Monday, November 10, 2008

Low Carb Diets, What Carbohydrates Are and Why We Need Them

By Ricardo d Argence

Foods containing sugar and starch are designated as carbohydrates. These foods are the ones that provide the fuel and energy for our bodies. All food groups, including carbs, are the pieces that make up a balanced diet. The basic concept is to take pleasure in eating foods in healthy portions and select compex carbohydrates whenever you can.

When people talk about Carbs is the shortened name for these energy items. When people discuss Carbs, they are usually targeting those foods with higher concentrations of sugars or starches. If you check, you will notice that carbohydrates are contained in a majority of the foods that we eat.

A lot of the foods that have a lot of carbs in them are junk food items, in addition to sweets, white bread, potatoes and pasta. Fresh produce is a staple of the low-carb diet. Avoid canned goods. Stick to unprocessed foods like brown rice and whole wheat bread. Plain oatmeal is a tasty treat for cereal lovers.

There are two basic groups of carbohydrates, one is the simple carbohydrates, and these include sugars, candy, white bread, pastas and even dairy and some fruits. This is the body's top source for energy. The complex carbohydrates are number 2 when it comes to providing us with energy. These carbohydrates take longer to digest and this is why they keep you feeling free from hunger for longer periods of time. These carbohydrates are found in veggies, some fruit, beans, potatoes, pasta, and whole wheat bread.

When partaking in a low carb diet, one should be sure that their daily intake does not exceed 20-50 gm per day. If you are maintaining your weight, 180-300 gm per day of carbohydrates will work nicely. Choose lean turkey or other protein rich foods if you want to maintain a low number of carbs in your daily diet.

A low carb diet forces your body to search for energy sources and if it cannot find available carbohydrates in the bloodstream, it will pull glucose from the liver. If there are still no carbohydrates, the body will reluctantly start to burn some of its fat supply.

Most vegetables, except corn, potatoes, some mushrooms, green peas, and rhubarb are low carbohydrate foods. Even Shiitake mushrooms are almost 25% carbohydrate. A simple cucumber has 10 grams of carbohydrates, which isn't much unless you are obsessed with counting carbohydrates. Lean meats are excellent things to eat when on a low carb diet, so you can enjoy baked or grilled chicken, turkey breast, fish or even lean beef. High in fiber, beans are an excellent choice even though they add moderate amounts of carbs to your daily diet total. Avoid any kind of foods that are in cans and limit foods that are processed, as well as foods that contain sugar and starch.

Remember to do your exercises if you want to diet correctly. Even a low carb diet is not enough to successfully and quickly burn fat. You must exercise everyday to promote the process of fat burning. Exercise is good for you but there is a tip for you to use. Any exercise can boost your heart rate to where it needs to be, try a walking quickly for a quarter of an hour.

For next 30-45 minutes,your body will be burning fat cells to provide you energy, if you do this. The reason for this is because it requires approximately 15 minutes for your body to use the glucose reserves. Dont eat, you do not want to have extra carbs in your bloodstream for your body to burn, you want to target the fat.

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