Low carb diets (Updated)

Low carb diets

There are various types of diet plans followed with an aim of losing weight. These plans are mainly designed keeping in mind the needs and the requirements of the person. Among various such plans the most popular these days are the low carb diets.

Low carbohydrate diets which are commonly know as low carb diets are the diet plan where consumption of carbohydrate is restricted in order to control weight. Foods like bread and pasta that have high carbohydrate contents are replaced with foods like soy products, green vegetables and meat which are rich source of proteins and fats.

Carbohydrate Content

Whatever food we consume is a combination of 3 macro nutrients which are sugar or carbohydrates, fats and proteins. The carbohydrates percentage can be different in different foods and on this basis the diet is named high, low, moderate and very low in carbs. The high carb diet has around 50-70 % of the carbohydrates, moderate carb diet has 40-50%, low carb diets have 25-39 % carbohydrates whereas the very low carb diet has 0-25 %.

In general terms the diet consisting of less than 50-60 % of the carb is considered to be low carb diets. These low carb diets can also be called high protein diets as they are rich source of protein and fats.

Read about : Staying Healthy On A Low Carbohydrate Diet

Benefits of Low Carb Diets

The most common and popular benefits of having low carb diet is to reduce weight and fight obesity. Low carb diets ensure that less amount of carbohydrates enters the body and thus helps in maintaining weight. Beside weight loss low carb diets are also used in treatments of other problems like intractable epilepsy found in children and diabetes.

Types of Low Carb Diets

There are various low carb diets that contain very little and moderate amount of carbs.

Atkins Diet:

It is the most popular diet plan for people in search of diet charts devoid of carbohydrates. It was written in 1970 by Dr.Robert Atkins. The Atkins Diet is followed in 4 phases. This diet eventually results in ketosis, which is responsible for the weight loss.

South BeachDiet:

The south beach diet is followed in 3 phases where carb intake is managed properly. This diet lays emphasis on consuming the un- refined and GI carbohydrates. Thus this diet mainly focuses on balancing between the good and the bad types of carbs.

Read also : low carb diet plan for 20 day

Other than these, there are numerous low carb diets that include protein power diet, sugar busters, Hampton’s diet and many others.