Dec

16

What Not To Eat On A No-Carb Diet?

Filed Under How To's, Low Carb Diet, Low carb foods, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

Low carbohydrate diets have been popular for a number of years and have recently shown a marked increase in popularity. Part of that popularity has been extended to what are now being called “no-carb diets.” Knowing what types of foods to avoid involves understanding what the diet is about.

It is virtually impossible to avoid carbohydrates entirely in your diet, and it would be unhealthy to do so. Your body does need some carbohydrates. A “no carb” diet is actually a very low carb diet. One example of a no-carb diet is the induction phase of the Atkins plan. There are other diets out there that keep carbs low as a permanent part of the plan. Either way, what foods should a person on one of these diets avoid?

Breads and pastries are the easiest things to identify as being high in carbohydrates. Bread, muffins, crackers and bagels are on the list of things to avoid on low carb diets while no carb diets rule them out altogether. A basic rule is that if it is made with flour, it is not on your diet plan. Pastas fit this rule as well.

Potatoes in all their forms (fried, baked, mashed, etc.) are to be avoided on low and no carb diets. Pastas such as gnocchi and potato breads are similarly to be avoided.

Another food to avoid is rice. Brown and whole-grain rices are okay in later stages of low carb diets, but are not on a no carb diet (or the first stages of low-carb diets for that matter). Both of these types of diets recommend avoiding white rices.

Cereals are another food to avoid. This includes not only cold cereals that you pour milk over and serve but also hot cereals such as oatmeal and cream of wheat.

Beans such as black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans are to be avoided as they are high in carbs. Corn and carrots are other vegetables to avoid as both are high in sugar and carbohydrates.

Fruits to avoid include (but may not be limited to) apricots, bananas, blueberries, dates, grapefruits and figs.

Milk has carbohydrates in the form of lactose sugar. Many of those sugars get taken out of milk in the process of making cheese, but watch out for plain milk and cream. Those sugars are still in there.

Another good rule of thumb on no-carb diets is to avoid all processed and packaged food. Invariably, they are loaded up with sugary and carb-heavy ingredients in an effort to compensate for the loss of taste inherent in the preservation and packaging processes. This is especially true of so-called reduced fat foods. They are even higher in sugars and carbs than their higher fat counterparts.

Lastly, avoid sweets. High sugar foods are also high in carbohydrates. Avoid cakes, candies and other sweets. Following all of these rules will help you stick to your no carb diet.

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Dec

7

Atkins Diet Plan - Are Low Carbs Diets Doomed?

Filed Under Diets, Low Carb Diet, Main Content | Leave a Comment

According to Veronica Atkins, the widow of Dr. Robert Atkins, the cause of his death was from falling on a slippery sidewalk with subsequent irreversible brain damage (from a CNN interview, February, 2004). Many critics of the Atkins Diet Plan claim the fall was due to a heart attack. This has not been verified to date.

He was 72 years old.

With all due respect to Veronica Atkins, I would like to assume Dr. Atkins did in fact suffer a fatal heart attack. This is in order to answer the following questions…Is it right to use his death as evidence against the safety of the Atkins Diet Plan and other low Carb diets?

Does the recent bankruptcy of the Atkins Corporation provide evidence for the ineffectiveness of low Carb diets?

Many critics of low Carb diets say yes to both questions, but are they right?

The Atkins Diet Plan & Cardiovascular Risk

Medically speaking, it is incorrect to associate Dr. Atkins’ fatal heart attack to the use of his low Carb diet. There are two reasons for coming to this conclusion.The increased risk for cardiovascular events associated with Atkins Diet Plan are not from restricting carbohydrates. Instead, the higher risk of cardiovascular events comes from replacing carbohydrates with foods high in saturated fats.

Dr. Atkins died at the age of 72. Beyond the age of 72, the risk for a cardiovascular event is the same for everyone. Granted, he was diagnosed with a cardiomyopathy (diseased heart muscle) when he was 69 and he suffered a heart attack in early 2004.

However, both events occurred well above the age of 55…the cut off used for men to assign an increased risk for cardiovascular events to their first degree relatives. He was at an age which allows for the exclusion of any significant cardiovascular risk passing to his children.

From an epidemiology view point, risk behaviors like smoking or eating a high fat diet are no longer considered as primary contributors in Dr. Atkins’ death.

Yes, eating a high fat diet may have played a role, but this is only speculation. Because Dr. Atkins was 72 at the time of his death, no risk for similar events is passed onto his first degree relatives and the risk for cardiovascular events is the same for everyone at that age.

With all due respect, he died of old age. To blame the Atkins Diet Plan and low Carb diets in general is medically irresponsible. At 72 years old, there are several factors to consider when faced with a fatal heart attack, including the aging process itself.

Veronica Atkins was quoted by CNN…
“My husbands health at the time of his death is a sad and distracting sideshow, taking time away from an intelligent debate of the known science.”

For a more detailed discussion on cardiovascular risk and age, please visit…  www.medscape.com

Low Carb Bankruptcy — Evidence for its Ineffectiveness?

The only correct way to measure a diet’s effectiveness (or lack there of) is to study the evidence provided by clinical trials. Recently, a few good studies have reported on the effectiveness of the Atkins Diet Plan and other low Carb diets.

In short, low Carb diets, measured at one year, are safe and effective in helping dieters lose weight.

Like all diet types, the evidence for long term effectiveness (2 to 5 years) is sparse and inconsistent.

Cardiovascular risk increases for some dieters on low Carb diets, not because of the carbohydrate restriction, but because of the consumption of foods high in fat. Also, sticking with the low Carb diet appears to be tough for most dieters beyond one year.

And lastly, low Carb diets that promote long stages of measurable ketosis may cause rapid weight loss that is too extreme. This is a great way to guarantee weight regain in the near future.

Conclusion

Atkins death, from whatever the cause, can not be associated with his diet because he was 72 years old at the time of his death. Even if Dr. Atkins’ death could be associated with his diet, no correlations could be made to similar low Carb diets, too much variation exists between them.

Bankruptcy does not belong in a scientific discussion of a diet’s effectiveness.

To Healthy Living!

Please visit his site at…
The Weight Loss Professional
written by: Michael A. Smith, MD

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