What is low carb diet?
The term carbohydrate minimize or low carb diets or diets may refer to, in which the proportion of carbohydrates is reduced to the daily diet. Motivation is often a desirable weight reduction, as treatment of metabolic disease or as a general form of nutrition with expected beneficial prophylactic health effects.
The daily meals consist mainly of vegetables, dairy products, fish and meat, with fats and proteins replace the deleted carbohydrates. The recommended energy intake from carbohydrates, over a typical Western diet with about 50% share, vary depending on the shape of the low-carb diet greatly on the ketogenic diet, in which the proportion may be reduced to zero theoretically, to forms, recommend that only small reductions.
Effects
The cells of the human body are supplied via simple sugars such as glucose and fructose in the blood with energy. These sugars can also be incorporated directly with the food. Carbohydrates consist of long chains, such as those found in cereals or potatoes can easily (but not very fast) are converted by the digestive system into actionable simple sugars.
Very long hydrocarbon chains from which fat molecules consist mainly, though have a higher energy density, but are much more difficult to bring the body into a usable form.
Are now not enough carbohydrates consumed in the diet, is a change in the metabolism rather than towards catabolism. In this state, the organism produced in the liver from fat reserves via acetyl-CoA body's energy, the so-called. Ketones which he puts his cells as an alternative energy suppliers.
In this way, the body is forced to use its own fat reserves as an energy source, resulting in weight loss. The metabolism conversion is thereby initiated by a decrease in insulin levels, so that the typical anabolic insulin effects no longer occur. Instead, it is increasingly distributed glucagon, whereby the energy stores are attacked and degraded (glycogen, fats, etc.).
Development
The principle of the low-carb diet is from the 19th century and was first used by the Englishman William Banting (1797-1878) through his book Letter on Corpulence familiar, which has been translated into several languages. The very meat-diet was prescribed it for weight loss from his doctor, and he took so within a year of self-reported from 23 kg. This diet was announced at the end of the 19th century in Germany as Banting cure. Also, the Göttingen physician Wilhelm Ebstein recommended in the 19th century a "meat-fat diet" and the avoiding of carbohydrates. The French gastrosopher Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin argued that especially makes the starch in bread and flour thick. Wolfgang Lutz, an Austrian physician (see Lutz diet), limited from the spring of 1958 his daily carbohydrate intake to 72 grams (6 BE), after which his health improved by its own account. In 1967 he published his first book received little attention "Life without Bread". Popular low-carb diet was then again in the 1970s by Robert Atkins, an American physician, published Atkins diet. Atkins was evaluating research from the 1950s and reviewed it again. A variant of the low carb diets are diets that. The glycemic index include (eg Logi method)
Theories and approaches
The low-carb representatives assume that a diet high in carbohydrates generally has a negative impact on health and promotes the development of so-called civilization diseases and leads to obesity rather than a low-carbohydrate diet. One of the basic ideas behind the concept of a person who is genetically limited to the carb-heavy diet of grain products, available with the appearance of farming culture adapted approximately 10,000 years ago. It is postulated that humans are physiologically better adapted to a diet composition of a hunter-gatherer culture with a lot of fat and protein and low in carbohydrates short chain, which also led to the recommendation of a so-called Paleolithic diet.
Carbohydrate metabolism
As one of the relevant physiological mechanisms of action of ingested carbohydrates on the human metabolism is called low-carb representatives of the effect on blood sugar levels. If you are in the form of certain simple sugars (such as glucose and galactose) takes carbs, blood sugar level rises quickly and strongly. This happens because the body can absorb these two simple sugars immediately. In response, the pancreas releases reinforced the hormone insulin to keep the amount of sugar in the normal range, because the insulin regulates the absorption of sugar for energy generation and storage in the various body cells.
Also, carbohydrates are not an essential part of the diet because the body they consume energy from other food components such as proteins and glycerin can produce itself in gluconeogenesis. The daily glucose requirement of an adult human is about 160 g, 120 g alone requires the brain, on the other hand, the ability of the liver to synthesize approximately 180 to 200 g of glucose per day. Accordingly, a distinct disease in humans by the absence of carbohydrates is unknown.
Body weight
It is also assumed: When blood sugar levels by supplying certain carbohydrates is already sufficiently high, the body must break down existing fat stores any more. Low carbohydrate diets so try to keep this to a minimum insulin secretion and stimulate the energy supply to the body by body fat (ketosis), which then leads to the reduction of fat reserves of the body. The mechanism behind this is the adipogenic effect of insulin, the only hormone of the human body, which body fat builds up and makes sure that the fat remains in the depots.
Some low-carb representatives assume that in the circumstances, or situational temporary failure of the food supply, the consequences are less dramatic because one is already used by the fat-heavy diet in the utilization of fat and therefore it is easier also in sufficient amount of existing body fat to exploit.
