Carve Out Carbs - Low Carb Diets

Low Carb Diets

In the past eight years or so, low carb diets have been the hottest weight loss trend. It's easy to see why--lots of people have lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time this way. But are low carb diets really good for you?

Requirements of Most Low Carb Diets

The most well-known low carb diets around are the Atkins diet and the South Beach diet. These diets have a couple of things in common:

They both have a two-week period during which you're only allowed to have 20 grams of carbs a day.
After the two-week period, you get more carbs, but your carb intake is still severely restricted.

The fact is, our bodies need 130 grams of carbs a day. Period. No more, no less. However, most of us eat far more than that without realizing it. In that sense, low carb diets aren't a bad idea. Since most of us eat an average of 225 grams of carbs daily (or more) . Try counting your daily carb intake for a week. You might be surprised at how many carbs you're eating. If it's in the neighborhood of 225-250 or more, cutting back to 130 can be a job in and of itself. Now imagine cutting yourself down to only 20 grams a day for two weeks, then 60 grams a day after that until you've lost the weight you want to lose. Bear in mind that when you eat less than 130 grams of carbs a day, you're likely to experience any or all of the following side effects:

Nausea
Bad breath
Headaches
Moodiness
Mental sluggishness
Constipation

These are all short-term side effects of low carb diets. Done for a long period of time, you put yourself at higher risk for the following conditions:

Heart disease
Kidney disease
Cancer
Osteoporosis

So before you go on a low carb diet, consider these things. Do more research into the whys and wherefores. Make an informed decision. Your health is a terrible price to pay.

Top Results for "Low Carb Diets":

Atkins Diet & Low Carbohydrate Support
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Low-carbohydrate diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Low-carbohydrate diets or low carb diets are nutritional programs that advocate ..... Most low-carb diets emphasize intake of carbohydrates as fresh ...
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Low-carb diets: An interview with a Mayo Clinic specialist ...
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Use diet alone, by restricting carbohydrates, to control type 2 diabetes and to lose weight. It also improves cholesterol and blood pressure.
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