We hear about it every day, pretty much everywhere. But is it as safe as everyone claims it to be?
A low-carb diet is basically a diet in which you limit all of the carbohydrates, even those found in fruit and vegetables. You only get to eat foods high in fat and protein. There are plenty of diets, and the restrictions vary.
People decide to follow these kinds of diets because they want to lose weight. It’s true, some of these diets come with health benefits: they reduce your risk of type-2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
Should I follow this kind of diet?
This kind of diet will not only help you lose weight, but will also help you change your eating habits, and will allow you to enjoy plenty of food you didn’t know was that good. Always talk to your doctor before starting any diet.
More about this diet
There are three types of carbohydrates:
- Simple natural: fructose in fruit and lactose in milk
- Simple refined: sugar
- Complex natural: beans and whole grains
- Complex refined: white flour
Natural carbohydrates come from fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, milk, peas, beans.
Since complex carbohydrates are digested slowly and they don’t have a high impact on blood sugar, they come with fiber. Refined carbohydrates are added to processed foods: white bread, pasta, cake and candy, cookies, and drinks.
Our bodies use carbohydrates as their primary source of energy. Complex carbs are transformed into simple sugars, and then they are released into your blood. This is where insulin joins the game and does its job. A low-carb diet will make the body burn stored fat, hence losing weight.
Are there any precise results?
Most people manage to lose weight with this diet. In order to lose 1 or 1.5 pounds per week, you will need to eat 500 to 700 calories a day.
Low-carb diets are more for short-term weight loss, and the benefits are not that big. But they will make you healthier, keeping you away from type-2 diabetes or heart disease.
