Are Carbohydrates Important To Lose Weight?

Varying theories of weight loss have led to multiple diet options. Low-carb diets restrict carbs and may lead to weight loss. Reduced-calorie and low-fat diets rely heavily on carb intake and can also be used for weight loss. Both types of diets have benefits and drawbacks for weight loss, and both have research findings supporting their efficacy.

Identification

The foods you eat have two types of nutrients: micronutrients and macronutrients. Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients, and your body requires them in small amounts. Carbohydrates, fat and proteins are macronutrients, and your body requires these to survive. Carbs are macronutrients that contain sugars. They are further broken down into three types of carbohydrates: simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates and fiber. Your intestines can't absorb fiber, so it passes through the body unabsorbed and has a negligible impact on blood glucose. Simple carbs such as table sugar, candy, dairy products and fruit contain one or two sugars and have a marked impact on blood glucose. Foods such as pasta, whole grains, vegetables, rice and potatoes are all complex carbohydrates, which have three or more sugars. Complex carbs have a sustained effect on blood glucose levels.

Low-carb diets restrict carb intake to very low levels. The popular Atkins diet, for instance, recommends eating fewer than 20 g of carbs per day in the diet's early phases. Other low-carb diets have similar restrictions. Low-fat, low-calorie diets, on the other hand, suggest eating a diet containing complex carbohydrates, fiber, fruits, vegetables and lean proteins that are low in fat and calories.

History

Low-fat, low-calorie diets were the accepted way to lose weight for many decades. In 1972, Dr. Robert Atkins wrote "Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution." The book touted the weight loss benefits of severely restricting carbs in the diet, and suggested that dieters could lose weight by eating foods such as bacon, cheese, steak and heavy cream as long as they restricted their carb intake to 20 g or less per day. Many dieters tried Atkins and lost weight. The diet has been in popular use since 1972, and since the early 1990s, many other diet experts have developed low-carb diets of their own such as Protein Power and the Zone diets. Currently, you have many choices for weight loss plans, including both low-carb and high-carb diets.

Theories/Speculation

In the "New York Times" article, "What If It's All Been a Big, Fat Lie," Gary Taubes examined conventional diet wisdom that recommends low-fat, low-calorie diets for weight loss. Taubes suggests that conventional diet wisdom of eating more carbs and less fat may actually be the cause of the problems such diets are attempting to cure: type 2 diabetes, obesity and increased rates of heart disease. The key to it all is insulin, according to Taubes. Insulin is a storage hormone that stores food as fat and traps stored fat in fat cells. When insulin is absent, your body burns fat as its primary source of fuel. Carbs raise blood glucose levels, and your pancreas releases insulin in response. By controlling carbs, you can control insulin and thus lose weight.

Research

Since Atkins and similar diets came into popular use, researchers have investigated the efficacy of low-carb diets. A Stanford University study was reported in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in 2007. The study compared low-carb diet plans such as Atkins and Zone with high-carb, low-fat diet plans. The study concluded that participants lost the most weight on Atkins, which was the diet with the most severe level of carb restriction of all diets tested. A 2003 University of Philadelphia study reported in the "New England Journal of Medicine" compared low-carb, low-fat and Mediterranean-style diets and found all three to be equally effective for weight loss.

Considerations

The USDA food pyramid recommends eating a high-carb diet that contains 3 to 6 oz. of whole grains, five to six servings of vegetables and three to four servings of fruit each day. Low-carb diets do not fall within these recommendations. If you plan to go on a low-carbohydrate diet, talk with your doctor.