Monday, March 30, 2015

No Carbs? No Good!



There are so many different diet fads out there that go in and out of style throughout the years. One that I have heard a lot about throughout my life is a low carbohydrate or no carbohydrate diet. Like many of these fad diets there are some clarifications that need to be made.

1. There are carbohydrates in almost everything. Even fruits and vegetables. So if you are attempting a "No Carb" diet than, you are just setting yourself up for one, failure, and two, many vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

2. Your muscles and your brain use carbs as their primary source of energy for most of their tasks. If you serverly restrict your intake of this source then your body is forced to use other fuel sources such as proteins. If protein is used as a source for all your energy then it won't be able to function the way it is supposed to as your "building blocks". What does this mean? It means if you are injured or sick or get a wound you won't be able to heal like you would if you had a sufficient amount of carbohydrates to use as your main source of fuel instead of your "rebuilding fuel".

3. Low carb diets are fine as long as you are still getting the proper amount of carbohydrates (ask your doctor what they believe you should have per day), AND EATING THE RIGHT CARBS. Carbohydrates get a bad reputation because people only think about starches and sugars when they think carbs. Those are not the carbs you should be heavily including in your diet. The carbs you want to emphasize would be whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. These are full of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function properly and not all the junk that is in CheezIts and cookies.

It is always a good idea when taking on a new eating regimen to not think of "what I can't have" but think of "what I can have" and in this case, and really in the case of just healthier eating in general, you want to think "more fruits and veggies".

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