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Becoming very popular, low carb diets have had a host of best-selling diet books promoting them - everything from Atkins through the South Beach to the Zone.
There are also a variety of less rigid eating plans that nonetheless advise limiting the consumption of carbohydrates. This can be done by either restricting the total intake of carbohydrates, or else removing certain sources of carbohydrates from the diet.
Other popular low carb diets include the GI diet, which focuses on the glycemic rating of individual foods, and the "No White Foods" plan, which simplifies things by eliminating sugar, white flour, white rice, and potatoes.
Low carb diets have many benefits (see below) but have sometimes garnered bad press because of the extreme versions, such as the Induction Phase of the Atkins Diet. However, simply lowering your carbohydrate intake from the normal range (around 65%) to 40% would yield many of the benefits listed below.
Many of these benefits are supported by research, while others have been commonly reported by people who restrict their carbohydrate intake.
Benefits include: -
Weight loss without consciously restricting calories
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Less muscle mass lost than high carb diets
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Increased energy
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Reduced craving for sweets
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Compulsive or emotional eating greatly reduced
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Improved concentration
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Improved emotional stability
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Improved triglycerides
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Increased HDL (good cholesterol)
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Improved insulin sensitivity and lower blood insulin level
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Lower blood pressure
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Reduced blood glucose (diabetics and pre-diabetics)
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