The Great Carbohydrate Debate
Bite This: In the October 19th, 1999 issue of the Tampa Tribune, the official spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics stated that "The Atkin's diet and its like-any eating regimen that encourages gorging on bacon, cream and butter while shunning apples, all in the name of weight loss-are a dietitian's nightmare."
consider carbohydrates the culprit for raising insulin levels, but in actuality some high fat, high protein foods can also increase insulin levels.
Some of the aforementioned diets include phases with the first phase typically eliminating any processed foods, fruits, yogurt, cereals, breads, grains, potatoes, corn, carrots, beets, and other starchy vegetables. They place emphasis on lean protein sources such as chicken, fish, poultry, egg whites, beans and other legumes through all phases. The Atkins diet, however, is a little different in regards to emphasizing lean proteins. With the Atkins diet, it seems like any protein is fair game including bacon, ham, pork, beef, etc.
If you are still reading this, you're probably wondering when I'll discuss if these diets really work. Relax, I'll get there.
Weight loss is a matter of burning more calories than you consume. So if you begin eliminating foods that you consume on a day-to-day basis, then naturally you are reducing your calorie intake and able to shed some pounds. But you can do this with any kind of diet (or as I like to say, "life-style change"), not just one focused on a low carbohydrate approach.
I usually do not condemn eliminating anything from the diet unless one is allergic to a food. Usually when one takes a drastic approach to eliminating foods (or food groups) from the diet, it leads to cravings and sometimes harmful behavior, not to mention nutrient deficiencies.
As I mentioned previously, carbohydrates are an essential part to our diet. The human brain (which I think of to be of some significance) needs 130 grams of carbohydrates per day to function adequately. Some of these low carb diets are so low that one is taking in less than 100 grams of carbs per day. Without an adequate amount of carbohydrates, the body starts breaking down fat to use as energy. Which is precisely the point of these low carb diets and sounds great, right? When this happens though, the brain functions on ketones which leads to decreased concentration, headaches, fatigue and other unpleasant side effects. And your brain can only last so long on these ketone bodies.
The verdict is still out about what kind of detriment these diets can have long term. But just think about all of the work your kidneys have to do to process all of that protein! Not to mention, how all of that fat you ingested is affecting your heart.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. As I have said before, the real key to losing weight is...are you ready for it?! Moderation!! Burn more calories than you consume. Moderation. If you are going to eat that piece of cake, eat one piece, not two, three, four and eat whole grains, fruit, vegetables, etc the rest of the day. Exercise. If you are going to a party, a dinner out at a restaurant, a pie-eating contest....plan for it. We do not gain weight by eating unhealthily one day or one week...we gain weight by making unhealthy habits that turn into just that....habits. By changing one habit, you're likely to experience some weight loss without regaining it, and perhaps without even noticing much of a change in your day-to-day life.
Sound bite: Think of some daily habit that you have that may be risking your health whether it be eating dessert every evening or adding cream to your coffee every morning or skipping out on exercise. Take the next day to try to change that habit. It may be hard at first, but they say it takes 21 days to break or build a habit. Try it.
Atkins diet, South Beach diet, Sonoma diet, Zone diet...no matter what you call it, all of these diets emphasize a low carbohydrate diet approach. Carbohydrates are essential to our diets and are the body's preferred source for energy. Carbohydrates can be broken down into "simple" and "complex" carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are made up of one or two sugar molecules and are absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and often times have little nutrient value. Simple sugars include fruit, milk, processed foods, white flour, sugar, honey, jelly & jams, etc. Complex carbohydrates contain a more complex structure that forms fiber. Complex carbohydrates take longer for our bodies to digest and are found in vegetables and whole grains.
All of the diets noted above focus on a low carbohydrate approach. The premise of these diets is that if we starve our bodies of glucose (sugar), then the body will have to burn fat for energy while preserving muscle mass. These diets 
consider carbohydrates the culprit for raising insulin levels, but in actuality some high fat, high protein foods can also increase insulin levels. Some of the aforementioned diets include phases with the first phase typically eliminating any processed foods, fruits, yogurt, cereals, breads, grains, potatoes, corn, carrots, beets, and other starchy vegetables. They place emphasis on lean protein sources such as chicken, fish, poultry, egg whites, beans and other legumes through all phases. The Atkins diet, however, is a little different in regards to emphasizing lean proteins. With the Atkins diet, it seems like any protein is fair game including bacon, ham, pork, beef, etc.
If you are still reading this, you're probably wondering when I'll discuss if these diets really work. Relax, I'll get there.
Weight loss is a matter of burning more calories than you consume. So if you begin eliminating foods that you consume on a day-to-day basis, then naturally you are reducing your calorie intake and able to shed some pounds. But you can do this with any kind of diet (or as I like to say, "life-style change"), not just one focused on a low carbohydrate approach.
I usually do not condemn eliminating anything from the diet unless one is allergic to a food. Usually when one takes a drastic approach to eliminating foods (or food groups) from the diet, it leads to cravings and sometimes harmful behavior, not to mention nutrient deficiencies.
As I mentioned previously, carbohydrates are an essential part to our diet. The human brain (which I think of to be of some significance) needs 130 grams of carbohydrates per day to function adequately. Some of these low carb diets are so low that one is taking in less than 100 grams of carbs per day. Without an adequate amount of carbohydrates, the body starts breaking down fat to use as energy. Which is precisely the point of these low carb diets and sounds great, right? When this happens though, the brain functions on ketones which leads to decreased concentration, headaches, fatigue and other unpleasant side effects. And your brain can only last so long on these ketone bodies.
The verdict is still out about what kind of detriment these diets can have long term. But just think about all of the work your kidneys have to do to process all of that protein! Not to mention, how all of that fat you ingested is affecting your heart.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. As I have said before, the real key to losing weight is...are you ready for it?! Moderation!! Burn more calories than you consume. Moderation. If you are going to eat that piece of cake, eat one piece, not two, three, four and eat whole grains, fruit, vegetables, etc the rest of the day. Exercise. If you are going to a party, a dinner out at a restaurant, a pie-eating contest....plan for it. We do not gain weight by eating unhealthily one day or one week...we gain weight by making unhealthy habits that turn into just that....habits. By changing one habit, you're likely to experience some weight loss without regaining it, and perhaps without even noticing much of a change in your day-to-day life.
Sound bite: Think of some daily habit that you have that may be risking your health whether it be eating dessert every evening or adding cream to your coffee every morning or skipping out on exercise. Take the next day to try to change that habit. It may be hard at first, but they say it takes 21 days to break or build a habit. Try it.
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