What
is a Low Carb Diet?
The Basics...
People diet for two primary reasons,
to lose weight, or to improve health--or both. If you are
a healthy adult who is not overweight and who has no family
members who are obese, the food pyramid recommendations of
the USDA will work fine, as long as you remember that the
carbohydrates that are recommended are those contained in
whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. However, even those
who are healthy and who are not overweight can maintain their
health and vitality by following a reduced carbohydrate lifestyle.
For those who are overweight, or who
have diabetes, the low-calorie and low-fat diets recommended
by the government do not work well. In fact, for diabetics,
they can actually worsen the condition. The only diet that
strikes at the real cause of obesity, high cholesterol, high
blood pressure, hypoglycemia, and type 2 diabetes is a low-carbohydrate
diet. Many doctors and nutritionists are now starting to recognize
this.
There are many different versions of
the low-carb diet, such as Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution,
Protein Power, Neanderthin, The Carbohydrate Addict's Lifestyle
Plan, Life Without Bread, and others. All of them, however,
have one thing in common -- a very strict reduction in the
consumption of carbohydrates. Most low-carb diets replace
carbohydrates with fats and proteins. Although diets vary
in their recommendations, as a general rule, a low-carb diet
is synonymous with a high-fat and moderate protein diet. Those
on a low-carb diet should get at least 60 to 70 percent of
their daily calorie intake from fat. Carbohydrates should
make up less than 10 percent, and in some cases, less than
5 percent of your daily calorie intake.
After being told for years to eat a
low-fat, high-carbohydrate "balanced" diet, Americans
are now the fattest people on Earth, and getting fatter every
year! The occurrences of adult-onset diabetes is also increasing.
We now know, because research has shown, that fat is not the
enemy -- carbohydrates are.
On a low-carb diet, you can eat
until you're full, as long as you eat only allowed foods.
Allowed foods are meats, fish, poultry, eggs, and cheese,
plus a limited amount of green vegetables. Stay away from
foods that are on the "Not Allowed" list.
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