Showing posts with label carb. Show all posts
Showing posts with label carb. Show all posts
Low Fat or Low Carb Best For Weight Loss and Health
Saturday, January 25, 2014
(Article first published as Best Weight Loss Path: Low Fat or Low Carb? on Technorati.)
The question has challenged dietary science for decades - is low fat or low carb better for weight loss, and which is healthier? Many people are confused about the best way to pursue a healthy weight loss program, and often resort to fad diets, diet pills and weight loss surgery.
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzes two groups of weight loss participants, both placed on reduced calorie diets consisting of either low fat or low carbohydrate foods over a period of 2 years. Researchers determined that the type of food consumed is irrelevant to the amount of weight lost, but is much more important to overall health.
Weight Loss Controlled by Calories and Meal Timing, Not Food Type
In this study, people consuming the same amount of calories lost the same amount of weight, regardless of food source. Participants lost 7% of their body weight, or about 15 pounds over the 2 year time frame. The results are not surprising. Weight loss is fueled by many factors, including total calories, amount of physical activity, psychological mindset and the timing of meals.
One important fact that did emerge was that a low carb diet was healthier than the traditional low fat fare. Both groups of dieters benefitted from improved HDL cholesterol levels, with the low carb group achieving a 23% improvement compared with 11% for the low fat dieters. Additionally, blood pressure was reduced in the low carb group.
Traditional Low Fat Diet is Detrimental to Health
Weight loss is critical to the health of three-fourths of the adult population who are either overweight or obese, as it dramatically lowers risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer. Equally important is how the weight is lost. Dropping pounds too quickly is dangerous due to the risk of toxic overload as fat cells are purged.
While the source of calories may not be a critical factor in weight loss, reducing carbohydrates has a significant impact on your health. Medical science has supported the low fat mantra for more than a half century based on flawed evidence indicating that fat is the source of cholesterol and causes arterial plaque and heart disease. Research has documented that just the opposite is true.
Cut Carbs for Healthy Weight Loss
Carbohydrates, especially from ined starches, baked goods and any food using wheat as an ingredient, causes dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar and excessive levels of triglycerides (blood fats). Triglycerides that are not cleared from the blood are a factor in the development of coronary plaque, as they’re escorted out of circulation for storage as body fat. Reduce or eliminate junk food carbs and sugars to lower your future risk of heart disease.
There are many factors to consider when making the decision to affect a lifestyle change which will lead to healthy weight loss. Reduced calories from a well balanced diet are essential, as well as regular physical activity and the proper motivational factors. The decision to lose weight is an important first step, but be certain to adopt a low carbohydrate diet which will allow you to achieve your goal with optimal health.
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine analyzes two groups of weight loss participants, both placed on reduced calorie diets consisting of either low fat or low carbohydrate foods over a period of 2 years. Researchers determined that the type of food consumed is irrelevant to the amount of weight lost, but is much more important to overall health.
Weight Loss Controlled by Calories and Meal Timing, Not Food Type
One important fact that did emerge was that a low carb diet was healthier than the traditional low fat fare. Both groups of dieters benefitted from improved HDL cholesterol levels, with the low carb group achieving a 23% improvement compared with 11% for the low fat dieters. Additionally, blood pressure was reduced in the low carb group.
Traditional Low Fat Diet is Detrimental to Health
While the source of calories may not be a critical factor in weight loss, reducing carbohydrates has a significant impact on your health. Medical science has supported the low fat mantra for more than a half century based on flawed evidence indicating that fat is the source of cholesterol and causes arterial plaque and heart disease. Research has documented that just the opposite is true.
Cut Carbs for Healthy Weight Loss
Carbohydrates, especially from ined starches, baked goods and any food using wheat as an ingredient, causes dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar and excessive levels of triglycerides (blood fats). Triglycerides that are not cleared from the blood are a factor in the development of coronary plaque, as they’re escorted out of circulation for storage as body fat. Reduce or eliminate junk food carbs and sugars to lower your future risk of heart disease.
There are many factors to consider when making the decision to affect a lifestyle change which will lead to healthy weight loss. Reduced calories from a well balanced diet are essential, as well as regular physical activity and the proper motivational factors. The decision to lose weight is an important first step, but be certain to adopt a low carbohydrate diet which will allow you to achieve your goal with optimal health.
Low Carb Plant Diet Assists Weight Loss Improves Health
Sunday, January 12, 2014
(Article first published as Low Carb Veggie-Based Diet Assists Weight Loss, Improves Health on Technorati.)
Low Carb, Animal Protein Diet Increases Disease Risk
Research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that a low carb diet high in animal protein and low in fresh vegetables contributes to increased risk for cancer and death, though they didn’t specifically name any particular plans. Further, the study indicated that eating a vegetable based low carb diet had just the opposite effect, lowering the risk for heart disease and death rate. Whether your goal is weight loss or improved health, making the switch to a veggie based diet will have a profound effect on longevity.
Kicking the Sugar Habit
Regardless of which low carb variant diet you choose, vegetable or animal based, sugar and refined carbohydrates are minimized or eliminated which is an important benefit of both plans. Sugar wreaks havoc in the body, disrupting metabolism and causing insulin resistance and blood sugar spikes. Additional damage results when the sticky sugar molecules bind with proteins, causing them to become non-functional.
The low carb way of life is important to your health and assists weight loss by keeping metabolic markers in check, allowing stored fat to be converted for use as energy. The problem arises when large quantities of calories from animal and processed meat sources are added to the diet. Excess protein is very difficult for the body to break down and results in large quantities of waste which begins to accumulate within the cells.
Go With a Low Carb Vegetable Based Diet
Man has evolved to eat vegetables of all types, as well as some meat. The problem is that our evolutionary meat source has not been corn fed and confined to a stall, but rather the free range variety allowed to graze on natural grass and grains. Modern meats provide an insult to our metabolism, and along with nitrite impregnated processed meats rapidly lead to the development of heart disease and certain cancers.
Choosing the correct type of low carb diet to follow will have a significant impact on your overall health, and ability to achieve your weight loss goal. While a diet high in animal protein and low in carbs may initially assist weight loss, long term it’s been shown to increase mortality from all causes. Follow a plant based low carb diet to naturally reach your weight loss goal and benefit from sustained health and longevity.
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