Low Carb Diet

Low carb diet trends are here to stay. Find out why. And determine if a low carb diet is right for you or not.

Ready To Begin A Low Carb Diet?

Low carb dieting has been popular for several years now, but more and more, people who have been on a low carb diet for a long time are beginning to realize that it can be harmful to your health.

Missing Nutrients on a Low Carb Diet

During the first two weeks, you are only allowed to have 20 grams of carbs a day. The purpose of this is to sort of "cleanse" your system of the bad things that refined carbs put in it. Let's face it, most of the carbs that cause you to gain weight are refined carbs - those found in white flour and refined sugar, not fruits and vegetables. But fruits and vegetables do have carbs, so during the first two weeks of your low carb diet, chances are you won't even get fruits and vegetables. If you don't like fruits and vegetables anyway, this might not be a big loss to you.

But either way, fruits and vegetables have vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and other nutrients that are essential for good health. Removing these from your diet means at minimum you'll be constipated, lack energy and be more prone to getting sick.

So ... should you begin a low carb diet or now?

What Else is There to Know About a Low Carb Diet?

Another item that's restricted on a low carb diet is milk. You can have it, but the amount required daily to maintain good bone health exceeds the amount of carbs you get during the first two weeks. In fact, in the second phase of most low carb diets, you get about 60 grams of carbs. Three 8-oz. servings of milk each day would use about half of those carbs, and a lot of people simply don't want to do that. Of course, the rest of your allowed 60 grams of carbs could be used eating fruits and vegetables, but you still probably wouldn't get enough of these. Sure, you can take multivitamins, fiber and calcium supplements to get the majority of the nutrients you need, but you're still missing out on a lot.

If you simply must be on a low carb diet, at least take the supplements. And be aware that you could experience headaches, bad breath, you could be lethargic, you won't think as clearly, you'll be constipated, and if you do it too long, you could get kidney damage. You also put yourself at more risk for heart disease (depending on if you choose fatty meats for protein or lean meats) and cancer (due to the lack of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables). Also, if you ever get tired of being on your low carb diet, you're likely to gain back any weight you lost quickly--maybe even more.