Some of the proponents in favor of low carb diets go back to the diet patterns of early man, i.e. man from as far back as the Paleolithic Age.

This school of thought argues that our ancestors from that age were not eating high carbohydrate food such as sugar, or other starch-containing ingredients. Agriculture was unheard of at that time, and people were used to a high protein diet anyways.

They also say that since those days, there has been no major evolution in the human body, so there is no reason why we cannot have the same high protein content as early man, and remain healthy.

Low carb diets reduce the storage of body fat

On a more technical level, this is how the argument works out - consuming large amounts of carbohydrate causes secretion of insulin, which causes the body to preserve body fat instead of oxidizing or burning it. This storage of extra fat in the body is what causes most of the problems - obesity, complications of the heart and type 2 diabetes.

There is another school of thought which states that most people opt for low-fat, instead of low carbohydrates, i.e. they believe that cutting down on fatty food is enough.

This apparently is not enough; cutting down on carbohydrates is what is required most, along with increase in protein content. Even if you cut down on the fat, consuming high amount of carbohydrates youor body is still going to store fat through the action of insuliln.

As you may know, carbohydrates are not just high-calorie; they are also stimulants that enhance the appetite, thereby causing you to eat more.

Clinical studies support the theories of low carb diets

Studies have been carried out to determine the efficacy of low carb diets.

One such study was carried out in 1965 in Oakland, California. In this study, a set of people were subjected to a 1000-calorie a day diet that had high fat content, along with 10 grams of carbohydrates a day. With one gram approximating to roughly 4 calories, this meant that these people were subject to 1000 calories of high fat food and 40 calories of low carbohydrate food.

When tested against a control group that was asked to fast totally, it was found that the low carbohydrate group managed to shed more weight than the control group.

Possible environmental factors

There is also an environmental twist to the tale here. Most proponents of low carb diets claim that the grain consumption that critics talk about so much comes from land that was previously of dubious cultivable quality, and that its ability to become cultivable has been mainly as a result of usage of harmful fertilizers, which puts a question on how good the grain actually is for consumption.

However, not everyone swears by low carb diets. They have their own set of critics, who have their own set of reasons and theories for being skeptical about low carb diets. Let us now look at why low carb diets are considered unhealthy.

The Dangers of Low Carb Diets >>