Living in the time of super models and genetic modifications makes us all think of the ways how to eat healthy, stay healthy and look beautiful at the same time. People are coming up with all kinds of ideas for more effective diets and new products for the better results show up in the shelves of the super markets everyday. One of the most popular diet is a low carb diet that is as effective as it is easy.
Low carb diet
Low carb diet also known as a low carbohydrate diet is food diet program which takes care of one’s dietary health as well as it’s helpful for weight loss . It restricts the carbohydrate consumption, which is being done in accordance to the research that links the consumption of carbohydrate and the increased level of insulin in blood together. It also ties increased insulin with obesity and therefore is very suitable for diabetics.
The purpose of low carb diet plan is to limit or replace high-carbohydrate foods such as sugar, grains, and starches by products that contain more protein and fat. Vegetables, even though they are considered to have a good amount of carbohydrates, are said to be way healthier than carbohydrates of the grain nature.
Is a low carb diet effective?
Low carbohydrate diets such as South beach diet , Atkins diet and Zone diet do work because they help to reduce the level of insulin in blood, which consequently causes the body to use not carbohydrates but fat as the main source of energy. This is helpful for weight loss , perform all the bodily functions better and feel better psychologically. In addition to that, it helps to keep your skin clean and beautiful and reduce the unfavorable spots that might cause a lot of problems for young people especially. Finally, the recent studies had shown that low carb diets help to avoid the breast cancer and lower cholesterol and triglycerides, which suggests a totally new approach to the control and prevention of heart diseases.
The first low carb diet had come into practice as early as 19th century (Banting diet) but it did not have a physical explanation of why it works. And even now despite the fact that there are some strong scientific evidence that prove this kind of diet to be effective, nutritionists have been disagreeing about it and questioning the safety of it.
Due to their disagreement many different kind of low carb diets have been developed. Most of them differ from each other in the proportion of carb recommended and the methods determining which carbohydrate products should be favored and which should be kept away from. Most nutritionists agree that one should avoid the processed sugar and that fruits are worse than vegetables, but better than grain.
Is low carb diet safe?
Some nutritionists point out the following side effects of low carb diet : very low consumption of carbohydrate foods can result in a metabolic state crisis known as ketosis. It may cause headaches, make one feel tired, dizzy; suffer from nausea, dehydration and unpleasant sweet-smelling breath odor. The reduced intake of dietary fiber, which usually follows a significantly lowered consumption of carbohydrates, can result in constipation. The discussion had been going on that the insufficient amount of carbohydrates can cause the overwork of kidneys and result in related change in blood acidity. This would lead to bone loss, but hypothesis was found not true because the researches did not find any evidence of kidney damage or bone loss.
Low carb diet meal
Food industry has been taking advantage of the low carb diet trend and due to the increasing demand for low carb products they have been marketing a huge amount and variety of low carb foods in recent years. The number of restaurants having low carb foods in their menus is also increasing. The items containing wheat flour are replaced by high-protein soy flour and sugar is substituted by artificial sweeteners (for example sucralose and sugar alcohols.)
If you were to check out the low carb diet, try looking into the products that are labeled as “low carb” items. You can now easily find low carb bread (which is usually pure grain product) and enjoy sandwiches, French toasts, bagels, pizza dough etc. The amount of carbohydrates is reduced to 3 grams but it is still rich in protein which assures a longer lasting hunger relief. You can also find all kinds of low carb pancakes mixes, low carb pancakes syrups, pasta, tortillas, pizza kits, bread mixes, chocolate bars, shake mixes, candies, ice cream mixes, puddings, chips, cereal etc.
