Carbs and Weight Loss

Carbohydrates are said to the chief energy source for several vital organs, including your brain, kidneys and central nervous system. Carbohydrates get converted into glucose in the digestive system and your pancreas secretes insulin (a hormone) for helping the transfer of glucose from the bloodstream to the cells.

The popularity of diet plans based on low carbohydrate content is increasing day by day. Most medical practitioners are not in favor of these diet plans as they contain fat in excessive amounts (especially saturated fat) and doesn't contain adequate amount of vegetables, fruit, cereals and high fiber breads.

Individuals who are in favor of this diet plan opine that consuming kilojoules chiefly from fat and protein sources is absolutely fine. This implies that you need to limit the intake of some fruits and vegetables, cereals and consume fat, diary products and meat in sufficient quantity.

Some common foods included in the diet plan based on low carbohydrate are as follows: chicken, beef, eggs, bacon, non-starchy vegetables, mayonnaise, butter and fish. However, diet plans based on extremely low carbohydrate content fails to meet your regular nutritional needs. Hence, in order to remain healthy you need to intake fruit (2 serves), vegetables (5 serves), milk (2 cups), cereals or bread (4 serves) regularly.

The fact that consuming foods, which contain carbohydrate may result in weight gain is often misleading. In reality, weight gain results from the consumption of excessive calories or kilojoules-it does not matter whether they come from fats, proteins or carbohydrates.

Diet plans based on low carbohydrate content may help you in losing weight as they limit energy or calories. This approach deprives your body of the essential nutrients and may lead to severe metabolic disturbances.

Opting for a diet plan containing rich source of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and low-fat dairy products helps you to lower your weight to a sustainable extent. It has been observed that vegetarians are usually slimmer and are at a lower risk of getting cancer, heart disease or obesity compared to non-vegetarians.

This approach suggests that diet plan based on high content of unrefined carbohydrates help in preventing obesity and overweight. Bad breath, dehydration, constipation, appetite loss, dizziness and lethargy are some of the short-term side effects of low carbohydrate diets.

The long term side-effects of low carbohydrate diets are still not known clearly. However, a low carbohydrate diet may not be nutritionally adequate as they contain very few vegetables and fruits. They also contain inadequate amount of vitamin A, B6 and E, folate, fiber, magnesium, potassium, antioxidant phytochemicals and thiamin.

Going in for such a diet that is deprived of all the essential nutrients (particularly fiber and antioxidants) may increase the chances of getting cancer. Extremely low carbohydrate diets contain saturated fat in high contents which may lead to cardiovascular attack.

Diets containing high source of fats and protein often lead to abdominal obesity and disorders associated with obesity such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Diets based on high proteins usually contain cholesterol and saturated fats in high content. Opting for these diets may increase your cholesterol levels; lead to gall bladder colic, liver problems etc.

If you are determined to go in for a low-carbohydrate diet, see to it that you don't avoid carbohydrate all together. It is because you need them in your diet for metabolizing fat. Go in for foods containing rich source of carbohydrates (unprocessed or unrefined) such as fruits and grains instead of going in for energy dense and refined forms like sweets, soft drinks and cakes.

Include substantial amount of fresh vegetables in your diet. Finally in order to avoid further gain in weight, make sure that energy consumption doesn't exceed energy expenditure. Next opt for some simple exercises in order to keep your weight in check. So friends, what are you waiting for?

Put the suggestions into practical use and see how they work wonders for you.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

Alex Fyfe is an expert in the area of health & Fitness and has published numerous documents which can be seen various article sites and on www.alexfyfe.com . If you need help with dieting check out www.fitteryounow.com .