Why Go Low Carb?

Have you ever wondered if you should try low carb or if it really is just a fad? I get it! All of the reservations, concerns, everything you are thinking I thought years ago. Guess what, it is possible and once you get past the initial trials and challenges that come with any kind of change it is doable and sustainable. You won’t regret it as long as you are willing to accept the benefits and let go of the reservations.

The way we eat in America is messed up and it shows. The consumer industry has us leashed and is leading us to illness and early death. Sounds dramatic I know, but it is the truth. Article after article states that low carb diets are bad for you, but if you do a little research you will find that typically these articles are written by someone who has a financial benefit in keeping you on a processed high carb diet.

The standard American diet states that up to 65% of your daily intake should be carbohydrates. On a 2000-calorie diet, that is about 275 grams. The American heart association also recommends we limit our sugar intake to approximately 30 grams per day, yet the average American consumes nearly 82 grams per day. It is not shocking that 70% of our population is obese with the average calorie intake of 3600 per day.

As I said in, Turn Your Food Around the key to any diet is understanding food labels. Unfortunately, our current food label requirements are over 20 years old and the FDA keeps pushing back the much-needed updates because the consumer industry has its hands all over our government.

“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finalized a new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods that will make it easier for you to make informed food choices that support a healthy diet. The updated label has a fresh new design and reflects current scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases.” https://www.fda.gov/downloads/food/labelingnutrition/ucm511646.pdf

The current food label requirements are based off a 2000 calorie diet which is what a moderately active female weighing 132 pounds needs to maintain her weight. Moderately active is equivalent to walking 3 miles per day, at 4 miles per hour. This is in addition to activity of normal daily life. Now keep in mind that our society is predominately sedentary with the majority of the population sitting an average of 12 hours per day.

You do not need to be a scientist to see that there is something wrong. Cancer, heart disease, and diabetes rates are climbing. For years it has been said that eating fat causes heart disease, but it is actually simple carbohydrates that cause heart disease and diabetes 2. Sugar has also been linked to cancer development and growth.

“There is no evidence that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat cause harm, and studies on low-carb diets show that they improve several key risk factors for heart disease.” –Kris Gunnars BSc

That is where the Ketogenic diet comes in. People who are cutting processed carbs and added sugar are losing weight and getting healthy. This lifestyle is taking us back to the way generations ate before the consumer industry led us astray.

There is a myth that the Ketogenic diet is bad because it cuts out entire food groups but actually I eat more vegetables now than I ever did. The only foods removed are sugary starches and simple carbohydrates ( processed junk). At our house, we call the Ketogenic diet the caveman diet because the food needs to come from picking, growing or killing. Cavemen did not eat manufactured foods and neither should we.

“It is possible to fit in large amounts of low-carb plant foods, even with a very low carbohydrate intake. Vegetables, berries, nuts and seeds are all examples of healthy plant foods that are low in carbs.” – Kris Gunnars BSc

There are many levels of low carb dieting, from lowering your carb intake to about 150 grams per day by removing simple/ processed carbohydrates; to a moderately low carb diet at about 50 grams per day; to the Ketogenic diet of about 20 to 30 grams per day.

If you are thinking about trying it, go for it. You can go big like we did or start small, set goals and work towards a big finish. The focus on low carb is removing the junk and making more room for the foods that will fuel you properly. It is about going back to natural eating, the way our bodies were designed, not the way the consumer industry wants us to. The power is yours!