Staying Healthy on a Low Carbohydrate Diet
Marjorie Geiser

It is estimated that about 32 million Americans are following some type of low carbohydrate diet. This is the result of fad diet authors claiming that carbohydrates are the cause for Americas rising obesity problems. The backlash against carbohydrates is a result of the low fat craze that started in the 80s.When consumers started cutting down their fat intake, manufacturers figured out that they could create low fat processed food products that the public would buy. Because these products claimed to be fat free, Americans didnt pay attention to the fact that they were not also calorie free, and as a result, the total amount of daily calories has slowly been increasing. In fact, although the total percentage of calories from fat has decreased, the actual amount of fat intake has increased by 10# per year since 1975! The increase of carbohydrate has also increased, at a rate of 20# per year, mostly as a result of highly processed foods.

It is estimated that 3800 calories are now produced for every American man, woman and child. We have evolved from a world of feast or famine, but were in a state of perpetual feast, although our bodies have not changed. We have no defenses against excess calories: Every year, 300,000 to 400,000 deaths in the US are attributed to obesity.

Meanwhile, Asian and Middle Eastern populations consume 50-75% of their calories from rice and have some of the lowest rates of obesity and heart disease in the world. People living in the Mediterranean also have fewer health conditions commonly seen in the US. This diet consists of whole grains, vegetables, legumes, nuts and fruits. Their diets are rich in fish and low in meats and poultry. Although their fat intake is about the same as in America, the type of fat is primarily monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil, where Americans eat primarily saturated animal fats.

Regardless of the actual advantage or disadvange to following a low carbohydrate diet, there are three recommendations for maintaining good health while following such a diet. The first is to choose healthy fats over the unhealthy, saturated fats, when considering fat intake. Examples of healthy fats would be plant fats that have not been hydrogenated, which makes the fat more solid at room temperature. It is believed that hydrogenation is actually more harmful to health than saturated fats found naturally in animal products. Plant fats would include nuts, avocados, and olives. Oils such as olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil are better choices than fats that come from animal sources, such as butter, lard or bacon grease. Multiple studies over the years have shown that excess animal fats lead to higher risks of cancer, heart disease and other inflammatory disorders. Saturated fats have been linked to increased cholesterol, LDL (the bad) cholesterol as well as to increased LDL cholesterol oxidation. In fact, in January 2004, an Atkins representative put out a press release advising the public to decrease their amounts of steak, eggs, and saturated fast to less than 20% of their total fat intake.

The next recommendation to ensure good health is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Although fruits and most vegetables are restricted in the initial phase of some low carbohydrate diets, they are then allowed back in limited amounts. The phytonutrients that come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables have been shown to decrease blood pressure, as well as protect against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. Its easy to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, once you get in the habit. Examples are; add some berries to breakfast, eat a tomato at lunch, include broccoli with dinner, drink some vegetable juice with snacks, and have a large salad with your meal.

The final tip to ensure good health is to eat a diet of whole foods, rather than fall back on the easy snack, convenience foods of today. If Americans had just cut down their amount of fat intake in the 80s, without finding new ways to snack, we may not be seeing the epidemic of obesity we see, today. When people started going on the low carbohydrate diets, they eliminated a large number of calories by eliminating snacking, especially at night, where common snacks are chips, crackers, and other high fat, high refined carbohydrate foods, such as ice cream. Today, though, much like in the 80s, manufacturers are now developing low carb and low net carb snack foods. We can now find low net carb chips, crackers, ice cream, popcorn, even low carb pizza! As Americans start to increase their intake of these foods, we will soon see a slowing of the weight loss many had seen initially. In order to call themselves a low net carb food, manufacturers subtract the fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrates in the product, rather than produce products without carbohydrate. There is no actual FDA standard for what a low net carb food is, yet, though, so right now its anything the manufacturer wants to say it is. These foods also are very high in fat and saturated fat, usually through hydrogenation. So, not only will calories be added back into the diet through resuming unhealthy snack habits, but they will be calories consisting of high amounts of the unhealthy fats.

