One of the most common recommendations given when wanting to lose weight or get healthier is to lower your fat intake. For decades, Americans have been lowering their fat intake by choosing low-fat dairy products, low-fat chips, low-fat cookies, lean meats and fat-free salad dressings, in addition to using very little to no fat for cooking their foods, but it hasn't stopped the obesity epidemic from growing. Programs based on a low-carb approach suggest that doing the opposite of what most dieters do -- eating more fat and less carbs -- is the key to success for weight loss and optimized health.
Low-Carb Diets
A low-carb diet should provide a moderate amount of protein and a high amount of fat. Most of the carbs can be obtained by including an abundance of non-starchy vegetables such as leafy greens, tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms and asparagus. Some low-carb diets allow to include limited amounts of fruits, especially berries, nuts, nut butter, yogurt, milk and grains, but you should track your daily carb intake to ensure you stay within your recommended range. Include protein at each meal, which could be between 4 to 8 oz. of fish, seafood, poultry, meat, eggs or cheese. To have enough fat on your low-carb diet, choose full-fat dairy and fatty cuts of meat, including bacon and sausages. You also should have 1 to 2 tbsp. of added fat from olive oil, coconut oil, cream, butter, avocado or nuts at each of your meal, which you can use to cook your food or enhance flavor.
Principle
The principle underlying low-carb diets is that eating carbohydrates results in an increase in your blood sugar levels, which causes your pancreas to secrete insulin. Insulin is a natural hormone that is essential to lower your rising blood sugar levels after a meal. The way insulin controls your blood sugar levels is by shoveling this extra sugar in your cells where it can be burned for energy. However, if the amount of carbohydrates you eat exceed your cells' needs, the leftovers will be stored as fat, which explains why insulin often is described as a fat-storing hormone. According to low-carb diet advocates, reducing your carb intake lowers your insulin levels, which facilitate fat burning and weight loss.
Satiety
A low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat diet is more satiating than a moderate-carb, moderate-protein or high-carb, low-fat diet, according to a study published in the January 2008 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." Fat helps you prevent hunger and cravings, while resulting in a spontaneous reduction in your calorie intake. This means that lowering your carb and increasing your fat will naturally help you control your calorie intake and lose weight. In studies comparing the effect of low-carb diets with low-fat diets, participants in the low-carb group have to worry only about counting their carbs, while the low-fat group has to watch both its fat and calories to have results, as shown in the study published in May 2004 in "Annals of Internal Medicine."
Energy
Most dieters following a conventional low-fat, high-carb diet obtain their energy from carbohydrates. Because carbohydrates can create large fluctuations in your blood sugar levels, low-fat, high-carb diets also make your energy levels fluctuate a lot throughout the day. On the other hand, if you follow a low-carb, high-fat diet, the fat from both your diet and your own body stores, and the ketones formed by burning fat, become your main source of energy. After your body has adapted to a low-carb, high-fat diet, which might take up to two weeks, your energy levels will be higher and more even throughout the day. Some experts, such as Dr. Richard D. Feinman, professor of biochemistry at Downstate Medical Center (SUNY) in New York, even claim that fat and ketones are the body's preferred source of fuel and might help you optimize your health, as explained in the August 2007 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."
References
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Effects of a High-Protein Ketogenic Diet on Hunger,Appetite, and Weight Loss in Obese Men Feeding Ad Libitum; Alexandra M Johnstone, et al.; 2008
- "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
- "The New Atkins for a New You"; Eric C. Westman et al; 2010
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Low-Carbohydrate Nutrition and Metabolism; Eric C. Westman, et al.; August 2007
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