New research provides solid evidence that a low-carb diet is VERY effective. Study after study shows the impact that a low-carb diet has not only on weight loss, but also blood sugar and cholesterol. But before we examine this evidence, let’s first discuss carbs and their impact on weight.
What are good carbs and what are bad carbs?
When I talk about carbohydrates, I’m touching on the starchy carbs like grains (flour, bread, cereal, oatmeal, pasta), white potatoes, corn, and any kind of sugar (including fruit). Vegetables are likewise a form of carbohydrates, but most vegetables are GOOD carbs, and we all need to eat more of this type of carb.
If you are at a nourishing weight, and have no disease (diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high cholesterol, etc.) it is likely ok for you to consume the bad carbohydrates in small amounts. But most of us do not fall into this category, and until we do, we need to stringently limit the amount of carbs that we eat. Doing this will help most people to accomplish a nourishing weight and vastly increase their health. (Many individuals have even reported being cured of their diseases through a high-vegetable, low-carb diet.)
Why do we add pounds when we eat too many carbohydrates?
Here’s a view into how the body addresses carbohydrates:
Our physical structures cannot outlet large volumes of carbohydrates; we are merely built to outlet very little amounts. We are implied to use the glucose in the carbohydrates for burning through activity. But our diet ( especially the standard American diet is VERY good for carbs. Because we cannot possibly burn off all that glucose, it gets converted by insulin into fat. Then that fat is stored in our stomachs, hips, thighs, and chins.
When we eat something that’s good for carbohydrates, it causes a rapid rise in blood glucose blood sugar. This signals the pancreas to secrete the hormone insulin into the bloodstream. The insulin lowers the blood sugar, and makes this sugar available to our cells for energy. Any excess blood sugar that is not used for energy (activity, exercise) has to be stored for future use. Regrettably, the way this is stored is in our fat tissue.
It develops further. When we consistently eat foods that are good for carbs, our insulin levels become chronically high. High insulin levels suppress two other important hormones (glucagons and growth hormones) that burn fat and sugar and promote muscle development. So eating excess carbohydrates not only promotes fat, it also makes it more difficult to lose that fat, and creates a vicious cycle.
Dr. Atkins would be proud. More research supports the application of a low-carb diet, and its long-lasting effect on weight loss.
In a June 2006 article published in Nutrition and Metabolism, researchers studied the consequence of a low-carb diet on obese type 2 diabetic patients vs a higher-carbohydrate diet. More specifically, the low-carb group eliminated pasta, white potatoes, rice, and breakfast cereals and as opposed to ordinary bread, consumed crisp/hard bread (probably close to the Bran-A-Crisp recommended in the Atkins Diet) that contained 4-8 grams of carbs. The low-carb group consumed 80-90 grams of carbohydrates a day, all of which were from vegetables and salad (no fruit). The research was conducted over the course of six months (a small amount of time thinking about that it in all probability took these people years to be obese).
The group that ate a higher-carbohydrate diet obtained the majority of their carbohydrates from whole grain products and fruit (they also consumed generous helpings of vegetables). The two group’s caloric intake was about the same.
The upshot? The low-carb group lost an average of 25 pounds! Even more significant was that this group kept the weight off: after 2 years, the regular weight loss was still 20 pounds. As another benefit, nearly half of the patients who were on antidiabetes drugs and insulin could to stop taking the drugs altogether.
The researchers’ conclusion a low-carbohydrate diet…has lasting benefits on body weight.
So what are you awaiting? It’s time to finally break the addiction to grains, white potatoes, and sugar. Experience your kitchen and TOSS everything that’s a grain, potato, or sugar (or created with any of those things). Not having the bad stuff in the home produces a HUGE difference in your weight loss success.
The TRUTH about Low Carb Foods
The side effects to the low-carb diet is that most packaged low-carb foods are full of junk and can make you sick. Most low-carb diets emphasize hormone, nitrate, and pesticide-laden meats, fats, and dairy products that you might never consume in large quantities. Then, the sweet treats that people use as part of their low-carb diet are full of man-made sweeteners that have a cloudy and questionable safety history. Most low-carb foods are a far cry from healthy food.
Other unhealthy ingredients that are often seen in low-carb produce include soy flour and modified food starch– these goods do more harm than good. People turn to these packaged products searching for easy, favorable way to eat low-carb with a busy schedule and on a budget. But there are much healthier low-carb alternatives that are still quick and easy.
The Bottom Line
The low-carb diet is here to stay. It works, plain and simple. But there can be damaging effects of eating bad low-carb foods. There are healthy ways to eat low-carb, and it implies eating WHOLE, high quality foods, not packaged products. (Although there certainly ARE some healthy low-carb packaged products, but you have to read ingredients carefully.) Finding sources of natural meats and dairy products is also important. It can be an endeavor, but it’s well worth it, particularly thinking about the enormous health impact of being overweight.
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