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4/11/2015 Lowcarbdiet:Canithelpyouloseweight?MayoClinic

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthylifestyle/weightloss/indepth/lowcarbdiet/art20045831?p=1 1/5

HealthyLifestyle

Weightloss

Alowcarbdietlimitscarbohydratessuchasthosefoundingrains,starchyvegetablesandfruitandemphasizesfoodshighinproteinandfat.Manytypesoflowcarbdietsexist.Eachdiethasvaryingrestrictionsonthetypesandamountsofcarbohydratesyoucaneat.

Alowcarbdietisgenerallyusedforlosingweight.Somelowcarbdietsmayhavehealthbenefitsbeyondweightloss,suchasreducingriskfactorsassociatedwithdiabetesandmetabolicsyndrome.

WhyyoumightfollowalowcarbdietYoumightchoosetofollowalowcarbdietbecauseyou:

WantadietthatrestrictscertaincarbstohelpyouloseweightWanttochangeyouroveralleatinghabitsEnjoythetypesandamountsoffoodsfeaturedinlowcarbdiets

Checkwithyourdoctororhealthcareproviderbeforestartinganyweightlossdiet,especiallyifyouhaveanyhealthconditions,suchasdiabetesorheartdisease.

Asthenamesays,alowcarbdietrestrictsthetypeandamountofcarbohydratesyoueat.Carbohydratesareatypeofcalorieprovidingmacronutrientfoundinmanyfoodsandbeverages.

Manycarbohydratesoccurnaturallyinplantbasedfoods,suchasgrains.Innaturalform,carbohydratescanbethoughtofascomplexandfibroussuchasthecarbohydratesfoundin

Couldalowcarbdietgiveyouanedgeinlosingweight?Helpyoukeepweightoffpermanently?Here'swhatyouneedtoknowaboutthelowcarbdiet.

ByMayoClinicStaff



wholegrainsandlegumes,ortheycanbelesscomplexsuchasthosefoundinmilkandfruit.Commonsourcesofnaturallyoccurringcarbohydratesinclude:

GrainsFruitsVegetablesMilkNutsSeedsLegumes(beans,lentils,peas)

Foodmanufacturersalsoaddrefinedcarbohydratestoprocessedfoodsintheformofflourorsugar.Thesearegenerallyknownassimplecarbohydrates.Examplesoffoodsthatcontainsimplecarbohydratesarewhitebreadsandpasta,cookies,cake,candy,andsugarsweetenedsodasanddrinks.

Yourbodyusescarbohydratesasitsmainfuelsource.Sugarsandstarchesarebrokendownintosimplesugarsduringdigestion.They'rethenabsorbedintoyourbloodstream,wherethey'reknownasbloodsugar(glucose).Fibercontainingcarbohydratesresistdigestion,andalthoughtheyhavelesseffectonbloodsugar,complexcarbohydratesprovidebulkandserveotherbodyfunctionsbeyondfuel.

Risinglevelsofbloodsugartriggerthebodytoreleaseinsulin.Insulinhelpsglucoseenteryourbody'scells.Someglucoseisusedbyyourbodyforenergy,fuelingallofyouractivities,whetherit'sgoingforajogorsimplybreathing.Extraglucoseisusuallystoredinyourliver,musclesandothercellsforlateruseorisconvertedtofat.

Theideabehindthelowcarbdietisthatdecreasingcarbslowerinsulinlevels,whichcausesthebodytoburnstoredfatforenergyandultimatelyleadstoweightloss.

TypicalfoodsforalowcarbdietIngeneral,alowcarbdietfocusesonproteins,includingmeat,poultry,fishandeggs,andsomenonstarchyvegetables.Alowcarbdietgenerallyexcludesorlimitsmostgrains,legumes,fruits,breads,sweets,pastasandstarchyvegetables,andsometimesnutsandseeds.Somelowcarbdietplansallowsmallamountsofcertainfruits,vegetablesandwholegrains.

Adailylimitof60to130gramsofcarbohydratesistypicalwithalowcarbdiet.Theseamountsofcarbohydratesprovide240to520calories.

Somelowcarbdietsgreatlyrestrictcarbsduringtheinitialphaseofthedietandthengraduallyincreasethenumberofallowedcarbs.Verylowcarbdietsrestrictcarbohydrates



to60gramsorlessaday.

Incontrast,theDietaryGuidelinesforAmericansrecommendthatcarbohydratesmakeup45to65percentofyourtotaldailycalorieintake.Soifyouconsume2,000caloriesaday,youwouldneedtoeatbetween900and1,300caloriesadayfromcarbohydratesorbetween225and325gramsofcarbohydratesaday.

Weightloss

Mostpeoplecanloseweightondietplansthatrestrictcaloriesandwhatyoucaneatatleastintheshortterm.Andlowcarbdiets,especiallyverylowcarbdiets,mayleadtogreatershorttermweightlossthanlowfatdiets.

