Carb Conundrum - Low Carbohydrate

Low Carbohydrate

Some people swear that when it comes to dieting, a low carbohydrate diet is the only "weigh" to go. And when you read about how it works, it makes a lot of sense. But don't end your reading when you've heard all the good news you want to hear. To make a low carb diet successful, you have to understand the risks, too.

Risks and Side Effects of a Low Carbohydrate Diet

Here's how it works: Your body burns carbohydrates for fuel. So when you limit your carb intake drastically the way a low carbohydrate diet requires, your body burns fat and protein instead carbs. Sounds logical, right? Hold on. When your body starts burning fat, ketones are released in the bloodstream and excreted through urine. This is a state called ketosis, and it can lead to headaches, bad breath and nausea.

Most low carbohydrate diets encourage you to eat a lot of protein, and when your body is burning protein for energy, uric acid is released into your bloodstream. Over time, this can lead to kidney damage. Also, the amount of saturated fat isn't regulated, and that can lead to heart disease over time. The best thing to do is choose lean meats.

In addition, because low carbohydrate diets don't allow many vegetables and fruit, it's hard to get enough fiber. Therefore, you are constipated a lot. And since fruit and vegetables have a lot of vitamins and minerals, your immune system is weaker. Plus, vitamins and minerals have cancer-fighting antioxidants that you're missing out on.

Carbohydrates trigger your brain to produce serotonin, which is a "'feel-good" hormone that regulates emotion and acts as an appetite suppressant. So in the absence of carbohydrates, you can feel depressed and grouchy, and you might be hungrier than usual.

So, the side effects of a low carbohydrate diet are headaches, nausea, bad breath, constipation, kidney damage, heart disease and depression. You can counteract some of these things by taking supplements, but you can't control some of the other things. These are just some things to consider before starting on a low carb diet.