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Weight
Loss & Low Carbohydrate Diets
It's
not surprising that people lose weight, lower cholesterol, and
lower blood pressure when following a low carbohydrate, lower calorie
diet.
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High
carbohydrate, low calorie diets will do the same thing.
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Any
diet that restricts calories will cause weight loss, a reduction
in cholesterol, and a lowering of blood pressure. It's the loss
of body fat caused by the reduction in calories, not the composition
of the diet that causes this.
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What's
more informative when evaluating the risks/benefits of a diet is
what happens when the diet is consumed at your maintenance calories,
when your body is not in a state of fat loss due to caloric restriction.
Carbohydrates
are the body’s primary source of energy, and are quickly and easily
converted to blood glucose, the body cells’ preferred source of fuel.
Therefore, carbohydrates must be supplied on a regular basis and
we also need a certain amount of carbohydrate to prevent ketosis.
 Carbohydrates
include sugars, starches, and fiber. Foods that contain mostly carbohydrate
are grains, cereals, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Sugar and flour
are forms of carbohydrate, so any food made with sugar (like soda pop)
or flour (breads, pasta, bakery goods, cookies, crackers, etc.) are
sources of carbohydrate as well.
Do
Low Carbohydrate Diets Work?
-
Insulin resistance has a very strong genetic component, and is heavily
influenced by level of physical fitness and the degree of body fatness.
- Generally,
the more fit a person is, the less resistant they are to insulin,
and the more body fat a person has, the more resistant they are to
insulin.
- Insulin
resistance is not caused by simply ingesting
carbohydrates, and is not completely solved by eliminating them.
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So
the real answer to solving insulin resistance (and many other health
problems) may be to maintain your body at a healthy weight, not to severely
restrict the body's main source of fuel. In other words, reducing
calories, not just reducing carbohydrates may be the best solution.
What are the effects of severe
restriction of carbohydrates? Severe carbohydrate restriction leaves
fat, protein, and alcohol left to supply calories.
- In
the absence of weight loss, diets high in fat damage arteries and
promote heart disease in the long term.
- Diets
high in protein, especially animal protein, are very hard on kidneys,
causing them to work too hard to remove the waste products of protein
metabolism.
- Diets
high in animal foods are higher on the food chain, so you're consuming
whatever chemicals, pesticides and hormones the animals were fed to
make them fat or were in their food (even fish).
- By
severely limiting carbohydrates, you are restricted from many plant
foods (not just the green stuff) which contain protective factors
against cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases.
While
restricting junky, low nutrition carbohydrate sources like chips,
crackers, cakes, cookies, soda pop, etc. replacing those foods with
other high nutrition, high fiber carbohydrates (vegetables, beans, whole
grains, fruit) instead of replacing those calories with high fat, high
protein animal foods or high fat foods. A sensible diet designed to
keep the composition of of your diet healthy... around 30% fat, 20%
protein, and 50% carbohydrate accomplishes the goal of improved nutrition
while simultaneously allowing you to efficiently lose weight.
With a diet designed personally for you with these percentages
of protein, fat and carbohydrate foods, you'll accomplish your personal
health and fitness goals and you'll have a diet you can follow long
term.
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