of ketosis include bad breath whish is also called keto breath or acetone breath.casued by the production of acetones in a state of ketosis. Remember that carbohydrates burn fat so for fat to burn efficiently without the production of excess toxic ketones, having sufficient carbohydrate is very important. On the other hand, diets like the Zone, Sugar Busters Diet and wheat free diets are les restrictive and eliminate only food that increases blood sugar level to an alarming level.

Another you should know about low carb diets is that their overall success rate are similar to other diets. Despite their popularity, there is also very little information on the long term efficacy and safety of low carb diets. Another problem with low carb diets is very few individuals can stay with it because they usually experience boredom with the food especially with stricter version of the diet. Weight loss due to low carb diet is also easily regained. Studies have shown that people who have lost weight due to a low carb diets have regained weight more quickly than people who loss weigh using other diets.

Another truth about low carb diets is that they lack in fiber. Fiber is important for preventing cancers of the digestive tract and cardiovascular diseases. Fiber also prevents constipation and other bowel disorders. A low carb diet can, therefore, put some at risk for the above mentioned health conditions.

Aside from fiber, low carb diets lack in nutrients that are important in preventing cancer and heart disease.  A Low carb diets is simply lacking in nutrients/ phytonutrients / antioxidants that are found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Sure you will lose weight but you will run th risk of acquiring diseases.