| |
| |
|
Weight Loss Information |
|
|
|
High Carb & Low Carb Diets: How To Avoid The Dangers
There's a two hundred year history of people prescribing both high and low carb diets for weight loss. So how does one choose? One factor you should consider is the dangers associated with each diet. What is a carbohydrate, anyways? There are three types of nutrients that every body uses: *Proteins in our diet usually come from Meat and soy products like tofu. Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are used to make muscles and enzymes (the proteins that do most of the work our bodies need to survive) * Carbohydrates are sometimes described as "sugars," but they're not just white stuff in you find in the baking aisle. Simple sugars include the sugar you put in coffee; pasta, bread, and potatoes are among the source of starches, or complex carbohydrates. Most of your body uses carbs for energy, and it's the preferred energy source for the brain. * Fats are long, chainlike molecules that are don't mix with water (oils are fats). They are an efficient way for the body to store energy. You can see that all three nutrients are crucial for functioning. What happens if you take in more or less of a given nutrient than you need? The Low-Fat Diet The low-fat diet reduces fat intake, following the governmental food pyramid that suggests using fats sparingly. There are many good reasons to limit the amount of fat in your diet: *cholesterol and fats can result in clogged up arteries, leading to heart disease and possible cardiac damage (in the form of a heart attack), stroke, and kidney disease *fat packs a lot of calories - if you don't use those calories up in your daily activities, they will be stored in your fat cells and cause weight gain Low-fat diets are often higher in carbohydrates than the average American's diet. Low-fat products take advantage of the fat-carbohydrate trade-off; if you compare "lowfat" cookies with their "normal" counterparts, you may notice that the fat per serving is lower but there is more carbohydrate per serving than the "normal" alternative. Because fat is flavorful, simple sugar and loads of salt may be added to lowfat products to enhance taste. Carbohydrates are not as good a signal of satiety. In contrast, when you eat a bit of fat, your body "recognizes" it as a signal to limit the amount of intake. So, while a low-fat diet can help you stay healthy, a no-fat diet may encourage you to eat more than you need. If you make up in carb-calories what you lose in fat-grams, excess carbs will be stored as starch in the liver and fat in your fat cells! So even though your diet is low-fat, you may end up gaining weight if you eat more carbs than you use in daily activities. Lastly, you need the right sorts of carbs to keep healthy and assist weight loss. Simple sugars are quickly absorbed and use little energy to process - in other words, they add lots of calories to your meal. In contrast, foods with more complex carbohydrates, like starches in whole grain breads - take longer for your body to absorb and use more energy. They also give your body time to recognize that you're full. Complex carbohydrates are more likely to have vitamins (like potato skins which have lots of B12) and fiber (like whole grain bread), both of which are important for good health. Low-Carb Diets Low-carb diets may help you lose weight by: * making sure that you're satiated, since both fats are better signals to your body that "food's here!" than carbohydrates * promoting ketosis: in ketosis/ Ketones are a byproduct of burning fats and proteins instead of carbohydrates. * leveling out your hormonal response to carbohydrates. We make the hormone insulin in response to food, particularly sugar, entering the body. It's been hypothesized that large changes in insulin levels (for example, a large increase in response to a carb-heavy meal) trigger the storage of sugars as fat. However, if decreasing carbs increases your fat intake, serious problems can result. In some studies, about 30% of people on low-carbohydrate diets showed an increase in cholesterol levels, even if they lost weight on the diet. Studies have also shown that low-carb diets may increase in kidney problems, especially in people who already had some kidney disease. In addition, some studies suggest that ketosis in the Atkin's diet is not caused just by fat burn but by burning muscles instead. Muscle loss does result in weight loss, but is unlikely to give you the look you want, or to help you function. Lastly ketosis can be fatal in diabetic - if you're diabetic, you should speak with your doctor before starting any diet. Women have some special issues to think about when looking at a low-carb diet. Some studies show that people on these diets lose a lot of calcium, which makes them a bad idea for women at risk for osteopenia or osteoporosis. In addition, some low-carb diets do not include the right foods for a balanced intake of vitamins; while a few days of missed vitamins aren't a problem, chronic deficiencies can lead to skin, eye, and bone damage. And for women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, ketones can be dangerous for a fetus as well as for you. Which Diet Should I Use? The keys to weight loss are moderation and tailoring. If you're interested in losing weight, talk with your healthcare provider about tailoring a weight-loss plan that takes into account your current health and weight-loss goals. Lowering calories and balancing nutrients, rather than focusing on a single "culprit" gives you the best chance of long-term weight reduction. Auchincloss, E, "Byron's Weight," Times Literary Supplement, 4896, p 15, 1997 Bravata DM, et al." Efficacy and safety of low-carbohydrate diets: A systematic review," Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 289, issue 14. p 1837-1850. 