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A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

nytimes.com

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Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#11

Post by latch »

It'd be nice to have this squared with research in vegetarianism (high-carb, low-fat) which long term studies indicate has a number of health benefits [1]

My own take, which I've mentioned before, is that the the starting point is so bad (refined carbohydrates) that you can pretty much walk in any direction and get positive results. That is, what people are eating doesn't matter nearly as much as what people aren't. Or, more specifically, any diet will make people pay attention to what they're eating, and that's the real win.

[1] http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/3/516s.full

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#12

Post by sb23 »

buss wrote: post #9

For anyone who has access to the paper ( http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1900694 ) and is skilled in reading medical research papers, I would love to know if they account for snacking. When I briefly tried a low-carb diet (just out of curiosity, not to lose weight as I'm already quite healthy) I found that I was unable to snack because almost all snack foods are loaded with carbs. I can only eat so much beef…

I have been on a low carb diet for over a year now, and I have a handful of nuts. Almonds, cashews, whatever.

They have an acceptable amount of carbs in them and make you feel full enough to make it to the next meal.

The biggest issue is the expense, I spend about $20-30 a fortnight on nuts alone.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#13

Post by Pxtl »

erikpukinskis wrote: post #5

To bad it's environmentally unsustainable. There's no way our ecosystem can survive all of us eating eggs, tuna, and chicken all day. We need to consume less animal products not more. Low carb is fine for a few wealthy people who want to lose weight but it's not a responsible solution to the public health problem. What about a low-junk food diet? No cqlorie restrictions but no refined carbs? I don't think we need ti…

Legumes like beans and lentils and chickpeas don't satisfy the Atkins fanatics but they're low-carb compared to common wheat and potato based foods.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#14

Post by enjo »

buss wrote: post #9

For anyone who has access to the paper ( http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1900694 ) and is skilled in reading medical research papers, I would love to know if they account for snacking. When I briefly tried a low-carb diet (just out of curiosity, not to lose weight as I'm already quite healthy) I found that I was unable to snack because almost all snack foods are loaded with carbs. I can only eat so much beef…

Kale chips and nuts!

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#15

Post by beachstartup »

i've been on a ketogenic diet for about 3 months now. i've lost around 20 pounds (5'10, 220 starting -> 200 current -> 180 goal) and will probably lose another 20 before reaching my 'ideal' weight. it works. whether it works because i naturally eat less, or because there's something magical going on w/ my hormones, it doesn't matter because i can simply remove carbs and eat until i'm full every single time. eating well is a huge, huge motivating factor for me to succeed in life.

for other people it's not an issue at all. they can simply just eat 1500 calories a day with a bunch of carbs and also lose weight. I CAN'T. i need to ingest 2500-3000 calories a day or else i will just be constantly hungry and unable to function without thinking about food. i'm in my 30s now - i know this about myself. i've counted the calories for months on end, using MFP.

the hardest part is not talking about it, because if you tell people you 'eat more fat' when they ask you what your new diet is, they'll think you're being sarcastic and rude.

i've only told my closest friends, people who i respect intellectually and who can handle an actual discussion about how things like the endocrine system works and

and i've told a bunch of strangers on the internet of course.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#16

Post by sprachspiel »

buss wrote: post #9

For anyone who has access to the paper ( http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1900694 ) and is skilled in reading medical research papers, I would love to know if they account for snacking. When I briefly tried a low-carb diet (just out of curiosity, not to lose weight as I'm already quite healthy) I found that I was unable to snack because almost all snack foods are loaded with carbs. I can only eat so much beef…

fruit

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#17

Post by 1qaz2wsx3edc »

sb23 wrote: post #12
buss wrote: post #9

For anyone who has access to the paper ( http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1900694 ) and is skilled in reading medical research papers, I would love to know if they account for snacking. When I briefly tried a low-carb diet (just out of curiosity, not to lose weight as I'm already quite healthy) I found that I was unable to snack because almost all snack foods are loaded with carbs. I can only eat so much beef…

I have been on a low carb diet for over a year now, and I have a handful of nuts. Almonds, cashews, whatever. They have an acceptable amount of carbs in them and make you feel full enough to make it to the next meal. The biggest issue is the expense, I spend about $20-30 a fortnight on nuts alone.

Also fat bombs are pretty good.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#18

Post by 1qaz2wsx3edc »

sprachspiel wrote: post #16
buss wrote: post #9

For anyone who has access to the paper ( http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1900694 ) and is skilled in reading medical research papers, I would love to know if they account for snacking. When I briefly tried a low-carb diet (just out of curiosity, not to lose weight as I'm already quite healthy) I found that I was unable to snack because almost all snack foods are loaded with carbs. I can only eat so much beef…

fruit

Those have carbs...

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#19

Post by a8da6b0c91d »

They didn't test a low fat diet in the study. 30% of calories from fat is not low fat. Also, it appears they used low saturated fat (All these experiments ever confirm (over and over) is that plenty of protein is helpful in the context of a reduced calorie diet, and that restricting food choices results in spontaneous calorie reduction. Protein has very high satiety and thermic effect. As for low fat or low carb it doesn't matter much. It's just that carbs and fat go great together and it's very difficult to overeat without the combination. A plain stick of butter and a large bowl of plain white rice are equally difficult to overeat on, whereas ice cream with its combined hit of sugar and fat is easy to gorge on.

Re: A Call for a Low-Carb Diet

#20

Post by credo »

In addition to the heart benefits listed in the report, I've read reports which conclude that a low-carb diet is also very beneficial for regulating blood sugar levels (and reducing diabetes risk).

However, I think it might have been interesting to read more about the risks of a low-carb diet. For instance, some studies have shown that low-carb diets can reduce testosterone levels in men and I've also read that it could hurt short-term cognitive skills.

It is also unclear if the study involved (mostly) refined carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates. Obviously, the effect of complex carbohydrates is very different.

There are a number of studies regarding low-carb diets but most of them tend to focus on a subset of the results that one might see from a low-carb diet. So a smart strategy would be to read many of these reports and then decide what makes sense (though it isn't going to be easy for a layperson to read a wide range of different reports and draw the best conclusion on what is good for them)

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