Low Carbohydrate Diets: Good or Bad?

Many people, in an effort to lose weight, will switch to a low carb diets such as the South Beach Diet. This diet requires less than 10% of your daily Calories to be from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are used as fuel for the body. When that fuel is taken away the human body begins to start burning its own fat as fuel. In a study consisting of 64 weeks of a low carb diet there was a 3.1 kg greater weight loss outcome then the amount of weight lost using a Mediterranean diet, or a low fat diet. The weight loss was directly linked to the reduced carbohydrate consumption. This information makes low carb diets seem like the answer to weight loss, but the reduction in carbohydrates isn’t necessarily good for people’s health. Studies show that low carb diets not allowing more than 50g of carbs per day, result in low levels of thiamine, folic acid, vitamin c, iron , and magnesium. Over long periods of time using extreme low carb diets may also cause a reduction in the amount of short chain fatty acids in the colon that are produced by the body. This can lead to high risks of colon and rectal cancer. Low carb diets can be a useful tool in losing weight, but people need to know how to follow them safely.