A Low Carb Diet Means Choosing Complex Carbs Over Simple Carbs

Low Carb Diet

The Low Carb Diet Controversy

When you are on a low carb diet, it's more about making the best choices than it is about avoiding carbohydrates all together. That means choosing complex carbohydrates that are digested slowly and therefore raise your blood sugar slowly.

Simple carbohydrates, such as white bread, donuts, table sugar, honey and high fructose corn syrup, have a simple molecular structure, so these carbohydrates are digested quickly and transformed quickly into glucose.
Simple carbohydrates can set off food cravings leading you to consume even more of them adding inches to your waistline!
Complex carbohydrates have a more complicated molecular structure which is harder to disassemble, so it takes longer for the nutrients to be used by the body.
So when low carb proponents advise you to go easy on carbs, they are talking about simple carbohydrates.

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Low Carb Diet Basics

Carbohydrates are found in bread, cereal, rice, pasta, grains, fruit, vegetables, dairy and in processed food as added sugar.
They are broken down into glucose which is the preferred energy source for most tissues, including the brain, which requires a constant source of fuel in order to function.
After you eat a carbohydrate, blood glucose is much higher than normal. To clear the excess, the pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream.
Insulin facilitates the transfer of glucose from the blood into your cells.
Carbohydrates cause the greatest and fastest spike in blood glucose levels and as a result, the largest release of insulin.
Some of the carbohydrate that is not used to meet immediate energy needs becomes glycogen which is stored in the liver and the muscles for future use.
When the muscles and liver are filled to the brim with glycogen, the extra carbohydrate is converted to fat and stored in your cells.
If you don’t provide your body with a lot of carbohydrate, your body won’t produce a lot of insulin, so it won’t be storing as much fat.
The less fat in your cells, the thinner you will be.

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The Three Food Groups

1. Carbohydrates

A carbohydrate is one of the three components of food. The other two being protein and fat.
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy providing about 80 percent of the body's fuel needs. It is also the only nutrient the brain can use.
There are two types of carbohydrates, both consisting of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but the number and arrangement of the molecules varies.
Most foods that contain simple carbohydrates taste good but they are not worth much from a nutritional standpoint.
Everyone can benefit from cutting out these empty carbs which cause a spike in glucose levels requiring a rush of insulin.
Complex carbohydrates are the mainstay of a low carb diet because they are digested slowly which means glucose is released into the blood gradually.
The rate and amount of glucose entering the bloodstream has a profound effect on the normal operation of the body.
It makes the body store fat more readily and taxes the effectiveness and supply of insulin.

The Ketosis Controversy: When you are on a low carb diet every day, the glycogen stores in the liver become low. Less glucose is available to fuel your cells, so the body turns to fat stores for energy.

The liver converts fat to acidic substances called ketones that can be used for energy. This creates a metabolic condition called ketosis which is defined as the presence of high levels of ketones in the blood.

Some low carb diet proponents encourage ketosis, seeing it as a sign of successful fat-burning. Others say that ketosis may lead to dehydration.

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The Three Food Groups Continued...

2. Protein

A low carb diet tends to be a high protein diet and may also be high in fat.
Life would be impossible without protein, found in meat, eggs, poultry, seafood, dairy products and legumes.
Unlike carbohydrate and fat, protein is not stored in the body so you need to eat protein every day.
Protein does not cause the sharp increase in blood glucose levels that carbohydrates do.
Instead, protein produces a slower and steadier increase. As a result, the pancreas releases less insulin.
Since insulin helps the body store glucose as fat, you will store less fat when you eat more protein and less carbohydrate.
However, if you eat more calories than you need in the form of protein, the body will store them as fat.

3. Fat

Fat provides the raw materials (fatty acids) for your body’s production of many substances that are important for life and to sustain good health.
Fatty acids are classified as either saturated or unsaturated (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated).
Saturated fats found in meat, cheese and cream contribute to clogged arteries and increase your risk for heart attack and stroke.
Unsaturated fats found in vegetable oils, nuts, avocados and seafood are considered good for your heart because they lower the levels of harmful fats and cholesterol in the blood.
Fat differs from carbohydrate in that it causes little or no rise in blood glucose levels so it does not result in insulin release into the blood after digestion.
Since insulin is the designated facilitator of fat storage, low carb diet proponents say a high fat diet that’s also low in carbohydrate actually prevents the body from storing glucose as fat.