Ever since the Atkins craze began, low-carb items have found their way on to grocery store shelves and restaurant menus across the country. The popularity of the Zone, South Beach and low-glycemic diets only furthered this demand. Now there are even specialty stores which sell exclusively low-carbohydrate processed foods for dieting.
Eating low-carb foods can stabilize your blood glucose levels and improve insulin sensitivity in the body. The long-term low-carbs lifestyle usually requires a consumption of 100 to 150 grams of carbohydrate per day. A more restrictive ketogenic diet, like the one used for the Atkins induction phase or South Beach level one, requires that carbohydrates be restricted to 20 grams per day in order for body fat to be burned for energy instead of carbs.
What to Look for
Whole food low-carb options include a multitude of choices across food categories. It doesn't having to be boring. When compared to their fiber content, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, sea vegetables, avocados, dark leafy greens, mushrooms, asparagus, leeks, summer squash, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, onions and water chestnuts are some of the best low-carb veggies to flood your diet. Low-carb fruits are those with lower sugar contents like melons and berries. Due to the lactose in dairy, individuals looking for low-carb options should stick with hard cheeses, plain yogurts and cottage cheese. Also, often non-dairy milks have a significant amount of added sugar. There are unsweetened soy and almond milks available that only contain about two to three grams per cup.
Contrary to some low-carb myths, your protein sources should not consist of pork rinds, hot dogs, luncheon meats and bacon. They are often processed with sugar or nitrates whose byproducts have been linked to higher rates of colon, pancreatic and gastric cancers, according to preliminary findings at the National Cancer Institute. Sustainably raised low-fat beef and lamb, free-range chicken and turkey, low mercury, wild caught seafood and high quality tofu products are your most preferred means. Unfortunately, breads, pastas, cakes, cookies, crackers, chips, rice and most cereals have no place in a low-carb pantry.
Common Pitfalls
Not all vegetables are low-carb. Beets, cooked carrots, corn, plantains, peas, winter squashes and all potatoes are high in starch and thus carbohydrates.
Eating only meat, cheese and eggs in an effort to stay on a low-carb diet is an exercise in futility, not to mention constipation and bad breath. A severely restricted carbohydrate diet requires taking supplements to avoid nutritional deficiencies.
Also, since there is not legal definition for low-carb by the FDA, you must be careful to check the ingredients on any packaged foods labeled as low-carb. In addition, meal replacement bars, ice creams, cookies and other treats labeled low-carb or sugar-free actually contain malitol, a sugar alcohol and carbohydrate that can have a laxative effect on the body and impact blood glucose levels.
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