In the last post I discussed the benefits of following low carb diets, but is it for everyone? Let’s find out!
Symptoms of following low carb diet:
If you don’t pay attention to the total calories you eat, the quality of food you choose, or you follow very low carb diet, you may have one or more of these symptoms:
- Headaches: Due to the drop of blood sugar level.
- Constipation : If you don’t eat variety of vegetables, that may cause constipation.
- Low energy and fatigue: You may have some nutrients deficiencies like folic acid, or you are not spreading the calories you eat through the day.
- Brian fog.
Who can’t do low carb diet?
- Hypoglycemia
If you had blood sugar drop while you are following low carb diet, you might suffer from hypoglycemia. Check if you have symptoms such as like sweating, sever hunger, mood switches. If you had these symptoms, then low carb diet isn’t for you.
- Athletes
Should have their main source of energy from carbs to build muscle. I’m not a sports dietitian and individuality matters here. Some athletes perform very well on low carb diets, while others may suffer from it. It depends also on the intensity, and frequency of their workout and performance.
- Pregnant
If you are pregnant, this is not the time to follow low carb diet, your body is going through a lot of changes, and usually starting new diet that you don’t know its effects on your body, can be harmful. In addition you need folic acid, while its abundant in green vegetables, most breads and grains are fortified, and you can’t miss this. As we know the glucose is the main source of energy for the brain for adults, its crucial for the fetus brain growth and development. It is advised to eat a minimum of 175 g of carbs for pregnant, and this can’t be obtained on low carb diet.
- Children
They need extra attention of us to supervise what they eat, following a low carb diet is not recommend since children needs extra energy, and carbs are crucial for brain development. Also depriving children crabs especially fortifed breads and cereal might put them under risk of nutrients deficiencies. Also low carb diets can alter mood and make children unhappy and might lead to depression. And lastly, you can’t expose children to the possible negative effects of ketosis. And Please don’t listen to Gwyneth paltrow claims, and what she put her children through low carb diet!
- Hypothyroidism
Means that your thyroid gland is under active. The thyroid hormones T3 and T4 needs insulin to function well, if you don’t eat enough carb to make the body release insulin that might cause problems. This area is not fully understand, and its better to satay on low carb diet if you suffer from hypothyroidism.
So how can you know how many carbs do YOU need?
Generally speaking, it depends on:
- Your activity level
- Your measurements, and your total calorie intake
- Your overall health status.
- If you are pregnant, or struggling with infertility, your need for carbs will increase.
Can you stick to low carb diet on the long run?
Many health gurus, say you should eat high quality protein and high fat when you are on low carb diet. But when you actually looks for the popular food menus, and plans by people who follow these diets, you can see they contain processed meat like sausage, and bacon, and lots of romaine lettuce. I didn’t even see kale! And they use “no sugar” or “fat free” salad dressings, because they say you can’t stay all day in the kitchen preparing your own stuff! Means it’s hard to stick on low carb diet without a professional help.
Mind that cutting carbs, especially grains, that have resistant starch, and any type of insoluble fibers may alter the microbial flora in your gut, which is significantly affects your gut health that has a crucial role in metabolic syndrome, obesity, and many other diseases..
low fats or low carb diet it may not matters, following either diet on the long term may not matters. Many dieters find difficulty sticking to diet on specific diet. And even if you followed low carb diet, what do you eat the high fat meals or high protein makes a difference too.
I believe low carb diet can be harmful on the long run if not supervised by a specialist, unrealistic, not budget friendly, and don’t suit everybody.
If low carb diet isn’t for you, here is what can you do instead:
- Limit your intake of processed food, and refined sugar :
Means cut donuts for breakfast and sausage and bacon for lunch, make you own mashed potato instead of buying a package.
- Increase your intake of fresh produce
Look for fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen ones are great option too. Avoid canned if you can, especially fruits that are preserved in heavy syrups.
- Eat mostly lean protein
Look for eggs, yogurt, chicken breast, and cottage cheese for high quality protein.
- Eat mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated sources of fat
Avocado, nuts, and but butter are great option. Always alternate when you use oils for cooking and salad dressings.
Finally, being healthy is beyond eating, it includes physical activity, stable mental health, and avoiding smoking, pollution, and much more!
Do you Have any questions about low carb diet? Please comment below, or send me a msg!
If you find this article helpful please share!
Declaimer: The information are not meant to give medical advice, please consult your doctor, and dietitian before following low carb diets, especially if you are one of the categories I mentioned above.
