Many low-carbohydrate diets allow all-you-can-eat burgers, steak, bacon, cheese and eggs -- as long as you limit high-carbohydrate foods such as bread, potatoes, fruit and vegetables. Health experts criticize such plans for allowing too much saturated animal fat and too few vegetables, fruits and whole grains. In response to these concerns, low-carb diets continue to evolve to include more plant-based proteins as well as vegetables and, sometimes, fruits and grains. A vegetarian low-carb diet represents one of these healthier revisions.
Staples
Low-carbohydrate plant foods include nuts, seeds, tofu, avocado, coconut, olive oil and many mock-meat products. A low-carb, vegetarian diet also allows plenty of vegetables, which supply fiber and important nutrients while adding only a moderate amount of carbohydrates. You can further diversify your low-carb, vegetarian diet with eggs and cheese, but yogurt, milk and soy milk tend to contain sugar, which increases their carbohydrate content.
Risks
The American Heart Association reports that low-carb diets contribute to heart disease, obesity, diabetes and certain cancers. These conditions result not only from the high saturated-fat content of such diets, but also from a limited amount of nutrient-dense and fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grains. In addition, too much dietary protein increases risk for bone loss and osteoporosis, according to a 1998 research paper by Uriel S. Barzel and Linda K. Massey published in "The Journal of Nutrition." This is because protein increases blood acidity, which the body neutralizes by borrowing calcium from the bones.
Recommendations
You can reduce the risks associated with low-carb diets by following a vegetarian version that includes plenty of plant proteins and vegetables. Frank B. Hu, in a review published by "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2005, reports that certain types of protein, rather than protein itself, contribute to heart disease and other problems. Healthiest protein sources include nuts, beans, fish and tofu; unhealthy sources are red meat, processed meats and full-fat dairy products. If you're concerned about osteoporosis, make sure to include plenty of vegetables in your high-protein diet. Consuming vegetables prevents bone loss by neutralizing acidic blood before the body excretes calcium from the bones, according to Barzel and Massey.
Considerations
A low-carb, vegetarian diet tends to provide less protein and more heart-healthy unsaturated fat than a typical meat-based, low-carbohydrate diet. This, however, is not always true. A low-carb diet based around eggs and cheese will be higher in artery-clogging saturated fat than one based around seafood and skinless chicken breast.
Menu Options
Including vegetables in a low-carb diet doesn't just provide health benefits; it allows a delicious and varied daily menu. Try vegetable stir fry with tofu and sesame seeds, sunflower seed burgers with avocado and sprouts, vegetables baked with cheese, egg drop soup or mock chicken salad made from nuts and vegetables. Instead of bread, try wrapping sandwich spreads in leafy greens. Good choices for vegetable wraps include collard greens, Romaine lettuce, napa cabbage and kale.
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