Low carbohydrate diets are basically weight loss programs that encourage you to eliminate foods with a high percentage of carbohydrates, such as pastries, potatoes, and sugary foods and eat high-protein and fiber-rich foods in their place. A low carb food list would comprise of red meat, fish, poultry, soy and dairy products, whole grain foods, healthy fats and oils legumes, fruits with low sugar content and a wide range of vegetables. The reasons you lose weight when undergoing a low carbohydrate diet are burning of glycogen which makes you lose the water weight in your body, your loss of appetite, lower calorie intakes, and longer time for digestion due to higher fat and protein intakes.
These diets originated in the Paleolithic era when primitive humans hunted for their food therefore eating mostly protein-calorific foods, making them more muscular and physically more powerful than humans from these modern times.
Because of intensive research about early humans, modern humans, and their nutrition and lifestyles, many doctors from this century have published books about diets involving low carbohydrate intake. Low-carb diets have been utilized for a long duration of time but they became prevalent in the 1990s when the Atkins Diet, one type of a low-glycemic diet which recommends a 1500 to 2000 calorie intake per day, became controversial with the press. Other famous low-carbohydrate diets include the Zone Diet which focuses on hormonal balance, the Go Diet which counts only net carbs with no calorie counting, the Neanderthin which is based on what cavemen would eat, the South Beach which centers on low carbohydrate and low fat intakes, Protein Power focusing on eating more protein and less carbohydrates, Sugar Busters which prevents sugar intake to stop the production of insulin, and Carbohydrate Addicts which strictly prohibits the intake of too much carbs.
Having to follow a program such as those mentioned above, can guarantee temporary results to permanent results, depending on how strict you observe your diet as in most programs. Many books and websites directed to dieters offer a low carb food list and low carb recipes and menus that you could follow every day of your life.
If you doubt the effectiveness of programs entailing low carbohydrate diet plans, you should definitely try one that best suits your body. Remember to always check with your physician before getting accustomed to any diet program and seek medical help when you experience abnormal changes with your body.
