Low Carb Diets

Among the millions of diets that the world has seen in the last 40-50 years, one particular diet has caused a revolution – the so called Atkins diet, which is centered around the concept that it is carbs, not fats that make us fat. Atkins diet has been condemned by some scientists but it also has a lot of followers, so it is up to you to decide if this diet is good or bad.

The central idea of low-carb diets is that carbs are the first source of energy for the body – i.e. when the body needs energy and we feed it with carbs, these carbs are processed first and the excess of calories they have is stored as fat. Additionally, when there is energy from carbs, the body does not use its existing fat reserves but even adds more to them. So, if the body is not fed with carbs (i.e. sugars and starch), it will use its fat reserves and will not store new ones.

There are many varieties of low-carb diets and they prescribe different allowed daily amounts (as low as 20g daily!) but all thay have in common is that they recommend an increased daily intakes of proteins and fats. You might find it strange that 60 to 70 percent of your daily calorie intake must be from fat (the good fats, of course), while carbs are allotted only 5 to 10 percent. There are varieties of low-carb diets that are not that strict and allow for instance whole wheat bread or pasta.

If the allowed percentages of carbs, proteins and fats are translated in terms of food, this means that you have to cut bread, pasta, rice, alcohol, sweets and emphasize on meat, cheese, butter, milk, fruits (not sweet ones) and vegetables. As you see, it is not a Poor Man's diet but since anyway quality food costs dearly, when one is devoted to losing fat, his or her expenses on food might soar.

Low-fat diets are cheaper because they rely mainly on carbs intake and carbs generally are not that expensive but the difference in price is the only benefit of low-fat diets. With low-fat diets hunger is a common companion, while low-carb diets do not rely on starvation – actually the allowed foods can be eaten in unlimited quantities. Besides, a properly planned low-carb diet will help you preserve your muscles, while burning only the fat, while low-fat programs often melt more muscles than fat.

Although there are a lot of low-carb fruits and vegetables, vegetarians will have hard times keeping to a low-carb diet because the major allowed foods are all from animal origin and some of the fatty acids are not found in fruits and vegetables but only in meat and dairy products. Besides, fruits contain fructose and other sugars, which chemically speaking are still carbs that must be avoided.

Alcohol lovers will be greatly disappointed because alcoholic beverages are one of the most strictly forbidden items, unless they are sugar free bust since most of the popular spirits do contain sugars, low-carb way of life generally means saying “goodbye” to alcohol. Caffeinne is also not recommendable because it stimulates the overproduction of insulin, so low-carb diets require a sacrifice from coffee lovers as well.

Besides the above mentioned groups of people, there are no other medical conditions that are an obstacle for turning to low-carb lifestyle. Additionally, for diabetics a low-carb diet is generally beneficial because it leads to stabilization of the insulin and blood sugar levels, but if you are a diabetic, you'd better consult your doctor before starting a low-carb diet.

Mankind has always loved sweet food, no matter if it is the natural sweetness of fruits and honey or chemically obtained chocolate. For many people the biggest sacrifice a low-carb diet demands is to quit sweets. But as the experts say, after some time on a low-carb diet, when your body is cleaned from the initial dirt of carbs, there are no more cravings for them. So the most difficult step to a sugar- and starch-free way of eating is the first one.

A relatively new chemical achievement that became popular when the low-carb concept became wide spread are sweeteners. They are chemical compounds that taste sweet, though they do not contain sugar. There are sweeteners, like aspartame, which are carb and calorie free but usually there are other tradeoffs – starting from taste and ending with health considerations about their synthetic nature. But when used moderately, artificial sweeteners are believed to be safe.