Low Carb Diets

Low carb diets have had great results for many people. But there are risks associated with low carb diets. Get the 411 here.

Low Carb Diets

Most low carb diets cut your carb intake so much that it's bad for your health. Do you know how many carbs your body needs daily? Do you know what role exercise plays in low carb diets? Learn all this and more on this page.

Risks of Low Carb Diets

Most low carb diets limit your carb intake to no more than 20 grams of carbs a day during the first two weeks, then you get 60 a day until you've lost as much weight as you want to lose. Whether you're eating 20 grams a day or 60 grams a day, it's not enough. Our bodies need 130 grams of carbs a day to be able to function properly, not to mention that carbs are one of the few nutrients recognized by the brain. Does that mean low carb diets can make you stupid? Yes and no. It can make your brain work slower, so you aren't as alert as you would normally be. Of course, a low carb diet also limits the amount of fruits and vegetables you can have, as well as milk. Those are key nutrients. Sure, you can take a supplement, but a supplement is just that--it supplements the nutrients you put into your body. It doesn't replace them. Without fruits, vegetables and milk, your body is missing out on antioxidants, calcium, fiber and other micro- and macronutrients that supplements just don't supply enough of. Over the long term, this can put you at risk for osteoporosis and cancer.

In addition, the reason low carb diets are so successful is because your body starts burning fat, then protein for fuel in the absence of carbs. When your body is burning fat for fuel, ketones build up in your bloodstream and are released through urine. This is a state called ketosis, and it causes many side effects, including:

Headaches
Nausea
Sluggishness
Constipation
Bad breath

When your body us burning protein, uric acid is released into the bloodstream, which can damage your kidneys over the long term.

Another risk of a low carb diet is burnout. That's why if you're on a low carb diet, you want to make sure you have a lot of low carb recipes and a variety of low carb foods on hand.

Exercise and Low Carb Diets

If you can exercise when you're on a low carb diet, more power to you! The first 20 minutes of any exercise burns carbs. Then and only then does it start to burn fat. So if your workout is only 30 minutes, your body is only burning fat for 10 minutes of that time. This is where it sounds like most low carb diets make sense. If your body doesn't have carbs to burn during exercise, it burns fat. Sounds perfect, right? Then consider this: When you're on a low carb diet, the lack of carbs gives you a lack of energy--so much so, in fact, that people on a low carb diet usually don't have the energy or willingness to work out. That's why a low carb diet is somewhat of a lazy person's diet.

Bottom line: If you're thinking of trying a low carb diet, try limiting yourself to 130 grams of carbs a day and exercising. Also, avoid anything made with white flour or refined sugar. That will be a good start to losing weight while maintaining optimal health. Low carbohydrate diets should be more of a lifestyle change than a quick fix, that way you can guarantee yourself a healthier and leaner body.