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Carbohydrates include sugars, starches, and fiber.Low Carbohydrate Diet

Is it smart to significantly reduce carbohydrates?

Low carbohydrate diets fall in and out of fashion, and have gained 

a lot of attention recently, with the added twist of the glycemic index. Like many other popular dietary approaches to solving the weight control problem, these diets take an extreme approach by limiting one type of food and focusing on it as the sole source of obesity and other chronic metabolic disorders. It would be great to have a simple solution!

To understand what a low carbohydrate diet is,

 one needs a very basic understanding of the sources of calories in the diet. There are four nutrients that provide calories: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and alcohol. Carbohydrates are essential in maintaining healthy activity of the sympathetic nervous system and in preventing ketosis, a condition that occurs when the body must breakdown ingested fat for fuel because of a lack of carbohydrate. Ketosis is a potentially dangerous condition that produces the breakdown of bone, among other things.

Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of energy, and are quickly and easily converted to blood glucose, the body cells’ preferred source of fuel. In particular, the brain must have glucose as a source of energy. The brain will not use other sources of energy except in the extreme case of starvation, in which ketone bodies (from the breakdown of body fat) are used by the brain. The body cannot store a large amount of carbohydrate; there is only a short supply available as glycogen in the liver and muscle. Therefore, carbohydrates must be supplied on a regular basis.

So, we need a certain amount of carbohydrate to prevent ketosis, but where does it come from? Carbohydrates include sugars, starches, and fiber. Foods that contain mostly carbohydrate are grains, cereals, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Sugar and flour are forms of carbohydrate, so any food made with sugar (like soda pop) or flour (breads, pasta, bakery goods, cookies, crackers, etc.) are sources of carbohydrate as well.

If carbohydrate is so necessary, why would anyone want to limit it to lose weight?

Low Carbohydrate Diets

Those who advocate severe carbohydrate restriction point

 to the relationship between ingesting carbohydrate and the insulin response. Insulin is a vital hormone that regulates the entry of glucose to the cells, helps the body store fat, and at high levels, is associated with damage of the arterial walls. Carbohydrate ingestion stimulates insulin production. The problem is that the more insulin is produced, the more resistant the cells can become to insulin, so the blood glucose can’t enter the cells as easily, and blood glucose and circulating insulin levels remain high, causing damage.

The problem is that insulin resistance is not caused by simply

 ingesting carbohydrates, and is not completely solved by eliminating them. Insulin resistance has a very strong genetic component, and is heavily influenced by level of physical fitness and the degree of body fatness. Generally, the more fit a person is, the less resistant to insulin, and the more body fat a person has, the more resistant they are to insulin. So the real answer to solving insulin resistance (and many other health problems) may be to maintain a healthy body at a healthy weight.

Another problem with severe restriction of carbohydrates is that it leaves fat, protein, and alcohol left to supply calories. Diets high in fat damage arteries and promotes heart disease, and diets high in protein, especially animal protein, are very hard on kidneys, causing them to work too hard to remove the waste products of protein metabolism.

In addition, by severely limiting carbohydrates, you are restricted from many plant foods which contain protective factors against cancer, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

Certainly, it is very easy to eat too much carbohydrate: it is in so many foods, and so available! An excess of calories from any source (fat, protein, carbohydrate, or alcohol) will lead to weight gain if you do not increase your activity to match the excess food intake. For most people, the recommended amount of carbohydrate in the diet is that at least one-half of your total calories should be in the form of carbohydrate. Certain people, such as those with high triglyceride levels or diabetes have special concerns with carbohydrates and fats and should follow a diet that addresses those needs in particular upon the advice of their physician. Choosing carbohydrates that also provide important vitamins, minerals and other nutrients (such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains), and limiting the “junk” carbohydrates to special occasions will help with keeping carbohydrate intake in proper perspective. Choosing carbohydrates that digest more slowly or eating quickly digesting carbohydrates with other foods is another consideration and has to do with the glycemic index, which will be addressed as a separate topic.