The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 72 million adults in the United States, along with 17 percent of children, could be considered obese as of 2008. These numbers have fueled the market for exercise products and dieting routines, with one of the most popular being the low-carbohydrate diet. If you are considering a low-carb diet, you first need to understand certain points of the diet.
History
The idea of a low-carbohydrate diet was popularized with Dr. Robert Atkin's first book, "Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution," in 1972. Other doctors, including Dr. Irwin Stillman and William Banting in the early 1960s, had introduced the idea of eating a low-carbohydrate diet with higher levels of protein. Since the release of the original Atkins diet, low-carbohydrate meal plans have become a popular staple of the diet market.
Function
Low-carbohydrate diets function by reducing the amount of unhealthy carbohydrates in your diet and replacing them with higher levels of protein and fats. The low-carb diet also focuses on a scale known as the glycemic index, which measures the speed of digestion and how much a certain food affects your blood glucose levels. Foods high on the glycemic index, including white bread and baked potatoes, are avoided while foods lower on the glycemic index, including most vegetables, some fruits, whole grains, meats, eggs, legumes and nuts, are added.
Weight Loss Benefits
Weight loss is achieved with a low-carbohydrate diet in two principal ways. First, the food choices on a low-carbohydrate diet are often less dense in calories, especially on diet plans that place more focus on produce, lean meats and low-fat dairy products. A lower caloric intake goes toward creating a calorie deficit, which helps burn fat. Another reason a low-carb plan can help in weight loss is that the foods on this diet plan are often more satiating because of their higher content of fat and proteins, which take longer for the body to digest.
Effects on Diabetes
A low-carbohydrate diet focuses on foods that are low on the glycemic index, which typically are lower in both sugars and starches. These two substances are quickly picked up into the bloodstream after you consume foods containing them, causing problems with blood sugar levels and increasing the risk factor for diabetes. Reducing these sugars and starches, as most low-carbohydrate diets do, has been proven to work with treating diabetes, according to a 2005 study by the Ballochmyle Medical Group, published in the British Journal of General Practice.
Possible Dangers
Two potential dangers of a low-carbohydrate diet are not getting enough carbohydrates and consuming too much fat. For example, when you start adding in foods that are higher in fat content to replace carbohydrates you have removed, you put yourself at risk of increasing your saturated fat content and cholesterol. This can put you at a higher risk for heart diseases, as well as some forms of cancer, suggests MayoClinic.com. When you don't have enough glucose in your body to be burned for energy, your body might lean too much on metabolizing fat for energy, which produces ketones in the blood, which can produce ketosis. Ketosis can cause dehydration, weakness, nausea, dizziness and irritability.
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