Low carb diet is a diet where as its name suggests, carbohydrate
intake is limited. It is most popularly used for people who are intending to
lose weight. However, some variations of the diet have health benefits that
exceed merely losing weight. It can reduce risk factors that are associated
with metabolic syndrome and also diabetes.
The types of carbohydrate that you
eat will be restricted in a low carb diet. A lot of carbohydrates are naturally
in foods that are plant-based, such as grains. In its natural form, carbohydrates
can be taken as fibrous and complex. Sources of natural carbohydrates include
fruits, vegetables, milk, seeds, nuts, grains and legumes. Refined
carbohydrates are added to processed food by food manufacturers in the form of
sugar or flour. These are commonly known as simple carbohydrates.
For its main source of fuel, the
body uses carbohydrates. Sugars and starches are further broken down into what
are called as simple sugars during the digestion process. Then these simple
sugars will be absorbed into the bloodstream as what are known as glucose.
Carbohydrates that contain fiber will resist digestion, and complex
carbohydrates serve body functions other than just fuel. An increase in the
level of blood sugar will trigger the body to produce insulin. Insulin is what
helps the glucose enter body’s cells. Some glucose will be used by the body for
energy and as a fuel for activities, and then the extra glucose will be stored
for later use or converted into fat. The main idea that serves as a basis for low carb diet is that decreasing the
amount of carbohydrate intake will decrease the levels of insulin, which will
cause the body to burn fat that are stored for energy and this will ultimately
lead to weight loss.
A low carb diet will generally
focus on protein. This low carb foods includes poultry, meat, fish and eggs,
and some vegetables that are non-starchy. Low carb recipes will exclude or
limit most types of grains, legumes, breads, pastas, fruits, sweets, and
vegetables that are starchy. Sometimes it also excludes or limits nuts and
seeds.
There are a lot of variations of low
carb diet. Typically all of these diets limit a daily amount of 60 to 160
grams of carbohydrate intake. Some of these diets will heavily restrict carbs
in the early phases of the diet and then slowly increase the amount of carb
intake allowed.
Description:
Low
carb diet mainly excludes or limits food that contains carbohydrates. Limiting
carbohydrate intake will result in weight loss and also provide health
benefits.
Tag :
diet
