Low-Carbohydrate Diet for Short-Term Weight Loss

Pastas, noodles, breads, rice, potatoes, and cereals are all foods that are very high in carbohydrates, and in addition, all fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, contain a lot of carbohydrates. But what are carbohydrates? Carbohydrates are a type of nutrient, and they are generally assumed to be an essential part of the human diet. However, carbohydrates are not essential nutrients – they are only a source of energy, and even fats and proteins can play the same role. However, carbohydrates are probably the most common source of energy, for a number of reasons including easy availability and ease of digestion. Carbohydrates benefits include the fact that they require very little water for digestion and the body first looks for glucose (which is obtained from the carbohydrates you consume) as fuel.

However, carbohydrates can also cause a number of problems. There are three different types of carbohydrates – monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. Polysaccharides, also known as complex carbohydrates, contain long chains of sugar units, while monosaccharides and disaccharides, also known as simple carbohydrates, contain only one or two sugar units respectively. This means that the body takes more time to digest complex carbohydrates, while simple carbohydrates are digested very rapidly, leading to a sudden rise in blood sugar levels. This rise in blood sugar levels is thought to be a factor in developing heart disease and other health problems, and the sharp fluctuations in sugar levels are also thought also affect hunger, contributing to excessive calorie consumption. In addition to this, energy obtained from carbohydrates, if not utilized, is converted and stored as fat.

Low Carb Diet Tips

For these and other reasons, some dieticians recommend a low carbohydrate diet as a good way to stay healthy, and particularly to lose weight. As far as weight loss goes, the idea, to put it simply, is that when deprived of carbohydrates, the body uses other sources of energy. The intake of fat and protein is usually increased to compensate for the decrease in carbohydrates, but part of the purpose is to get the body to burn the stored fat.

Low carbohydrate diets have been proven to be useful in some situations, for example in treating epilepsy. However, as far as a lifestyle or even weight loss goes, there is a lot of controversy about low carbohydrate diets, especially the more strict ones. Therefore, before you start knocking foods off the carbohydrate list, it is advisable to consult a dietician.