Another mechanism of action for weight reduction by low carb diets could be a stronger or earlier satiety, which is triggered by the bigger percentage of protein in the diet, such as studies suggest. Scientists led by Rachel L. Batterham showed that peptide tyrosyl-tyrosine is released when protein is absorbed by the body.
Low carb diet for diabetes
An explanatory model states that either too frequently to high glucose or glucose quick changes, due to the high (short chain) carbohydrate portion of a typical Western diet, overload and adaptation of carbohydrate metabolism leads. On the one hand a stressed pancreas is considered a long-term failure of insulin secretion functionality. In addition, it is postulated that a common secrete more insulin the body in the long run lead to insulin resistance, an adaptation of some body cells with reduced response to insulin.
Reduced insulin secretion (absolute insulin deficiency) and insulin resistance (first hyperinsulinism, later relative insulin deficiency) may be aspects of a diabetes type 2 disease with too much sugar in the bloodstream.
Forms of low carb diets
The dietary rules of the various low-carb representatives are inconsistent and partly differ widely. At the beginning almost entirely on carbohydrates waived the Atkins diet, while some (for example, the Logi method) only the intake of carbohydrates should be avoided with a high glycemic index.
Limiting the amount of carbohydrates daily
In this variant, the amount of carbohydrate is limited, for example, to a maximum of 70 to 110 g per day, with the exact amount can be different for everyone (Atkins diet). When Lutz diet bread six units are recommended.
The composition of the diet consists mostly at Wolfgang Lutz, Jan Kwasniewski, A. Felix from animal foods. The fuel carbohydrate is replaced by the fuel fat. Products with sugars and starches should be largely omitted.
Observance of the glycemic index or glycemic load of
In this form of low-carb diet is not only the amount is considered in carbohydrates, but also the speed with which they raise blood sugar.
It has long been ranked by the size of the carbohydrate molecule: A distinction monosaccharides (simple sugars) and polysaccharides (complex sugars). Meanwhile carbohydrates rated one but after the Glycemic Index (GI) to find out how fast a food raises blood sugar levels.
The reason for obeying the speed of the rise of blood glucose is the fact that a rapid increase in blood glucose levels leads to a strong insulin secretion, which is why the blood sugar level drops too quickly. As a result, you get faster hungry again, so the theory goes.
Recently, instead of the glycemic index increases the glycemic load (GL) is used, as this reflects the actual exposure of the human body more closely.
Overview of the low carb diet concepts
-The form of nutrition LCHF (low-carb high-fat) reduces the carbohydrates to a minimum (typically 0-50 g / day) and compensates the lack of natural fat from food quantity (eg. As animal fat such as butter, fatty meat). The amount of protein remains unchanged. LCHF also aims it off, most natural foods without artificial additives (sweeteners, etc.) to use. LCHF is especially popular in Sweden, where the LCHF approach of more than 20% of the population is implemented.
-The Lutz diet restricts carbohydrates on 6 BE.
-The Atkins diet allows virtually no carbohydrates at the beginning and is very fat and high in protein.
-The Ketogenic Diet, medically induced therapy, especially in children with drug-resistant epilepsy, glucose transporter malfunction (for example GLUT1 deficiency syndrome) and Pyruvatdehydrogenasemangel used.
-The Logi method by Nicolai Worm is mainly based on GI / GL. Basis are meat, fish, vegetables, fruits and oils. The diet is very high in protein.
-The Montignac Method is based on the GI, does not limit the amount of carbohydrates and is a form of food combining. The fat content is at most 30%.
-The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston also based on the GI. Here, low carbohydrate and low fat diet combined together. This protein diet emphasized three meals per day are recommended to be eaten each with a source of protein (fish, soy, eggs).
-The Low-glycemic diet that is based on the lowest possible glycemic index differs according to their effect on blood sugar levels between "good" and "bad" carbohydrates. Low-glycemic diet based on vegetables, fruits and whole grains with a low GI value below the 50th
-The Strunz diet is a carbohydrate-reduced diet and exercise program. It promises up to 7 kg less body weight in a week. The diet program is divided into three phases (Vital fat burning, interval diet, diet duration).
-The New York diet allowed carbohydrates from fruits, vegetables and legumes, largely prohibits however, the starchy side dishes such as pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and sugar. This crash diet also consists of three phases, is dispensed in Phase 1 completely on carbohydrates.
-The name of the Hollywood diet is derived from the known environment of the film studios. Here, too, there is a very high-protein diet with the corresponding risks.
-In the Dukan Diet is omitted in the first phase almost entirely on carbohydrates, in the second phase, only vegetables are admitted with a small amount of carbohydrates.