Butmoststudieshavefoundthatat12or24months,thebenefitsofalowcarbdietarenotverylarge.A2014reviewfoundthathigherprotein,lowcarbohydratedietsmayofferaslightadvantageintermsofweightlossandlossoffatmasscomparedtoanormalproteindiet.Atayear,thedifferencewasonlyaboutapound(about0.4kilograms),though,andthosewhohadthegreatestbenefitsstucktothedietlongterm.

Cuttingcaloriesandcarbsmaynotbetheonlyreasonfortheweightloss.Somestudiesshowthatyoumayshedsomeweightbecauseyoueatlessonlowcarbdietsbecausetheextraproteinandfatkeepyoufeelingfulllonger.

Otherhealthbenefits

Lowcarbdietsmayhelppreventorimproveserioushealthconditions,suchasmetabolicsyndrome,diabetes,highbloodpressureandcardiovasculardisease.Infact,almostanydietthathelpsyoushedexcessweightcanreduceorevenreverseriskfactorsforcardiovasculardiseaseanddiabetes.Mostweightlossdietsnotjustlowcarbdietsmayimprovebloodcholesterolorbloodsugarlevels,atleasttemporarily.

LowcarbdietsmayimproveHDLcholesterolandtriglyceridevaluesslightlymorethandomoderatecarbdiets.Thatmaynotonlybeduetohowmanycarbsyoueatbutalsothequalityofyourotherfoodchoices.Leanprotein(fish,poultry,legumes),healthyfats(monounsaturatedandpolyunsaturated)andunprocessedcarbssuchaswholegrains,legumes,vegetables,fruitsandlowfatdairyproductsaregenerallyhealthierchoices.

AreportfromtheAmericanHeartAssociation,theAmericanCollegeofCardiologyandheObesitySocietyconcludedthatthereisn'tenoughevidencetosaywhethermostlowcarbohydratedietsprovidehearthealthybenefits.

Ifyousuddenlyanddrasticallycutcarbs,youmayexperienceavarietyoftemporaryhealtheffects,including:

HeadacheBadbreath



WeaknessFatigueConstipationordiarrhea

Inaddition,somedietsrestrictcarbohydrateintakesomuchthatinthelongtermtheycanresultinvitaminormineraldeficiencies,boneloss,andgastrointestinaldisturbancesandmayincreaserisksforvariouschronicdiseases.

Severelyrestrictingcarbohydratestolessthan20gramsadaycanresultinaprocesscalledketosis.Ketosisoccurswhenyoudon'thaveenoughsugar(glucose)forenergy,soyourbodybreaksdownstoredfat,causingketonestobuildupinyourbody.Sideeffectsfromketosiscanincludenausea,headache,mentalandphysicalfatigue,andbadbreath.

It'snotclearwhatkindofpossiblelongtermhealthrisksalowcarbdietmayposebecausemostresearchstudieshavelastedlessthanayear.Somehealthexpertsbelievethatifyoueatlargeamountsoffatandproteinfromanimalsourcesyourriskofheartdiseaseorcertaincancersmayactuallyincrease.

References1. LiebmanM.Whenandwhycarbohydraterestrictioncanbeaviableoption.Nutrition.201430:748.

2. SacksF,etal.Comparisonofweightlossdietswithdifferentcompositionsoffat,protein,andcarbohydrates.NewEnglandJournalofMedicine.2009360:859.

3. BrayGA.Obesityinadults:Dietarytherapy.http://www.uptodate.com/home.AccessedJuly22,2014.

4. Weightlossandnutritionmyths.NationalInstituteofDiabetesandDigestiveandKidneyDiseases.http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/myths.htm.AccessedJuly22,2014.

5. LiuS,etal.Dietarycarbohydrates.http://www.uptodate.com/home.AccessedJuly22,2014.

6. Theprogram:Overview.AtkinsNutritionals.http://www.atkins.com/Program/Overview/HowandWhyAtkinsWork.aspx.AccessedJuly20,2014.

7. ColditzGA,etal.Healthydietinadults.http://www.uptodate.com/home.AccessedJuly22,2014.

8. EbbelingCB,etal.Effectsofdietarycompositiononenergyexpenditureduringweightlossmaintenance.JournaloftheAmericanMedicalAssociation.2012307:2627.

9. CliftonPM,etal.Longtermweightmaintenanceafteradvicetoconsumelowcarbohydrate,higherproteindietsAsystematicreviewandmetaanalysis.Nutrition,Metabolism&CardiovascularDiseases.201424:224.

10. JensenMD,etal.2013AHA/ACC/TOSGuidelineforthemanagementofoverweightandobesityinadults.JournaloftheAmericanCollegeofCardiology.201463:2985.

11. NelsonJK(expertopinion).MayoClinic,Rochester,Minn.Aug.6,2014.



Sept.20,2014

Originalarticle:http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthylifestyle/weightloss/indepth/lowcarbdiet/art20045831

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Download - Low-carb Diet_ Can It Help You Lose Weight_ - Mayo Clinic

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