How Effective Are Low Carbohydrate Diets?The number of food fad diets that have entered the human conscience since time immemorial could fill up several encyclopedias. There are all kinds of diets thronging up the health stores, and the most recent entries in this already overcrowded market are the low carbohydrate diets, which are popularly and fondly shortened as low carb diets or low carb foods. Many people are sticking to this somewhat harsh dietary regime, and they are also quite happy about their dietary control measures. So, it requires an investigation into the why and the how of the functioning of these low carbohydrate foods. Carbohydrates are a very important nutrient of the human diet. They are among the three main proximate principles of food - food groups that get burnt in the body to provide it with the required energy. Besides these, carbohydrates have a very important role to play in the fat metabolism in the body. Some carbohydrates are required for the proper circulation of fats in the body, since the fats do not dissolve in the human blood. One more very important function of dietary carbohydrates is that they provide roughage for the movement of bowels, without which there can be no proper voiding of the bodily wastes. With such important functions that carbohydrates provide to the human body, does it really make any sense to stick to low carbohydrate diets? The answer is yes. People were initially skeptical about the aftereffects of a low carb diet on the human system, but the results emerging from people who have stuck on this diet for over a year indicate a very positive trend. Low carb diets have consistently proved that they can help tremendously to lose weight, and to maintain the weight at a healthy level. The method of working of low carbohydrate foods is actually quite simple to understand. As their name suggests, these diets are formulated in such a way that the total carbohydrate content in them is quite low. In the absence of carbohydrates, the body has to turn to the only other source of energy present to it, and that is the fats. Fats are stored in layers under the skin. If the carbohydrate is less, then these fats are burnt up by the body to get its supply of energy. The result is, a trimmer and a fitter body. Sample tests have shown that people on low carb foods do show weight loss in a short time, and they are able to perform their tasks faster. Sluggish people have become fit and active after only two months on low carb diets. However, long term results of these diets are yet to be seen. It is not yet confirmed whether the weight loss is reversible if a person stops the routine of low carbohydrate diets. Another contention against low carb diets is that they are lacking in most important fruits and vegetables, which are the main sources of several vitamins and minerals to the human body. However, some diets try to make up for these losses by including other foods in the diet that are rich in those vitamins and minerals. Today, the Atkins diet is by far the most well-known low carbohydrate diet, though it is notorious for being a very strict dietary regime which more people cannot keep up with. |