Americans spend more than $30 billion a year on weight-loss programs, products and pills, according to "Nutrition and You" by Joan Salge Blake. While it seems like there is a new fad diet becoming popular every week, some diets, such as the low carbohydrate diet and low fat diet, have been around since the 1970s. While each diet promises outstanding results, the diet theories and plans vary drastically.
Low Carb Basics
When you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into glucose, which enters your bloodstream and signals the release of the hormone insulin. The theory behind a low carbohydrate diet is that insulin prevents fat breakdown by allowing your body to use carbohydrates for energy. Proponents of a low carbohydrate claim that if you eliminate carbohydrates from the diet, your body will break down fat more efficiently and you will lose weight. Popular low carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate intake to less than 20 percent of calories. Protein composes 25 to 30 percent of calories, while fat composes the majority of the diet, at 55 to 65 percent of calories.
What to Eat
A low carbohydrate diet involves eliminating most carbohydrates from your diet. Most grains, breads, fruits, pasta and starchy vegetables, like potatoes, are banned from the diet. Some low carbohydrate diets allow some fruits, starchy vegetables and whole grains, depending on the specific diet. Most of your food intake comes from meat, poultry, fish, eggs and non-starchy vegetables.
Low Fat Basics
Fat is the most energy dense nutrient, containing 9 calories per gram. The basis of a low fat diet is that restricting your fat intake forces you to reduce calorie intake, which leads to weight loss. A low fat diet can also reduce the amount of lipids, such as cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood. Because of this, low-fat diets are often prescribed for people at risk for heart disease or those with existing heart disease. Generally, a low fat diet is one that allows 20 to 30 percent of calories to come from fat. A very low fat diet allows 0 to 19 percent of calories to come from fat. The emphasis of a low fat diet is carbohydrates, which usually provide more than 65 percent of calories. A low fat diet also contains a low amount of protein, usually 10 to 20 percent of calories.
What to Eat
A low fat diet involves eliminating all high-fat foods, such as fried foods, whole milk, full-fat yogurt, ice cream, potato chips, butter, salad dressing, meats with visible fat and baked goods. Low fat diets generally don't discriminate between unsaturated fats and saturated fats, so sources of significant amounts of unsaturated fats, such as nuts, peanut butter and avocado, are banned as well. Most of your diet should consists of grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat or nonfat dairy products.
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