What Is A Low-carb, High-fiber Diet?

If following low-fat diet plans or counting calories have not turned out to be successful approaches to help you reach your target weight, it is possible a low-carb diet could be the solution. Most diets work, as long as you can stick with them. If you are willing to cut most carbohydrate-rich foods out of your diet without having to worry about fat or calories, low-carb diets can help you lower your body fat while improving your blood cholesterol levels.

The Theory Behind Low-Carb Diets

The theory underlying low-carb diet plans is that carbohydrate-rich foods increase blood sugar levels, which stimulates the release of insulin. Insulin is an essential hormone that allows your body to tightly control your blood sugar levels by clearing extra sugar out of your blood and making it enter the cells, where it is burned for fuel or stored for later use. This happens first in the form of glycogen, but when supplies are full, the remaining sugar is converted to body fat. This is why insulin is often described as a fat-storage hormone. By decreasing your carbohydrate intake, there will be less circulating insulin in your blood and your body will be less likely to store fat and more inclined to burn it as a source of energy.

Typical Low-Carb Diets

Low-carb diets are often depicted as being unhealthy diets, based on fatty cheese, bacon, lard, mayonnais, cream and butter. Following a low-carb diet means reducing your daily carb intake to less than 100 g and sometimes less than 50 g. Foods like bread, rice, pasta, couscous, crackers, breakfast cereals, granola bars, potatoes, french fries, cookies, soft drinks and desserts are high in carbs and are not appropriate for a low-carb diet. Fruits, milk and yogurt also provides significant amounts of carbs and often need to be limited. By restricting carbohydrates, protein and fat provide the bulk of the energy and calories on a low-carb eating plan.

Low-Carb, High-Fiber Diets

To ensure your low-carb diet is nutritionally balanced, it is important that you prioritize high-fiber foods. Most low-carb diets tend to be low in fiber, because of the elimination of whole grains and limited consumption of fruits, and often result in constipation and other gastrointestinal problems. To avoid these issues, base your low-carb diet on a foundation of nonstarchy, low-carb vegetables. For example, leafy greens, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, eggplant, zucchini, artichoke, celery, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy and bell peppers are low in carbohydrates while offering plenty of fiber and an abundance of health-protective nutrients. In addition to promoting regular bowel movements, nonstarchy vegetables will help you stay healthy. If you feel like you need extra fiber, you can turn to psyllium, flaxseed, oat bran or wheat bran, which are low in carbs but high in fiber. Nuts, nut butter and seeds are other good sources of low-carb fiber.

Healthy Low-Carb, High-Fiber Meals

To create a healthy low-carb, high-fiber meal, start with large servings of nonstarchy vegetables and complete with 4 to 6 oz. of protein and a dose of healthy fats. For example, breakfast could be Asian scrambled eggs with broccoli, green onions and soy sauce. For lunch, you can have a large salad, filled with leafy greens and other nonstarchy vegetables, topped with a chicken breast or tuna and accompanied with cheese, avocado slices or nuts and drizzled with a low-carb salad dressing or a mix of olive oil and vinegar. For dinner, accompany a 4- to 6-oz. steak with mushrooms, red bell pepper and green beans cooked in olive oil. All of these examples are low in carbs, but rich in fiber to help you stay full and satiated while losing weight.