Health Tips

Low carbohydrate diets have grown wildly in popularity over the past decade. In fact, “low carb” is the most popular diet regime used by people who are into physical fitness. Millions of people everywhere are trying out a lower carb lifestyle and hoping that it will lead to more successful weight loss.

Low carb enthusiasts claim that besides helping people lose weight, the low carb diet has other health benefits. Benefits claimed include lower cholesterol, better control of diabetes, or prevention of Type II diabetes in the first place. Followers of the low carbohydrate lifestyle have made similar observations in their own personal cases.

Nobody disputes the benefits of a healthy diet, particularly if it helps overweight people keep their weight down. But the medical benefits of cutting down on carbohydrates appear to go beyond weight loss.
There have been introductions of some versions of low carbohydrate diets that either don’t work, or are actually harmful to health. How can you tell if a particular low carb eating plan is safe and effective?

As with any large social phenomenon, there are arguments against certain aspects of low carbohydrate diets, and there have been studies that have tried to debunk the whole low carb philosophy. In Canada, a court ruling in 2004 said that marketing products as being “reduced carb” or “no carb” are no longer allowed, due to the belief that carbohydrates do not really pose any health risks. This ruling was ultimately intended to totally phase out “low carb” and “no carb” labeling by the year 2006.

Critics of low carbohydrate diets say that there can be harmful side effects from overloading on protein while cutting out carbohydrates. One side effect of consuming a lot of protein and drastically lower amounts of carbohydrates is a condition called ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic condition that produces tiredness, nausea, headaches and dehydration. Ketosis is also reported to result in a characteristic sweet breath odor. Often, when diets cut out carbs, they also cut out fiber, resulting in constipation. In fact, even with the popular Atkins Diet, there have been modifications made to address the lack of fiber in the low carb diet.

Another risk is that by cutting down on calories from carbohydrates and instead eating more calories from protein sources like meats can increase the intake of cholesterol and saturated fats. This could lead to an increased risk of heart disease. One risk that has been reported is that with drastically lower carbohydrate intake, and higher protein intake, the kidneys will be forced to work harder to flush out impurities. Significant changes in blood acidity levels have also been reported, and this can lead to weaker bones and bone loss.

However, clinical trials of a low carbohydrate diet have not come up with a strong correlation between eating a low carb diet and damaging kidneys or bones. Like most eating plans, the low carbohydrate diet only becomes unhealthy when it results in the exclusion of necessary nutrients and fiber. When these are added back, the risks are drastically lowered.