So, while following a low carbohydrate diet, in order to ensure continued good health, follow these three recommendations: 1) Make most fats you eat the healthy, plant fats, rather than eating a diet high in animal or hydrogenated fats, 2) Eat plenty of nutrient rich fruits and vegetables, which are high in disease-fighting antioxidants, and 3) eat mostly whole, fresh foods and very little processed snack foods, even if they say low carb, in order to avoid hidden and unnecessary fat and calories.

Marjorie Geiser has been teaching health, fitness and nutrition since 1982. She is a nutritionist, registered dietitian, certified personal trainer and life coach. As the owner of MEG Fitness, Marjories goal for her clients is to help them incorporate healthy eating and fitness into their busy lives. To order her 30-Day Health & Fitness Challenge e-course and learn more about Marjorie, go to her website at www.megfit.com or email her at Margie@megfit.com

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When you looked in the mirror this morning did you groan with the protruding love handles? Were you blown away by the thunder thighs and balloon butt looking like it was out of air? Did the commode seat creak and shift around when you set down? If you answered yes to any of the above, perhaps you should read on about the weight loss zone diet.

Does the weight loss zone diet really work, or is it just another fad diet?

Without doubt, the zone diet is one of the most famous diets in the world, largely due to the celebrities who have vocally taken part in this diet. Cindy Crawford, Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger, Charlie Sheen and Tiger Woods are just a few celebrities who have reportedly tried the zone diet.

What is noteworthy is that none of these celebrities were actually overweight! That proves that the zone diet is not solely about weight loss, but also about a healthy lifestyle.

So how does the zone diet work exactly? The main principle of the zone diet is that it states an intake of 40%/30%/30% ratios of carbohydrates, protein and fat. This translates into a low carbohydrate diet.

These type of diets, 40%/30%/30% have become somewhat dangerously fashionable in some circles. The weight loss zone diet however is not as restrictive or strict as many other more hardcore low carb (or carb free) diets. The Atkins diet is one example of a diet that is more restrictive than the zone diet

For all its success stories, the American Heart Foundation still does not approve of the zone diet. This is due to its high protein content and lack of essential nutrients which are vital to the human body. They are also concerned about the lack of information and research about long term effects of undertaking the zone diet for long periods of time or permanently.

Many nutritional experts are also skeptical of the zone diet due to lack of scientific research or fact backing up the claims.

Although the zone diet is a high protein diet, the developer of the diet later released a Soy Zone diet. This made the diet plan more suited to vegetarians, who were put off the regular zone diet by its high meat content. The Soy Protein diet simply uses a soy protein base for its meals rather than meat.

It is a common statistic that people who undertake fad diets gain their weight back again a short time later. Why is this so? Well the reason behind this fact is diets like the zone diet are simply unsustainable over long periods of time.

Your body can not live without the carbohydrates that are being taken away from it during the zone diet. Your body will continue to crave carbs until you finally give in. And when you give in, because your body is not used to all these high calorie carbohydrates, they cause you to put on more weight than before you began the diet!

The weight loss zone diet appears to work well for certain people. Its just a matter of striking a balance between following the diet to a T or deviating from it a little to include some more of the essential nutrients to keep your body healthy.

As with all diets you should contact your personal physician to determine if the diet could be detrimental to your health.

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The Atkins diet is very popular, but is it right for you? Before you start down the low carb road, you should take some time to decide whether low carb is the right way for you to lose weight. Just because it has been effective for others doesnt mean it will be right for you. No specific diet works for everyone, and you may even find that a type of low carb diet that works better for you than another. There are many things to consider before you start the Atkins diet.

First, evaluate your past dieting history. If youve been trying to lose weight for a long period of time, youve no doubt tried a wide variety of diets. Take note of the different diets youve tried over the years. Write down the basics of each diet, what worked and what didnt. Also, write down why you didnt stay on the particular diet. Evaluate your experience with high carbohydrate diets. These types of diets include most low-fat and calorie controlled diets. How did you feel while on these types of diets? Were you hungry, obsessed with food or experiencing negative reactions? Or did you feel full of energy and generally good?

