Low Carbohydrates: Good Or Bad

By Author: Daniel Pluck
Total Articles: 5
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Many people have heard of low carbohydrate eating plans. This is because they are recent popular fad diets. The idea of low carbohydrate eating plans is that carbohydrates contain energy, in the most accessible form for our bodies. Therefore, as the idea goes, if you reduce the amount of this energy by reducing carbohydrates, the body will turn to burning stored fat for energy. This is a process known as ketosis where a type of energy, ketone bodies, are created from fat and protein (muscle) in the body. The purpose of this article is to question if low carbohydrate diets work, why/why not and if not, what the solution is.

It can be argued, a resounding 'no', they don't work. This is because low carbohydrate eating plans have major flaws that make losing fat extremely difficult for pretty much everyone. Below it will be shown why they often don't work, with examples, as well as what does work. It is not the intention to discredit any particular program, just to simply explain why they are not as enjoyable to follow as they could be.

If we take a popular low carbohydrate program as an example such as the Atkins ...
... eating plan, the restriction of carbohydrates in the first few weeks is very extreme by just about anyones standards. The eating plan allows only 20 gs of net carbohydrates. This minuscule amount of carbohydrates is usually much too extreme for most people to handle for 2 weeks in a row. They often feel miserable and weak for the duration. This is because the human body needs more carbohydrates than allowed to function properly and have enough energy.

Not all low carbohydrate diets are as restrictive as the Atkins eating plan. However, other low carbohydrate eating plans, such as South Beach, may not be quite as extreme as the Atkins eating plan but are not easy to follow either. This is because of the way it makes people feel during the process.

In order for a diet to be successful, it must be easy to follow. This is the only way that people will stick it out and succeed in losing the fat they want. It must not make people feel miserable and weak because that just makes it hard for them to stick to it.

The reason why minimizing carbohydrates in the diet to cause ketosis makes people fell lethargic is that it is a slower process (like hitting the wall in long-distance running). Also, not all cells in the body can use ketones for energy. Within the medical and nutritional science communities, ketosis is generally regarded as a dangerous and potentially life-threatening state. This is because it stresses the liver (causing damage to it) and causes destruction of muscle tissue (which, as a side note, helps burn carbohydrates up). Ketosis has also been found to cause heart disease and other health issues.

Low carbohydrates eating plans aren't the answer to losing fat because the human body needs the right amount of all the three types of calories to lose weight consistently. These are fat, protein and carbohydrates. The body is like a vehicle; it needs all the right amount of ingredients at the right time to work. A vehicle needs water, oil and fuel in order to go fast. For fast and lasting fat loss, all three kinds of calories of the correct amounts must be eaten at the right time each day. This is where most people dieting fail; because hardly anyone knows what the correct amounts and times of calories are.

What people need to loose weight is a program that provides the correct amounts and times and helps them follow it. Even better, an idiot-proof diet with no set portion limits at any meal.
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