Low Carb Diets - What You Must Know About ThemDo carbohydrates make you fat? A lingering question which we all need a prompt answer coupled with lean and slim figures as living witnesses that they maintained a low carb diet for a certain period. A number of well known low carb dieting regimes have been widely disseminated, and these are The Atkins Diet Revolution, The Enter the Zone, and Sugar Busters all aimed to lose weight. Carbohydrates are nutrients needed by the body for energy. They are essential because they are our body's main sources of fuel or energy. They can be accumulated in the muscles for exercise, give us vitamins, minerals and fibers and aid us in our performing our bodily functions without being tired. Candies, sodas and juices are simple carbohydrates which are easily digested and can be used right away as energy. Behind this simple fact is these carbs pierce our blood glucose levels which in time would surely hurt us if our blood sugar goes down. We also have the so-called complex carbohydrates which originates from whole grain commodities, vegetables and fruits and takes time to be digested in our bodies. Unlike the simple carbs, they are little by little freed into the body cushioning that sugar rush and the excruciating sugar crash. Whatever is the kind of carbs we actually take in, just the same, they are converted into sugar during digestion. Nutritionists, however, recommend to consume complex carbs for they are low in fat, high in fiber and contain lots of vitamins and minerals. Low carbohydrate diets are different from each other. Each needs contrasting quantities of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The bottom line is that intake of rich-carb diet causes an oversupply of insulin resulting in obesity, overeating and resistance to insulin. Advocates of the low-carb diet claims that too much intake of carbs leads to insulin inefficiency resulting in more sugar stored as fats. Though this fact is still unsure, however, some researchers claims that this only holds true to people who take in so many calories. When you talk about low carb diets should not be less than 120 carbohydrates daily as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences with a recommended daily allowance (RDA) of 300 carbs every 2000 calories or about 60% of total calories. Atkins of the Atkins Diet Revolution likewise suggests a preliminary 20 gram carb daily or less than 5%. Meanwhile, Protein Power maintains that 12-15% of calories must be carbs and finally, The Zone opines to maintain 40% carbs out of the total calories. While these claims remain unproven, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that low carb dieters who strictly adhere to consuming low carb foods, lost more weight than those who ate low fat diets while those who practiced the Atkins diet increased the levels of good HDL cholesterol in their bodies. |