2003. Meckling, K, "Comparison of a low-fat diet to a low-carbohydrate diet on weight loss, body composition, and risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease in free-living, overweight men and women," Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Volume 89, issue 6, pages 2717-23 Westman, EC, et al "Effect of 6-month adherence to a very low carbohydrate diet program," American Journal of Medicine , Volume113, p. 30-36, 2002 Olsen, M., et al,"A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia," Annals of Internal Medicine, Voume 140 pages769-777, 2004 Copyright (C) Shoppe.MD and Ian Mason, 2004-2005 Learn more about health, diet and exercise at our weight loss forum. PhenForum.com is a popular discussion forum for weight loss programs, diet tips, and support to help you burn more fat and lose weight permanently.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Focus: A Weight Loss Strategy I just finished working my quads on a weight machine. My head races and my body hums all in an attempt to lose weight. Winning at Post-Partum Weight Loss: Six Simple Strategies for New Moms - Part 3 A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now that baby's here, you're probably wishing those extra pounds would hurry up and disappear! While it won't happen overnight, these six simple tips can help you lose that extra weight in a healthy way. 5 Amazing Diet Tips for Powerful Weightloss Before you try starving yourself or turning to diet drugs in orderto lose weight, take some time to research and discover more naturaland safer methods of reaching your weightloss goals. Here are fivefood and excercise tips that you can get started with today. School for Overweight Teens Getting Kids Moving - Help for Overweight TeensA residential school program for overweight teens comes with a hefty price tag (some in excess of $5,000 per month). These programs rely on the same formula for weight loss as is commonly recommended; strict eating guidelines and increased activities. Low Carb Diets - Are They For You? The revolution is here. Weight Loss as we know it has changed forever because of one diet. Look On Aisle 5 Have you ever stopped to calculate how much time you spend in each section of the supermarket?Apart from the non-food areas of drug store supplies, rubber goods, and diapers, most stores have about 10 distinct food areas: produce, dairy, meat, ethnic foods and pasta, canned foods, prepared foods, drinks, frozen foods, snacks, and deli.The areas where most of our intake should focus, if we are watching our weight and our health, are always on the edges, against the wall: produce, meat, dairy. Why Should I Lose Weight? According to the BMI chart, if you are overweight, you may be more at risk of developing disease. That should be reason enough to lose weight. Playing Games Does Not Help Your Weight Loss Efforts Have you ever wondered why some fat people can be playing tennis, swimming and jogging often, yet they never lose weight?Many overweight people began playing tennis, walking, running or swimming because they were told that these activities are aerobic and therefore, beneficial to weight loss.So, is it really true that aerobic activities promote weight loss?Technically it is true that aerobic programmes do help. Simple Plans for Social Eating and Travel It's one thing to stick with your diet regimen when you're at home, in control of the contents of your refrigerator and your portion sizes. But what about going out to dinner with friends? Worse, how do you stay on track when your dream vacation has you seated by the dessert cart at every meal?Eating right when you're out of your comfort zone can actually be easier than when you are at home, so long as you think smart and plan ahead. Why Did I Do That? How to Deal with a Lapse in Your Weight Loss Efforts A bad day or even a bad week is not enough to "break your diet" unless you let it get you down. It's what you eat over the long run that counts. The Results Of Being Overweight Being overweight is no laughing matter. For those who are obese, it often starts as a young child. The French Fry: Weapon of Mass Destruction? Americans have their French fries, the British have their chips, Latin America has its papas fritas, and the French have their pommes-frites.We love them. All Natural Weight Loss Secrets Revealed There are tons of fad diets and weight loss schemes being thrown at you every day. It's hard to tell which ones work without emptying your wallet in the process. Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #4 How's the practicing going? Are you spending time each day to practice RET, EFT and affirmations? When you make yourself a priority, then everything else falls into place.When we lose our connection to God, to ourselves, then we get off track. Signature Lines on Weight Loss Websites A reader recently wrote to ask why I don't include my weight statistics in my signature line. A great observation and excellent question. Technology & Weight Loss: Putting An Online Tool to Use Because the Internet allows so many millions of people to be connected to any single site, function or feature, many programmers and marketing folks have put their heads together to come up with some really neat online tools. Many of these tools are not only useful and convenient, but they are often times free to use. How To Get Over A Weight Loss Plateau Everyone who has ever tried to lose weight has hit a plateau at some point. A plateau is that point at which no matter what you do, you cannot seem to lose any more. 7 Part Plan To Beating Childhood Obesity Everyone from politicians to parents is talking about fighting the war against childhood flab. It is odd that in a relatively wealthy countries such as the US and Australia improving children's health, weight and fitness should be a problem but it appears to be a sticking point with many. Push a Button to Lose Weight Trash Your TV! is pleased to announce the easiest weight loss program in the world. It is as easy as pushing a button-the "Power" button on your TV. Fat Acceptance With tons of information out there on "Fat Acceptance" does it do more harm than good? Being body positive and body fat are two different topics. South Beach Diet may work for one but not the other.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
