The No Carbohydrate Diet Myth

"All Carbs are Not Created Equal..."

Searching for a no carbohydrate diet?

You may want to reconsider...In the case of a no carb diet, what you don't know can hurt you!

The low carb craze has been around for some time now. It all started with the famous Atkins diet and now many other low carb diets have caught on.

Why the low carb craze? Two words, it works. Or at least low carb diets seem to work. Those who restrict carbs often do lose weight quickly. For individuals who are desperate to lose weight this weight loss seems like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Why the weight loss? When there is an absence of carbohydrates your body will actually manufacture its own in order to maintain tissues that absolutely need carbohydrates. Because this process takes additional energy your body will burn an excess of calories, a process that promoters of such diets call the "Metabolic advantage".
Along with the excess use of energy to produce carbs, people who are on low carbohydrate diets are typically eating fewer calories in the form of processed carbohydrates (refined sugar, white flour, etc.).

It is this combination of excess use of energy and fewer calories that produce quick results.

Unfortunately the weight loss is short lived...

A lack of carbohydrates causes the body to go into survival mode, meaning that it will store and ration any food consumption. When a person who has been on such a diet begins to eat normal again, the body will store the food just in case there is another famine. This storage often leaves them in a worse state of obesity.

I know what you're thinking...

"Why not just stay on the no carbohydrate diet?"

Not all carbs are created equal. Your body needs good carbohydrates (whole grains, vegetables, fruits) to function. Vital organs such as your brain absolutely will not function without carbohydrates! When these carbs are cut out of your diet for any extended period the effects can be extremely dangerous.

It is not just the elimination of the good carbohydrates...Low carb diets promote eating lots of protein, often in the form of red meat. As a result, people on no carbohydrate diets experience large increases in cholesterol and blood pressure.

The very idea of a no carbohydrate diet implies that carbohydrates make people fat. In his book "Healthy at 100" author John Robbins discusses several cultures that have almost no instance of obesity. Their diets are primarily carbohydrates!

It is a proven fact that the consumption of good carbohydrates contributes to a lean, fit body.

From No Carbohydrate Diet to Fad Diets