Are strict low carb diets really healthy?

Question

I had a video on my facebook feed of people saying it helped them in many aspects of life, being more concentrated and focused, loosing weight... But is it really healthy? If so how low is too low? Have you tried it?
by the way these people were eating less than 20g of carbs a day.
I want to lower my overall body fat % so I might consider it, but I want to see your opinions first :)

heavensgift2girls · Accepted Answer

It depends. Even people that advocate low carb diets often suggest that athletes increase their carbs. Typically our sedimentary lifestyle can't handle simple carbs very well. Even complex carbs like wheat is so processed that our body handles it almost like pure sugar. That isn't good for us.

Carbs also increase blood pressure, so if you suddenly stop eating any carbs your blood pressure can drop to unsafe levels. However if you have high blood pressure it can actually lower it to normal levels. What is important is to find the right amount of carbs for your body. Despite what people think that is exactly what Atkins shows in his book. The different stages that he talks about are designed to help people custom make a diet for them, instead of a one size fits all diet that we already know doesn't work.

Also these people that are claiming low carb diets are unhealthy long term, don't know what they are talking about. They are just repeating things they have heard without understanding that there is no evidence to support such claims. There is no credible research showing a low carb diet is more unhealthy than a low fat diet.

There was a study done a long time ago, where the researcher purposely left out much of his data to try and make it look like high fat diets were bad for you in order to make a name for himself, but if you look at all of his research there was never any link to high fat diets and heart disease. That is where the myth of fat being bad for you comes from.

Some people can do well on almost no carbs, and others do better on a high carb diet. You need to learn what is best for you.

ConsultantIsBack · Accepted Answer

Yes, I'm running on a keto low carb diet and I'm getting fucking shredded for the summer! Make sure to eat protein/veggies/some fruit as replacement (hopefully you aren't vegetarian lmao)

by the way everyone do NOT run a low carb diet long-term, I only dare do a low carb as a pre-summer/pre-physique competition diet. It can be harsh on your body, it is for me.

polarpigeon · Accepted Answer

Okay so 20 g indeed is incredibly low. I think how the diet is meant, is to lower your carbs, and fill it in with proteins instead, which are more useful, especially when you are working out more to lose weight. If not, it would just be a crash-diet and you're just taking in far less calories.

Crash diets are not really effective. If you take in too little calories for a couple of weeks, your body indeed will go on crash-mode. It'll start to burn first all the other sources that are easier to burn than fat. This means your body will look for all the places where sugars/carbs (called glycogens) are stored. Burning glycogen costs the body a lot of water, and water is heavy. That's why you will drop a lot of weight, but as you will start to eat normal again, you're body will restore your savings and you will gain everything you lost.

More effective is to just lower your calorie-intake a little, lower your carb intake with that a little, take in more proteins instead and start to work out more. If you want to know more about losing weight effectively, let me know.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I've lost 34kgs on a low carb high fat diet.
Basically when you cut out the carbs and sugar, you literally just shake the weight off. But also beware that a lot of things have "hidden" sugars in them. And those are bad. So eating raw, clean no carb and sugar is the best! :)

QooLipBite · Answer

They're not exactly healthy but they are extremely effective in getting results.

In terms of achieving aesthetic appearance and appeal, health is not a main priority.

However, in terms of athletic performance, carb restriction diets can be extremely detrimental.

Remember, there is a difference between a body builder/sculpter and a full on athlete. One is for aesthetic appeal, the other is for physical performance.

Athlete's do not diet and exercise, they eat and train.

Ftv4109 · Answer

Low carb diets will make you lose weight but will make you unhealthy and your body will rebound to an even worse condition you were in after your diet. Carbs is what you use as energy. If you are really active then carbs are a must. Depending on how active you are, decides how many grams a day. Always adjust to your level of activity that day. And limit your grams of fat intake. In my opinion like 60-75 grams a day. Depends on your body. Protein promotes muscle growth so if you pick up some weights , you'll get lean

rjroy3 · Answer

It's interesting. Because having high fat percentage lowers your body's free testosterone. And because of that among other reasons, simply losing body fat makes you healthier. So in the short term, yes it is healthy. The health benefits from fat loss spike while you quickly drop fat on a low carb diet. But once you're back to a healthy range it's no longer good for you. Fats, carbs and cholesterol all go towards healthy hormone production and you need all of them. Cutting out any of those will be bad for a healthy person at a healthy body fat. But in terms of just dropping the fat the only real problems are psychological.

Unapologetic01 · Answer

Yes, yes, and yesss! Low carb no sugar diet is the best. I'm in low carb diet for more than for two years now, I did a lot of research about it, my body, my skin, my hair in a way better shape than it what it used to be before.
Low carb targets the fat. Whereas if you had sugar or carb in your diet, you'll burn the sugar and the carbs, and never get the chance to burn that fat, it's different mechanisms. Sugar is the worst part. It's super addictive that your body can and will convince you that it needs it, and become reliable on it.

