No Carb Diets? No Way!

No-Carbohydrate and Low-Carbohydrate diets have been a fad for a long time now. Such diets have many inherent dangers. The no carb diet is especially dangerous for you, your body has to have carbohydrates to survive, your body needs fuel to live.

Of course drastically reducing carb intake will in fact cause your body to drop some weight, but this weight won’t stay off. Same if you drastically lowered calories, you will see a short term weight loss, but as soon as you go back to eating “normal” you will pile the pounds right back on, and often times more, because you did damage to your metabolism.

The National Academies Institute of Medicine reports that with such a radical deprival of carbohydrates is harmful to your health for many reasons. Granted, carbs from enriched foods such as white bread or white rice, sugary snacks and processed foods are definitely harmful, yet there are many foods containing lots of carbs that are very beneficial.

Fat Burning Pro-Tip:

If you’re consuming carbohydrates, you’re testosterone level stays high, which is a hormone beneficial to muscle strength and loss of excessive fat. If you’re on a low or no carb diet and exercising, cortisol levels go up.

This is a harmful hormone that is released when you’re feeling stressed. It has also been linked to weight gain from increased fat in the abdominal and hip areas of your body.

Furthermore, the high cortisol level weakens the immune system and contributes to depression.

Healthy Carbohydrates in Food

Carbs in food have been misunderstood for years, thanks to a plethora of low carb and no carb diet crazes. Many scientific studies proove that foods on our good carbs list are an essential part of a nutritious diet. These healthy carbohydrates give you:

• Energy fuel for physical activity,
• The nutrition needed for ideal health,
• And the nutrients necessary for healthy brain function.

Most of the good carbs are healthy high fiber foods that help you to:

• Lose weight
• Lower cholesterol
• Prevent constipation
• Reduce triglyceride levels
• Carry toxins out of your body
• Avoid or even reverse diabetes
• Maintain stable blood sugar levels
• Decrease your risk of heart disease
• And have much better sustained energy

Your best good carbs sources are from this healthy carbohydrates list:

• Raw and lightly steamed vegetables
• Legumes, beans, nuts and seeds
• High fiber 100% whole grains
• Raw, whole, fresh fruits
• Most low fat dairy

*See below for a full listing of healthy carbs

The Unhealthy Carbohydrates – List of Bad Carbs

Scientific studies show that unhealthy carbohydrate foods contribute to:

• Gaining weight
• Heart disease
• Alzheimer’s
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Stroke

And carbs are also linked to many other health problems that are skyrocketing all around the world. The “bad” unhealthy carbohydrate foods list includes:

• Sodas
• Candies
• All pastries
• Jams and jellies
• Fruit juices and drinks
• Refined grains, like white rice
• Bread and pasta with refined flour
• Most pudding, custards and other sweets
• Cakes, cookies and any sweet bakery products

Bad carbs are high glycemic foods that cause rapid sugar absorption, creating high and low blood sugar swings. But low glycemic healthy carbohydrates absorb slowly and help stabilize blood sugar.

By including healthy carbohydrates into your diet, you will not only feel and look better in time, but it’s been proven that a diet with such carbohydrates will cut the risk of cancer and heart disease.

Fat Burning Pro-Tip:

By eating the whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, your blood sugar level stays steady, and you will have sufficient energy all day long. Although the fiber in vegetables isn’t digested, it has a profound beneficial effect on your entire body.

(Carb grams for most packaged foods can be found on the label.)