Healthy Low Carb Meals

Low Carb Meals are like the holy grail of many popular diet regimens in recent health trends. Researchers were able to draw the line for low-carbohydrates foods through medical research in nutrition. On the other hand, many diet advisors that promote diet plans such as Zone Diet, Atkins Diet, The Southbeach Diet, The Primal Blueprint diet, and other diets, define low-carbohydrates sightly differently. Making sure that the foods you intake are of low in carbohydrates is vital in any type of health diet plan regardless of the definition of low-carbohydrates it follows. An ideal diet regimen should be one that promotes ketosis and involves reduction of insulin production. Ketosis is the process that produces ketones, which are used as substitute energy sources.



Choosing the right level of carbohydrates

The United States Institute of Medicine suggests at least 130 grams of carbohydrates a day similar to what the FAO and WHO has recommended. This is sharply in contrast with low-carb diet advisors who advocate less than 20 grams of nutritive carbohydrates per day. What this means is sharp reduction of desserts, pastas, potatoes, and similar carbohydrate-containing foods on the plate. The most reasonable restrictive diet is the one recommended by the American Academy of Family Physicians who defined low-carbohydrate diet as diets that contain 20 to 60 grams per day. Although there are variations in the recommended amount of carbohydrates per day from various nutrition groups, elimination of processed sugar if not greatly reduced is a common recommendation. Grains processed heavily such as white bread are also discouraged.

Eggs, meats, cheeses, and some variant of nuts that are protein-rich may be consumed more than carbohydrate-rich foods. Fiber-rich vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, turnips, and asparagus help maintain a diet with less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. Different people may need different amounts of carbohydrates. By self-observation, if one has achieved his ideal weight and is no longer gaining or losing weight, then the amount of carbohydrates presently consumed must be maintained.

Sugar-free and similarly misleading campaigns

Diet experts meet on the common ground that sugar-containing foods must be reduced if not entirely eliminated from one's diet. However, other sugars not commonly known like fructose, sucrose, dextrose, and others are often disregarded in most foods. Sugar-free labels on food products do not imply that they are low in carbohydrates because these may contain natural sugars that can be found in food starch and white flour. Other foods that contain sugar-alcohols, while may not contain sugar, increases the person's cravings for carbohydrates.

Health benefits

Low carb meals promise the most effective weight loss strategy. The desire for losing weight is often fueled by pressure from the society towards fat and unfit people. Having less fat in the body and more muscles is how the society defines sexy. But beyond these aesthetic benefits, the most important effect is on the inside. Low-carbohydrate diets are proven to mitigate sugar-related diseases like diabetes. It is a common observation that the rise in carbohydrate consumption within a certain society is to be blamed for different diseases to reach epidemic levels.


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Dan Jacobs interviewed Leigh Smith, owner of the blog 101 low carb meals for this article on healthy low carb meals. Both authors have incorporated low carb meals into their lives for years.