Low Carbohydrate

Low carbohydrate diets can help you lose weight fast, but before you decide to go on a low carbohydrate diet, read this.

Low Carbohydrate

Low carbohydrate diets are very popular because of the amount of weight you can lose in a short period of time. But are they good for you in the long term?

Low Carbohydrate Diets

For optimal health, our bodies need 130 grams of carbs a day. This gives us the energy we need to get through the day and for our brains to function well. But most of us eat well over that amount. That's not so bad if it's complex carbohydrates (foods like whole wheat or whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta, oats, brown or long grain rice, vegetables and fruits) but most of the time it's simple carbohydrates (foods like white breads, flour tortillas, regular pasta, white or instant rice and foods made with refined sugar--especially desserts) which are the ones that make us gain weight.

Low carbohydrate diets focus on your body burning fat and protein for fuel instead of carbs. To get your body into that mode, most of the more well-known low carbohydrate diets limit the amount of carbs you can have to 20 grams a day. After that, you get to have more carbs again. You gradually increase your intake of carbs--complex carbs, not refined. When you've lost the weight you want to lose, you go into a maintenance stage and you get 100-130 grams of carbs a day.

This is all fine and well and good, but when your body is burning fat on a low carbohydrate diet in this manner for a long period of time, there can be side effects. When your body is in fat-burning mode, ketones are released into your bloodstream and excreted through your urine. This is a condition known as ketosis. Short-term side effects of ketosis include bad breath, ausea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Long term side effects could include kidney damage.

Other side effects of a low carbohydrate diet include impaired mental and emotional functioning, constipation, the risk of heart disease and the risk of osteoporosis. Sure, you can take supplements to help counteract some of these things, but it's always best to get your nutrients from a balanced diet. And as long as the carbs you include in that balanced diet are complex carbs, you should be fine.