Ask Rob
What are the drawbacks to a low-carb diet?
By severely reducing carbs, or at least below 20% of ones calorie intake (approximately 100g of carbs) not only will you be restricting variety of foods, which can discourage many about losing weight because they must abstain from some of their favorite foods, but may also limit essential nutrients common to those foods. Carbohydrates have been fingered as the culprit behind weight gain and increases in body fat when actually carbohydrates are necessary and important. However portion sizes must be moderated or controlled for the diet to work.
Current research suggests low-carbohydrate diets cause weight loss because participants tend to consume fewer calories overall. Eating a high-protein and high-fat diet is associated with high satiety levels due to fat and protein taking longer to empty from the stomach, although long-term adverse effects on the heart are the greatest concerns with these diets. Low-carbohydrate diets rely heavily on protein foods, which are often high in saturated fat.
Saturated fat is associated with increased levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol in the body, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
The significance behind these findings is that similar weight loss can also be achieved when following a low-calorie but more balanced diet including carbohydrates. Many people gain the weight back as soon as they resume eating larger portions of their normal foods. They are not losing a lot of body fat long-term.
A diet extremely high in protein can also have harmful effects on the body by putting additional stress on the kidneys. These high-protein diets force the kidneys to rid the body of excess waste products of protein and fat called urea, ammonia and ketoses. If these waste products build up in the blood it can lead to a condition called gout or to kidney stones.
Gout is a painful swelling of the joints. A high-protein diet may also increase the risk for osteoporosis (weakening of the bones) in women and men.
My advice would be to consume between 30-55% of your daily calories from carbohydrates, but to control the portion sizes of each meal, eating only until you are 80% full. Never so that your jeans are bursting and you feel uncomfortable. Also, make sure that you consume some food every 3 hours to control blood sugar level.
News & Gossip
