A low carb diet may be referred to as a diet that restricts the consumption of carbohydrates. The importance of creating a low carb diet plan menu is immense for healthy living because it tells us what we should eat and what should be avoided. In general, such diet plans emphasize on foods high in fat and medium protein while avoiding grains, most fruits, and starchy vegetables that are rich in carbohydrate. Each diet plan, however, comes with varying restrictions on the amounts and types of permissible carbohydrates. This brief discussion will help you find out useful facts about low carb diet foods and low carb diet plan menu.
Why Follow a Low Carb Diet?
In most instances, people follow low carb diet foods and low carb diet plan menu for the purpose of healthy weight loss. However, it has been clinically proven that certain low carb diets have health benefits beyond losing weight, such as reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
You may start following a low carb diet if you are
- Looking to lose weight by restricting the intake of certain carbohydrates.
- Thinking about enjoying the different types of food in a low carb diet.
- Interested in transforming your overall eating habit.
Details of Low-Carb Diet
As mentioned briefly at the beginning, a low-carb diet is all about restricting the amount of carbohydrates we consume. Carbohydrates are a specific type of macronutrient found in numerous foods and beverages that are capable of providing calories to the body. Simple and complex are the two broad categories of carbohydrates. It is possible to classify them further as simple natural (fructose in fruit and lactose in milk), simple refined (table sugar), complex natural (beans or whole grains), and complex refined (white flour). The most common natural sources of carbohydrate include grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, milk, legumes, and seeds. Different types of refined carbohydrates are also added by the manufacturers for processing foods such as pasta, white breads, cake, cookies, candy, drinks, and sugar-sweetened sodas.
Decreasing the consumption of carb lowers the insulin level in the body. This forces the body to burn stored fat for energy, instead of the normal process of using carbohydrate for energy. This triggers a process of quick and healthy weight loss.
Typical Components of a Low-Carb Diet:
Most of the low-carb diet plans concentrate on proteins such as poultry, egg, fish, meat, and certain non-starchy vegetables. Some of these diets also permit some fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in small quantities. Low-carb diets typically have a limit of 20 to 60 grams or 0.7 to 2 ounces of carbohydrates per day. This quantity of carbohydrate is capable of generating 80 to 240 calories.
Benefits of Low-Carb Diet:
- Quick and healthy weight loss by restricting the consumption of carbohydrates.
- May help improve or prevent health conditions such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure.
- May improve high-density lipoprotein (HDL) triglyceride and cholesterol.
Supplementing a Low-Carb Diet:
While many drinks and beverages are to be avoided on a low-carb diet plan as they are often sweetened and full of carbohydrates, there are some that are diet-friendly and even highly beneficial. Unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, and soy milk are good substitutes for regular whole milk. Black coffee and unsweetened green tea are also perfect beverages for a low-carb diet, and they are also full of beneficial antioxidants.
Herbs and spices are also a perfect way to add flavor without adding a lot of carbs, and they also come with a lot of health benefits. One spice that has been gaining in popularity in low-carb and keto diets is turmeric. Turmeric is rich in curcumin, a strong anti-oxidant with anti-inflammatory effects, and with a lot of other health benefits that go well with a low-carb diet.
Hope this brief guide to low carb diet foods and low carb diet plan menu will help you make the correct choices and lead a healthy lifestyle.