Although low-carb diets are often vilified for their high fat content or their lack of fiber, this way of eating can be healthy and can help you get to your desired weight while improving your blood sugar and blood cholesterol levels. A standard American diet provides over 300 to 400 g of carbohydrates, on average, while a low-carb meal plan usually provides less than 100 g a day by limiting or eliminating sugar, grains, starchy vegetables, legumes and fruits.
Low Carbohydrate Intake
Because carbohydrates occupy such a big part in the standard American diet, many assumes that it constitutes an essential nutrient without which health is not possible. However, although the current recommendations advise Americans to consume 45 to 65 percent of their calories as carbohydrates, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine clearly mentions that carbohydrates are not necessary provided that your diet provides you with adequate amounts of protein and fat. In other word, carbohydrate is not an essential nutrient. It is true that your brain needs glucose to function properly, but this glucose can be synthesized from protein and ketones, which are a by-product of fat burning, are also a perfect complementary fuel for your brain.
High Fat Intake
Low-carb diet usually have a moderate protein content and a high fat content, which is why some people hesitate to give low-carb diets a try. A high fat intake is not problematic, even if most of the fat is saturated, according to a recent meta-analysis published in the January 2010 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." Although low-carb diets do need to provide a sufficient amount of fat to be effective, to promote satiety and make it easier for your body to stay in fat burning mode, you can decide on the type of fat you choose. You can go for saturated fats from fatty meats, butter, cream, cheese, mayo and lard or choose unsaturated fats from fish, olive oil, canola oil, avocado, olives, nuts and nut butter or combine a bit of both types of fat.
Fiber
If you folllow a low-carb diet, your consumption of whole grains, starchy vegetables, legumes as well as fruits need to be strictly limited and many of these foods will need to be eliminated from your diet because they will not fit within your carbohydrate budget. These foods constitute the main source of fiber in the standard American diet and this is why many believe that low-carb diets are nutritionally inadequate and do not provide enough fiber. However, if you base your low-carb diet on large amounts of nonstarchy vegetables at each of your meal, it is possible to meet all your dietary requirements, not only in terms of fiber, but also in terms of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Calorie for calorie, nonstarchy vegetables are more nutrient-dense than any whole grains.
A Healthy Low-Carb Meal
Although not all low-carb diets are healthy, you can ensure that your low-carb eating plan is healthy by including generous servings of nonstarchy vegetables and completing your diet with adequate servings of protein and fat. For example, a healthy low-carb breakfast could be an omelet prepared with onions, spinach and mushrooms cooked in olive oil, sprinkled with cheddar cheese. A healthy low-carb lunch could be a large salad, with plenty of leafy greens and nonstarchy vegetables, 4 to 6 oz. of protein from fish, poultry or meat, nuts, avocado slices and an olive oil-based vinaigrette. For dinner, half of your plate can be filled with nonstarchy vegetables and the other half with a 4 to 6 oz.-serving of protein. Use olive oil for cooking your vegetables, add a dollop of butter to your vegetables or prepare a cream-based sauce for your meat to get your dose of fat.
References
- "Annals of Internal Medicine"; A Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet versus a Low-Fat Diet To Treat Obesity and Hyperlipidemia; William S. Yancy Jr., et al.; May 2004
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; The Case for Low Carbohydrate Diets in Diabetes Management; Surender K. Arora, et al.; July 2005
- "Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids"; Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board; 2005
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies Evaluating the Association of Saturated Fat With Cardiovascular Disease; Patty W Siri-Tarino et al; January 2010
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; The Case for Not Restricting Saturated Fat on a Low Carbohydrate Diet; Jeff S. Volek, et al.; August 2005
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Nutrient Data Laboratory
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