Low-carb diets are those that restrict the intake of carbohydrates. Typically with a low-carb diet regiment, food items that are high in carbohydrates--including breads and pastas--are significantly limited in a diet and replaced with high-protein food items--including lean meats.
In recent years, there have been a good number of different variations on the theme of low-carb diets. From Atkins to South Beach to many other diet plans and programs in between, low-carb diet plans garnered and continue to attract a significant number of dieters. With that noted, a variety of health problems appear to be associated with low carb diets.
Weakness and Fatigue
Carbohydrates energize a person. When an individual embarks on a low-carb diet, the reduction in carbs can have an unintended effect of causing weakness and fatigue. A good percentage of individuals who follow a low-carb diet lack energy and oftentimes find themselves unable to adequately deal with some physical tasks that they previously found easy to undertake.
There have been reports of individuals actually suffering from serious clinical exhaustion as a result of being on a low-carb diet. Proponents of low-carb diets contend that a lack of energy, weakness and fatigue are parts of a passing phase. However, according to a study by Arne Astrup, a Danish nutrition researcher, in the September 2004 issue of Lancet, a notable number of people experience these health issues the entire time they are on a low-carb diet plan.
Lack of Proper Nutrients
Another set of health problems associated with a low-carb diet arises from a lack of proper nutrients being taken into a person's body. Many individuals on low-carb diets focus too much attention on eating lean meats high in protein at the expense of consuming vegetables. Indeed, under the directives of a low-carb diet plan, certain vegetables by definition are eliminated, including potatoes, rice and corn.
With the failure to take in necessary nutrients found in vegetables, individuals on a low-carb diet end up facing different health-related problems such as a higher incidence of the flu. A person on a low-carb diet literally can find her immune system affected and, eventually, even compromised.
Ketoacidosis
A low-carb diet potentially can change blood acidity in a person's system. This leads to what is known as ketoacidosis. The net effect of this condition is that bone loss in a person on a low-carb diet can start to occur. This particularly can be the case with women who already are at risk for bone loss as they age.
There are rare instances when this condition becomes so severe that an individual's blood becomes so acidic so as to threaten his life.
Heart Problems and Disease
Low-carb diets, which end up being high in red meat, also appear to have a seriously negative effect on the cardio-vascular system of people following such regimens. Evidence suggests that people on low-carb diets face a higher incidence of heart disease.
The higher risk of heart and cardiovascular disease is not so much the elimination of carbs in a diet as it is replacing carbohydrates with a significant amount of red meat that can lead to these heart-related ailments, conditions and diseases.
Warning
A person considering a low-carb diet, or any other diet for that matter, needs to consult with a doctor or other qualified health-care professional before beginning such a regimen. Any significant change in a person's diet can have potentially negative effects. These consequences are best prevented if a medical consultation accompanies the commencement of any diet program.
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar