What Do You Need To Know Before Going On Low Carbohydrate Diet

You may be surprised that I am writing on this topic. Well, it is not a paleo diet site after all 😉 At the moment animal products are not on my plate and I do imagine that it would be a while before it comes back into my life if it ever does…

Paleo diet and low carb diet has been really popular in the recent years. I remember all the hype about Atkins diet and that disappeared (maybe something to do with Dr. Atkins death from a heart attack). Now everyone seems to be talking about this “paleo” diet.

To make it simple to describe what paleo diet, it is based on (what we imagine) hunter – gatherer lifestyle.

In paleo diet it is ok to eat

– fruits

– vegetables

-lean meats

-seafood

-nuts and seeds

-healthy fat

and Not ok to eat

-dairy

-grains

-processed food or refined sugar

-legumes

-starches

of course there are a few variations and it depends on how strictly you follow this diet

I am not here to say Yeah or nah to Paleo diet. In fact I am not even here to say yeah or nah to the diet I am on. Because my body is different to your body. I support all the diet as long as it is built with real foods.

Just to note that when you are on Paleo diet it does not mean that you are on low carb diet. there are a lot of carbohydrate on fruits and some vegetables.

I have been hearing many experts talking about how nonessential carbohydrates are. And they can increase your risk for diseases such as diabetes, cancer and neurological disorders.

Hang on… didn’t we see the carbohydrate on the bottom of nutritional pyramid? we are supposed to be having 6- 11 servings of bread and cereal group?

so what is going on there?

While some people do incredibly well following a low carbohydrate diet, there are many who don’t. Even some start off really well with low carb diet but they often crush and burn out on this strict dietary plan later on.

If you are one of these people you may not do well with low carb diet.

-pregnancy

During pregnancy it is not the time for a weight loss or taking a chance. Women need enough carbohydrates to ensure adequate feral brain development and growth

– athletes

There are a few athletes who are on paleo diet but not many on low-carb diet. Especially when you are training long and hard workouts and races you may need to increase your carbohydrate intake to recover well.

-Adrenal fatigue

If you have suddenly started developing adrenal fatigue symptoms or already suffering from it you may need a moderate amount of carbohydrate. The main hormone that gets disregulated in this condition is cortisol (hormones that are increased by stresses). Cortisol has been shown to increase on a low carb diet

– gut health

Carbohydrates contain fibre which can work like a broom in your digestive tract, as well as important prebiotics. Our condition of gut flora can influence everything from our skin health, obesity, diabetes, to many other disorders and conditions

If you think extremely low carbohydrate diet is not for you and want to include more in your diet, please do not go after any refined carbohydrate. they are definitely not the same as healthy vegetables, fruits and seeds. If you do decide to include grains or legumes in your diet treat them properly. They should be soaked, preferably sprouted and fermented for better absorption and remove undesirable chemical compounds.

Is any of you following low carb diet? Share how your body changed from increasing or decreasing carbohydrate intake?