What Is Low Carb?
Low carb translates to “few carbohydrates” and that is exactly what the nutritional concept outlines very well. Because low carb is about reducing the proportion of carbohydrates in our daily food. Mind you, reduce, don't eliminate completely.The focus of this nutritional concept is on the other two macronutrients: fat and protein. These are increased, while carbohydrates take a back seat.
Low carb, for example, contradicts the general nutritional recommendations of the German Nutrition Society, which recommends getting around 50% of your energy intake from carbohydrates.
Since When Has The Low-Carb Concept Existed?
The first forerunners of today's concept existed almost 200 years ago. They heralded what was probably the first wave of diets in Europe and caused a sensation in the mid-19th century as a fat-meat diet.When the Englishman William Banting followed his doctor's advice and lost around 23 kilograms of weight within a year, he was so excited that he wanted to share his success with the world.
Banting's diet during his weight loss consisted primarily of meat from beef, game, mutton and poultry and fatty bacon and cold cuts. He also drank a lot of alcohol and plenty of tea, but abstained from bread and potatoes.Although it doesn't sound very figure-friendly, Banting achieved the success just described. So was he the first to successfully lose weight through low carb? Possible!
An American cardiologist gave low carb the biggest breakthrough almost 100 years later. With his book “The Diet Revolution”, Robert Atkins published the low-carb guide par excellence that is still widely cited today and created a huge platform for the food trend.
Are There Different Approaches To Low Carb?
Atkins is one of the most famous, but not the only, advocates of the low-carb diet. The most well-known approaches are these:
Atkins Diet
Atkins was sure: If people consume fewer carbohydrates, they improve their fat burning. Based on this basic assumption, Atkins created a gigantic diet empire and published numerous guides and nutritional supplements.
His concept is very strict and one of the strictest low-carb concepts ever. He divided his understanding of low carb into different phases. In the strictest phase, just 20 grams of carbohydrates are allowed per day. Although this increases to 25 g per day after two weeks, it still stagnates in a very low range in the final - and lifelong - maintenance phase.
Montignac Method
The French political scientist Michel Montignac was not a doctor, but rather an expert from his own experience.Not quite as strict as Atkins' concept, but more complicated, Montignac pays particular attention to the glycemic index of carbohydrates. The lower this glycemic index, the lower the body's expected blood sugar response and the better for the body.
Fruit and vegetables are absolutely permitted at Montignac, but sugar is strictly eliminated. Many rules, for example that fruit should only be eaten on an empty stomach, make it difficult to get started and stick with it.
LOGI Method
The LOGI method (Low Glycemic and Insulinemic Diet) is a modern low-carb concept that also keeps an eye on blood sugar levels. It is basically the continuation of the well-known Stone Age diet from Dr. Nicolai Worm and was created based on the work of various metabolism experts at Harvard University.
In contrast to Atkins, she is more moderate, isolated slip-ups are not dramatic, it is more about recommendations than bans. Here too, foods with a low glycemic index, e.g. B. Salads and legumes are at the top of the recommendation list. There is no upper limit of permitted carbohydrates per day.
Ketogenic Diet
If there is anything stricter than Atkins, it is with the concept of the ketogenic diet. Here carbohydrates are not only reduced in the short term, but also significantly reduced in the long term.
A maximum consumption of 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day is recommended over the long term. In order to still supply the body with enough energy, the amount of fat in the food is increased. Ketogenic diet gives fat the greatest importance among the main nutrients and recommends consuming 60% of the daily food intake from fats.This low-carb variant is very controversial because experts fear that the body will become too acidic and ultimately even lead to sensitive pancreatitis.
South Beach Diet
Low carb in glamorous – the South Beach diet is a method of losing weight with low-carbohydrate food, which is particularly popular among stars. The founder of this concept was the American cardiologist Arthur Agatston, who also works with a phase model.
In the beginning, carbohydrates are massively reduced in order to reduce cravings for sweets. As the diet progresses, they are then allowed again in moderate amounts, although the recommendation is also clearly towards foods with a low glycemic index and away from those with a high glycemic index. The method recommends six meals per day.
What's The Point Of Reducing Carbohydrates?
The various low-carb concepts already reveal what low-carb is essentially about. Foods with a high glycemic index in particular, i.e. wheat bread or pasta, trigger a sharp increase in blood sugar and thus put a strain on the pancreas, which now produces more insulin.This rapid increase in blood sugar is followed by an equally rapid drop in blood sugar, which signals to the brain that something should get between the chewing bars quickly. A cycle that should be broken by avoiding certain carbohydrates.
In addition, the low-carb concept also wants to support fat loss. If the body does not have enough quickly available sugar from carbohydrates, it should draw its energy from the fat depots and break down fat cells in the same breath.
Is It Possible Without KH?
No matter how strict low carb according to Atkins or the ketogenic diet is, people cannot survive completely without carbohydrates. And foods made from other macronutrients also usually contain a small amount of carbohydrates.
So it's not about eliminating carbohydrates, but about reducing them.
Does Low Carb Help You Lose Weight?
But low carb alone is not the deciding factor. Because if you consume almost exclusively proteins and fats, but do so in large quantities, you will still exceed your personal calorie requirements. Whether with or without carbs.
Low carb is particularly interesting for people who have to pay attention to their insulin levels. Especially in times of increasing new cases of diabetes, many people are interested in a gentle diet that does not put too much strain on the pancreas and keeps blood sugar levels constant. Such a diet can definitely be low carb.
Can You Go Low Carb Without Meat?
If you read through low-carb cookbooks, you will quickly be faced with a problem: low-carb recipes are almost always based on meat or fish.
But what about vegetarians or vegans who want to eat a low-carb diet? Is low carb taboo for veggies?
No! Admittedly, it requires a little more creativity when cooking. While vegetable fat is still available from numerous sources, things get trickier when it comes to vegetable protein. Anyone who is concerned with the topic of low carb for vegetarians will also find good alternatives here. Nuts, legumes or even soy products are possible here.
What Can I Do Wrong With Low Carb?
If you leave out carbohydrates, you can do a lot of things right, but you can also do a lot of things wrong. In the end, it always depends on whether you absorb enough nutrients and minerals.
Simply reducing carbohydrates and increasing fats doesn't make much sense. Overall, making sure to choose foods that keep you full for a long time and don't have too much of an impact on your blood sugar level is much more promising.
And here the low-carb concept and the German society mentioned at the beginning agree again. The DGE also clearly recognizes the advantages of low-glycemic foods.
Your Low-Carb Experiences?
We are interested in whether you practice low carb yourself. How are you doing with nutrition and what are your tips for newbies in this area?
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