THE LOWDOWN ON THE LOW CARB LIFESTYLE.
- Angelique Williams.
- Jun 3, 2017
- 6 min read
Low Carbing is big at the moment so what does it mean, what are benefits?
Taking on a low carb life means reducing or removing a significant amount of foods that contain carbohydrates with a high glycemic index value, like bread, rice, pasta and grains. Some fruits and vegetables get the no, no on this list as well, like apples, watermelon, rockmelon, potatoes, carrots and corn.
Now if you are like one of my girlfriend's and the idea of removing potatoes from your diet is just an impossibility, the mere thought of it gives her chills, then low carbing is not for you but maybe if you educate yourself about the many benefits you might just change your mind.
When we eat our food is turned into small molecules either carbohydrates - glucose, proteins - amino acids, fats - lipids, vitamins and minerals.
Now I could go into a chemistry lesson about the classifications of carbohydrates but I'm already bored thinking about it and it gets messy and confusing, for simplicity sake let's put them into 3 easy classifications Processed carbohydrates, Unprocessed carbohydrates and Fibre.
Processed carbohydrates: are foods that are manufactured and come in packets and shoot your blood glucose levels to the moon faster than a rocket, they are known as sugar and starch and provide you with fast but short-lived energy that leaves you looking for more, like a really good lover with commitment issues.
Unprocessed carbohydrates: are generally not packaged but can be for convenience like mixed salad packets, these carbs raise blood glucose moderately and provide you with a slower longer more sustain energy to keep you going. It's like taking the train versus taking a sports car to work.
Fibre: acts as a broom for the gut and important food for gut flora does not raise blood glucose levels it helps to keep your gut healthy and your poo's happy.
Our bodies utilize Processed carbohydrates and Unprocessed carbohydrates by breaking them down to their singular molecule - glucose, glucose is sugar.
Carbohydrates are often referred to as the fuel our brains and bodies prefer, research on this subject is both for and against and really dependent on the belief of the researcher's fueled, of course by current trends.
Processed carbohydrates are not necessary to fuel your brain or your body, get rid of them from your diet.
So what are processed carbs well here is some pic's for you:
Rule of thumb a processed carb comes in a packet removed, avoided or limit them. My preference would be to remove them.
Carbs that contain vitamins and minerals like fruit and vegetables are just downright necessary these are your unprocessed carbs but here is where it gets messy with low carbing, grains are included in the unprocessed carbs list and considered full of vitamins and minerals. When they are eaten without processing like rolled oats aren't too bad. Unfortunately we take those grains and mill them and refine them until they resemble a powder/flour and process them further to make breads and baked goods. Many breads, that state they made from "Whole wheat". Well, maybe once but not now in that puffy loaf of fluff sitting in your bread box.
What's important to remember with low carb is that it is not just the glycemic index that needs to be taken into consideration when ruling a food out it is also the glycemic load that influences glycemic index and how that food is prepared can make a difference too.
I'll show you what I mean, let's take carrots long considered to be a high G.I food and many people don't eat them because of this.
Carrots raw have a G.I of 16 per 80g and a G.L of 1.
Carrots peeled diced and boiled have a G.I of 49 per 80g and a G.L of 2*
Carrots are a great source of beta carotene/retinol which helps maintain epithelial surfaces think- skin, lungs and intestines and is also used by our eyes. Ruling them out because of their perceived high G.I rules out a valuable source of Vitamin A, eat carrots in small amounts and don't peel or cook them.
The more you denature your food the higher the G.I and G.L will go. This is why it is strongly encouraged by nutritionist and dieticians world over to eat foods as close to nature as possible.
This is what you will eat on a low carb lifestyle:
You want the focus of your fats to be on quality lean meats, oily fish, nuts and avocado now I said lean meats but I'm going to throw bacon in there too why? Because fat is not your enemy sugar and trans fats that are found in processed foods are. When fat is consumed in moderate amounts it does not make you fat, it, in fact, provides you with sustain energy and a high level of satiety (full feeling) than sugar and trans fats. And lean meats means meat that is not completely void of fat a lovely marbling (thin fat veins) of fat in a good quality cut of meat is a good choice.
Get lots of vegetables in your diet leafy greens and fibrous foods spinach, rocket, mixed green lettuce leafs, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, as a general rule any vegetable grown above the ground is usually low in carbs but tubers such as Swede are also low and once again don't rule a nutrient dense food out if it's high in carbs just eat it in smaller quantities, unpeeled and uncooked.
For those who know they will not be able to give up bread, past and rice there are some low carb options, the protein bread company makes a range of low carb breads muffins pancakes and pizza bases that my daughter and I personally have as part of our low carb lifestyle and a brand called Herman Brot make a range of low carb bread, pastas and muesli.
Some low carb options for pasta include zoodles - zucchini noodles, Slendier slim low carb Konjac noodles, pasta and rice they have no flavour so they take on what ever you cook them with and can be a bit chewy but they are OK. My personal favourite are Gold Mine kelp noodles they are crunchy and yum I have not found any other brand to be as nice as these, I use them in a green mango salad with chilli. Use cauliflower rice as a rice substitute, I use it in my Cauliflower Tabbouleh instead of cracked wheat and as a substitute for couscous.
The image below are the current Australian guidelines for healthy eating the plate shows an equal amount of consumption of grains, pasta, rice and breads is recommended.
These are the low carb recommendations for healthy eating and are my recommendations to all.
Benefits of Low Carb.
The greatest benefit to come from the low carb lifestyle is the increase of nutrients to your diet as you will eating lots of vegetable and fruit all packed full of vitamins and minerals.
Your skin will be clearer great news if you suffer from acne.
You will have more energy awesome, who's not looking for a sustained form of pickup.
Your bowel movements will become regular and easier with the water and fibre your increased vegetable content will bring, yay for happy poo's.
You will lose weight and lose it from your tummy if you are an apple shape.
You will not go hungry or be looking for quick sources of energy.
Low carb for type 1 and 2 diabetics is just simply the best way to go for better management of blood glucose levels.
It's the healthiest way to eat for life for maximum energy, health and weight loss. It's the way I live and eat and strongly advocate you to do the same.
For more low carbing information and lots of yummy recipes here are some websites:
RESEARCH FOR THE GEEKS.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of the effects of low carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01021.x/abstract
Low-carbohydrate nutrition and metabolism http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/2/276.full
Comparison of high-fat and high-protein diets with a high-carbohydrate diet in insulin-resistant obese women. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15616799
Total and Full-Fat, but Not Low-Fat, Dairy Product Intakes are Inversely Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Adults http://jn.nutrition.org/content/146/1/81.full
Dietary Intake of Saturated Fat Is Not Associated with Risk of Coronary Events or Mortality in Patients with Established Coronary Artery Disease http://jn.nutrition.org/content/1/299.full
A Systematic Review of the Evidence Supporting a Causal Link Between Dietary Factors and Coronary Heart Disease http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1108492
* Food and Nutrition Wahlqvist 2nd edition 2002.
Is dietary carbohydrate essential for human nutrition? http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/75/5/951.2.long
The effects of a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet and a low-fat diet on mood, hunger, and other self-reported symptoms.
A randomized trial comparing a very low carbohydrate diet and a calorie-restricted low fat diet on body weight and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy women. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12679447
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