Carve Out Carbs

Carb

Carbs. Your body and brain need them for fuel. While it's okay to cut back on carbs since most of us eat too many anyway, cutting them out almost completely isn't healthy.

Good and Bad Points of a Low Carb Diet

For good health, you should eat 130 grams of carbs a day, but most of us eat a lot more than that. Even if you think you eat healthy, chances are, your carb intake is higher than you think. Most of the more popular low carb diets like Atkins and South Beach want you to cut back to only 20-40 grams of carbs a day for the first two weeks, and after that, they gradually reintroduce carbs back into your diet--good carbs, not bad. The positive aspects of this are quick weight loss, decreased cravings for sweets and not feeling hungry. You burn more fat on a low carb diet too. This is because your body doesn't have carbs to use for fuel, so it burns fat and protein instead. This releases ketones into your system which are released through urine--a state known as ketosis. (Be aware--when your body is in a state of ketosis, a side effect is really bad breath.)

Although the long-term effects of a low carb diet aren't all known yet, doctors believe it could cause kidney damage and heart disease. (Normally low carb diets don't restrict the amount of fat you take in. In fact, generally, the higher the fat content of a food, the fewer carbs it has, and higher fat intake causes your arteries to be clogged.)

The immediate effects of a low carb (besides bad breath from ketosis) are grumpiness and constipation. Of course, being constipated can make you grumpy, but the grumpiness is generally from the lack of carbs. You see, when you eat carbs, your brain produces the "feel-good" hormone serotonin. The fewer carbs you eat, the less serotonin you have, and you are grouchy. The constipation is from a lack of fiber in your diet. Low carb diets restrict the amount of fruits and vegetables you can eat, which takes a lot of fiber out of your diet. Even high-feber cereal is a no-no when you're only allowing yourself such a low amount of carbs. Unless you're taking a supplement, you're likely to end up constipated.

All of this is good to consider when you're considering a low carb diet.

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