I heart carbs

It seems like everywhere I turn now; I am being inundated with Low Carb diet propaganda. I am so sick of hearing the word "carb". As well as the fact that every time I hear anything, about this diet, my gut feeling is that it's wrong. So I did some research and found that my feelings were not far off. The fact is that there is such a thing as a healthy Low Carb diet. But it is not at all what is outlined in what I read about the Atkins Diet. First of all, you have to know what "carbs" (short for carbohydrate) are. Carbohydrates are made up of three elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They provide essential energy that fuel our mussels and brain helping us breathe as well as our heart beat. Carbohydrates are full of important vitamins and minerals. If you cut this source of energy out of your diet your body has to use the inefficient energies that are supplied by the two other calorie providing nutrient groups; fat and protein, not to mention your own fat and muscle tissue. Eating less carbs can be a good thing if you cut back on simple and processed Carbohydrates. Unprocessed complex carbohydrates are very important to our diet and should not be cut out. And by cutting back, I don't mean cutting your intake of carbs from the healthy 50 to 60 percent of your daily calories to even half that. Healthy Low Carb diets will still have you eating 40 to 45 percent of your daily calories in carbs. Just like any other diet, it's really about knowing what it is you are really putting in your body, being smart about your diet and exorcising.

What is the difference between simple, complex and processed carbohydrates you ask? Let me explain. Simple carbohydrates are carbs that are digested more quickly, and consist of simple sugars. Some examples would be lactose (milk sugar), fructose (fruit Sugar), sucrose (table sugar) and even glucose (blood Sugar). This kind of carb is found in foods like: soda, apples, milk and honey. And while simple carbs aren't necessarily bad for you, your body does need more complex carbohydrates because that is where all the vitamins and minerals are hiding out. The Difference between processed and unprocessed complex cabs is simple. Fries, potato chips, cheese and pasta are processed, baked potatoes, fresh fruit and veggies or whole grain and oat bread have little to no processing. Simple or Complex it is better to go for less processed foods and more whole foods.

The Atkins and similar diets would have you believe that you can eat as much fat and protein that you want. But Heaven forbid, do not touch that banana! Unhand that artichoke fatso! The truth is, that if you buy in to this Low Carb High Protein diet, you will lose energy, feel week and even light headed. How can you exercise feeling like that? Some people have reported that after six months on the Atkins diet they only lost 20 pounds, they were depressed, sluggish, had an extreme loss of hair and bad skin problems. The success stories I have heard, in my opinion, aren't even that much a success and leave something to be desired. Success meaning, that within a whole year they lost a whopping 40 to 80 pounds. Wow! Sign me up. Doesn't less fat in your diet and more exercise sound more logical and productive anyway? Especially with all we are hearing about mad cow recently. Let alone the other danger such a diet can lead to; such as High Cholesterol, heart problems, kidney abnormalities, osteoporosis, and other health problems. In all the research that I have seen, it seems to me that for the most part the human race is omnivorous in nature. Though you can chose to be an herbivore without much difficulty (finding protein in plant matter is pretty easy), I don't Think it is as easy becoming carnivorous. Our bodies are not made for it. I love Carbs! They don't have to be scary. They can be fun. And they certainly are healthy. So don't worry. Have that banana that you've been wanting, then sit back with your favorite tea with some honey In it and read on. Don't forget to look out for some of my recipes!