What's Low Carb Diet: Can it help losing weight?

 

What's Low Carb Diet ?

A carbohydrate-free diet has spread at the present time, this diet depends on eating low-carb foods or completely free of them, and this diet may help to lose weight quickly compared to a low-fat diet and may help improve the health of the body, as it contributes to regulating the levels of triglycerides and good cholesterol in the blood, improving blood sugar and blood pressure.

carbohydrate-free diet is based on replacing sugary foods, pasta and bread with whole foods rich in natural proteins, fats, and vegetables; That is, focus on red meat, fish, chicken, and non-starchy vegetables, while avoiding eating foods rich in carbohydrates, such as cereals, legumes, types of bread, sweets, pasta of all kinds, and starchy vegetables, in addition to very small amounts of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It is worth noting that when following this system, a person does not need to count calories or eat special foods, but all he needs is to eat foods that provide a complete, integrated, and a nutritious diet, and the permissible limit for carbohydrate intake per day is no more than 20-60 grams; That is equivalent to 80-240 calories, and some diets may depend on gradually reducing the amount of carbohydrates and then gradually increasing it later, and it is recommended that the ratio be between 45-65% of the amount of total daily consumption of calories, so if a person consumes 2000 Calories per day It is necessary to eat between 900-1300 calories sourced from carbohydrates per day.

Examples of a low carbohydrate diet

Here are some types of low-carb diets:

Keto diet: The ketogenic diet is a type of low-carb, high-fat diet. It depends on eating a very small amount of carbohydrates, which is reflected in their levels in the body, and thus the body will enter a special metabolic state called ketosis, which leads to low levels of the hormone insulin in the body and the release of large amounts of fatty acids stored in fat stores in the body. In this case, a lot of fatty acids are transferred to the liver for storage, and converted into ketone bodies, which are water-soluble molecules that can cross the blood-brain barrier and provide it with the energy needed for the body, thus replacing carbohydrates with ketones, but as the body continues to produce a very small amount. of glucose sugar; Because the brain needs carbohydrates. You may be advised to reduce your protein intake when following a keto diet; Because too much protein can affect the reduction in the production of ketones produced by the body, this diet may help treat drug-resistant epilepsy patients in children, and the keto diet may also, have benefits for other neurological disorders and metabolic problems in the body, such as type diabetes. Second, it also reduces body fat, which makes it a good and effective way to lose fat and reduce appetite.

Low-carb, high-fat diet: It is a diet that relies on reducing carbohydrates by a very large percentage, but with a greater focus on whole, unprocessed foods, such as meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, healthy fats, vegetables, dairy products, nuts, and berries. The recommended amount of carbohydrates in this diet is between 20-100 grams per day.

Foods on a low-carb diet

Lists of foods for diets in a low-carb diet vary from one body to another or according to the health status of the body. Some types of foods are generally eaten and avoided when following a low-carb diet, including the following:

Vegetables, such as: zucchini 4 grams per cup, cabbage 5 grams per cup, broccoli 6 grams per cup, Brussels sprouts 8 grams per cup, leafy vegetables, such as spinach 1 gram of carbs per cup, and tomatoes 7 grams of carbs per cup.

Meat, such as chicken, beef, and lamb, does not contain any carbohydrates per 3-ounce serving.

Fish and seafood such as shrimp contain no carbohydrates per 3-ounce serving.

Eggs do not contain carbohydrates.

Cheese, such as cheddar, contains 1 gram of carbohydrates per ounce.

Olives contain 2 grams of carbohydrates, the equivalent of 10 small olives.

Oils, such as canola oil, olive oil, and coconut oil, as they do not contain carbohydrates per tablespoon.

Butter, no carbs per tablespoon.

Cream has 0.4 g of carbohydrates per tablespoon.

Dairy: 8 grams of carbohydrates per 7 ounces of low-fat yogurt. Cheese contains 6 grams of carbs per cup, including low-fat cheese.

Nuts like almonds contain 6 grams of carbohydrates per ounce.

Foods to avoid in this diet include the following:

• the rice.
• the bread.
• oatmeal.
• the pasta.
• Grains, such as bulgur, quinoa.
• the milk.
• Fruits high in carbohydrates, such as grapes, bananas.
•  Beans, lentils.
• Starchy vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, potatoes.
• Foods rich in sugar, such as cake, ice cream, candy, and soda.

Is Low Carb Diet Bad For You?

When you completely stop eating carbohydrates represented by sugars and starches, you can suffer from some side effects at first, and some of them may be mild, while others suffer from more difficult symptoms and these effects may take a few days or about a week, and the reason for their occurrence is related to the sudden cessation of eating carbohydrates that the body gets, and the catalytic flu is one of these complications, or what is known as the keto flu, and causes severe distress for several days or a week, and its symptoms are as follows: 

• Headaches.
• Fatigue.
• dizziness;
• irritability;

These symptoms decrease quickly because the body adapts to this condition quickly, and the percentage of fat burning increases within a week of starting this system. The main reason for rapid weight loss may be that carbohydrate-rich foods increase fluid and water in the body. When a person stops eating carbohydrates, water will be lost through the kidneys faster. Flu symptoms can be reduced by eating plenty of fluids and temporarily increasing salt intake. the least.