TheDevilInside · Answer

It's called the keto diet. I've tried doing it, but not strictly.
1. the 20g is NET carbs, not total carbs. Fibers are also carbs, so you have to substract the fibers from total carbs to get net carbs.
2. you have to make sure you're eating enough calories. Keto dieters do that by adding Fats into their diets. Put a tbsp of coconut oil into your morning coffee, eat Avocados, make bulletproof coffee, eat Bacon and fried things... But if you want to live healthy and not just lose weight, you might want to eat the unhealthy Fats sporadically and focus more on the healthy Fats (if you can. Where i live, I would go broken if I try to eat healthy Fats exclusively).
3. research properly. Ask someone who has had success doing keto.
4. veggies are your friend!

Jager66 · Answer

According to the Stanford School of Medicine, yes it is, possibly even one of the most healthy diets. People seem to forget though that low carb diets are also VERY high vegetable diets with only adequate protean and fats.

Here is a video about the topic by life long Vegan and researcher by Christopher Gardner from the Stanford School of Medicine, he did one of the largest studies ever done on the topic.

Tombstone1000100 · Answer

KETO diets are perfectly healthy. Its difficult to follow initially but gets easier later on. You ca easily lose 10-12 kgs in the first month of keto itself. I've known people who've been on keto diet for as many as 6-7 months and lost 50-60 kgs and yes obviously they are healthier than before. There's a quite a lot of research on the topic. You can read them and see for yourself. I myself have lost 10 kgs (4 kgs water weight,6 kgs fat,0 kg muscle) when I followed keto for 25 odd days. Its awesome

Jayded1 · Answer

I am in my 3rd year of Nutrition and Dietetics. This diet is very healthy. It puts your body in to a state of ketosis and you will use fat for energy instead of carbs. You have to eat a high amount of fat though. . You need lots of healthy fats. So meats are perfect, almonds, eggs, things like that.

Phoenix98 · Answer

They will make you lose weight but they aren't healthy to do especially long term which I highly advise against, if you must do it make it short term only they also have a host of side affects that aren't the greatest not to mention your body requires carbs to function carbs in addition to protein is your bodies energy source.

Remember losing weight isn't worth taking the unhealthy road to do it.

Imafreespirit · Answer

i think eating less than 20 g is way too much. protein, carbs and fat are all essential to ur body. a low carb diet surely helps u to lose weight really fast, but its not healthy to do it long term. The best way to lose weight is having patience, eat nutritious food and work out, thats the only way to get there and STAY there.

Mustachekitteh · Answer

Best to hear it from people who know what they are doing. So I get tips from this youtube channel, which they seem realistic about their advice.

Sara413 · Answer

Best option for realistic and sustainable weight management is to eat a varied diet that does not cut out whole food groups or micronutrients. A good rule of thumb is "eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants". What it boils down to is making sure that you mostly eat whole food, not processed junk, and that the majority of your caloric intake comes from plants.

matheus_mb · Answer

I lost weight and I never followed any of those diets! They may work for some people and not for other people. Wanna lose weight, change your lifestyle, it's the safest way in my opinion. It worked for me, check this out:

BellePepper · Answer

I don't suggest going super low carb. When I was like 12 my parents were on the Atkins kick and looooved it. But my dad loved it too much and I ended up getting horrible migraines and was constantly lightheaded and we originally though it was because it was the change in altitude but it turned out that by banning carbs I'd gotten really low potassium.

It took me a while to start feeling better so everything in mediation.

Drooogie4 · Answer

Lowering carbs is good for loosing weight, to an extent.

Too low though is bad. Your body needs carbs. Carbs are energy.
Just eat whole carbs, from healthy sources.
Calorie intake vs usage is the real only way to loose weight.

If you restrict calories, carbs, fat, etc too much, your body is more likely to hold on to fat.

oddwaffle · Answer

Long term no. You will want some carb back at some point once you lose enough weight. You have to be careful because most stuff nowadays have a lot of carb so you might be getting more than what you wanted.

Ideally, you will only want to keep a low carb diet for about 2-3 months then you start getting back some carbs for a couple weeks at least then you can go back to a low carb diet if you need to lose some more.

KittieCat · Answer

It sounds ridiculously difficult to eat that little. I used to be bulimic and I ate around 40g and when I was sent to a specialist the second thing she told me (behind eating more fat) was to not be afraid of carbs, and I've been a lot better since. I still don't eat any over processed crap so I'd cut that out if you eat it, maybe just fixing your macros so you have more protein and fat and less carbs? I wouldn't go that low though.

archiz · Answer

I don t know I don t follow these strict diets. I need all the nutriments I could get.
since for 2 years I had a lack of potassium, iron and stuff.
and now I finally managed to reach the limit without compliments.
I suggest you keep your meals well balanced and exercise.
it s the best way to go. the traditional way. and the results last longer.

WitchKing · Answer

The reason that low carb diets work fast is because when the body starts doing work, you body needs time before it cans tart burning fat, so until it reaches that point, it burns carbs which is why carbs are considered immediate and short term energy. However, if there are no carbs in your body, your body will start burning the fat immediately whether or not. So is it healthy? Well, it puts strain on your body which is never good.

OrdinaryGentleman · Answer

Yup its called keto. People with epilepsy eat that way as it quells their bouts. It was invented in the 1920's as a way to treat those patients. The key lies in this thing our body creates called ketones. These ketones use fat as energy rather than carbs. Been doing this for about 4 mos already, lost a buncha weight and have a much clearer head too. But thats me. If you are going to give it a shot, the first few days will really suck.

Are strict low carb diets really healthy?

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