If youve had experience with low carb diets, write that down as well. Past the negative effects of the first week, how did eating low carb make you feel? Why did you stop using the low carb diet?

The answers to these questions will help you decide whether Atkins is right for you or not. If youve had good experiences with low-fat diets and bad experiences with other low carb diets, then Atkins is probably not for you. If other low-carb diets have worked but not without difficulty, then you may have been on the wrong type of low-carb diet and Atkins might work better. If youve had bad experiences with both types of diets, then you may have better success with a modified Atkins diet.

Your food and eating behaviors can also give you a clue to whether or not Atkins is a good choice for your weight loss efforts. Carb sensitivities are indicated by a certain set of behaviors. You may be carb sensitive if you feel like eating right after youve finished a meal. You will also feel strong urges to eat throughout the day. You may feel dizzy, fuzzyheaded and fatigued without getting a boost from sugar or another carbohydrate. Carb sensitivity is also shown when you feel sluggish after eating. This occurs especially after you eat a meal rich in sugars and carbohydrates. If you experience these symptoms frequently, you may have carb sensitivities. Try paying close attention to how carbohydrates affect you and if you continue to experience these symptoms, try doing a low carb diet.

Your success on the Atkins diet can also be determined by your medical and family history. If you have any pre-diabetic symptoms, or diabetes itself, a reduced carb diet like Atkins may be right for you. Significant weight gain can also be helped by the Atkins diet. Normally, the more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure, high triglycerides and high blood glucose.

If any member of your family has diabetes or is significantly overweight, this can also put you at risk for these conditions. Your tendency toward these conditions on a genetic level can mark a necessity for a low carbohydrate diet like Atkins. The Atkins plan has been shown to improve weight and control blood sugar issues. If these are problems in your family history, then you may want to consider the Atkins diet.

There are a lot of good reasons to try the Atkins diet. Whether you have responded well to other low carb diets in the past or you have a medical history that warrants a controlled carbohydrate diet, the Atkins diet can meet your needs.

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Diabetes is one of the main health problems not only in the country but also in the world. And it is not something that can be ignored both in financially and health wise. When left on its own, diabetes can spell a helluva of complications, from heart disease to liver problems.

It is perhaps the disease that causes the most number of complications in the body. Money wise, it is not cheap to have diabetes. In fact in studies conducted, 1/10 of the spendings of United States in Healthcare goes to Diabetes and its complications.
Because it is expensive and difficult to treat diabetes when it is already in its complications stage, patients are advised to nip the problem in the bud as soon as they can. If they can prevent diabetes from occurring with a few lifestyle changes especially in eating habits, all the better. This need for change spurned the creation of various kinds of diets that are designed to help diabetic patients and would be diabetics cope with the problem.

Although it was primarily conceptualized for people with heart problem, Atkins Diet is also being used as an alternative diet for people with diabetes. In fact, many diabetic patients have actually testified to its effectiveness. Atkins diet is primarily a low carbohydrate diet that aims to cut pounds by forbidding people under the program to eat carbohydrate-rich food.

These include rice, potatoes, bread and pasta. According to Dr. Robert Atkins, who created the diet for patients with heart problem in his clinic, the diet can also benefit diabetic patients because the decrease in caloric intake can reduce fats in the body; thereby reducing the risk for Type 2 diabetes.

The diet, however, is only effective with people who have a Type 2 diabetes or those whose diabetes is brought on by lifestyle of the person and his or her eating habits. It cannot do much for people who are already born with a problem in insulin secretion. These are the people with Type 1 diabetes. They depend solely on regular injections of insulin.

Still, there are critics that say that Atkins diet is not effective and in fact can lead to further complications. According to experts, the metabolism involved in the burning of fats instead of carbohydrates can cause problems and complications. Also, the intake of animal fat which diet does not restrict can increase cholesterol to dangerous levels; resulting in diabetes and even heart disease.

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