Low-Carb Diet For Dummies. Katherine B. Chauncey

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      Consumption of excess calories, regardless of the source, increases the risk of breast, prostate, and colon cancer. But just as important is what you don’t eat. Diets full of whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products are known to lower cancer risk. Dietary patterns that provide only the minimum servings of these foods increase cancer risk.

      Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)

      Sometimes referred to as heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is much more extensive than heartburn. It has increased in incidence primarily due to obesity and the overconsumption of food. The intake of carbonated beverages and fatty and spicy foods aggravate the condition.

Determining Whether Low-Carb Dieting Is Dangerous

The question of safety has always arisen in regard to low-carb diets. That’s because some low-carb diet plans restrict all carbohydrate foods from the diet. Eliminating carbohydrate from your diet is almost impossible, but some diets require you to get down to 10 or 20 grams of carbs per day. These kinds of severe carbohydrate diets not only restrict vital nutrients from the diet but the body also loses vital nutrients. And as you can guess, when you lose vital nutrients, you can end up in poor health. Modern-day proponents of very-low-carb diets recognize this problem and are adamant in recommending vitamin and mineral supplements to cover the losses. Now think about it: Can a diet plan that requires supplements to replace lost nutrients from food be good?

      

The Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan doesn’t completely eliminate carbs from your diet. In fact, you must eat some carbohydrates, like those found in fresh fruits and vegetables, to maintain good health. There’s no way to get the necessary fiber, vitamins, and minerals, on a regular basis without some carbs. Here I show you how to pick the best and leave the rest.

      Evaluating limits on carbs

      Eating a healthy diet on a very-low-carb diet that restricts you to fewer than 50 grams of carbohydrate is impossible. If you tried, you’d be eliminating too many foods rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and cancer-fighters. Getting essential nutrients from foods is always better than getting it from supplements.

      A moderately low-carbohydrate diet — such as the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan — includes 100 to 150 grams of carbohydrate per day. Recent nutrition guidelines say that 130 grams of carbohydrate per day is the minimum level needed for adequate brain function in children and adults. This level — also in-line with what the American Diabetes Association recommends — is the minimum to prevent loss of lean tissue from muscles and organs.

      

If you count the carbohydrate in milk, fruits, vegetables, legumes, breads, and cereals, you’d have 130 grams of carbohydrate from two servings of milk, two servings of fruit, three servings of vegetables, and four servings of legumes, breads, or cereals.

      A high-carb diet, on the other hand, includes more than 250 grams of carbohydrate each day. That diet is appropriate for active people who are at a healthy weight (with a BMI between 20 and 25 — see Chapter 4 for more on BMI). No matter how many grams of carbs you eat every day, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes should be the main food sources of carbohydrates, with added sugar sources kept to a minimum.

The potential physical consequences of very-low-carbohydrate diets range from mild to serious to life-threatening. Because the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan I recommend is a modified low-carbohydrate diet, you shouldn’t experience any of these problems. But, as with any diet plan, consult your healthcare provider for advice before beginning the plan. Check out Chapter 3 for the physical consequences of very-low-carbohydrate diets.

      To evaluate your own lifestyle and health risks to determine if a lower-carbohydrate diet may be good for you, turn to Chapter 4.

Getting Back to Basics: The Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan

      Very-low-carb diets, allowing no more than 15 to 30 grams of total carbohydrate per day, restrict many healthy foods and do not represent balanced lifetime nutrition. However, moderate restriction of carbohydrates — below the 60 percent recommended by the USDA, but not to the extreme — can produce positive benefits in many individuals.

      

Not all carbohydrates are created equally. Certain types of carbohydrates can keep you satisfied longer, and eating a variety of foods keeps you interested in the diet. So which carbs are good and which are bad, and how can you tell the difference? It all depends on the glycemic load of the food. Check out Chapter 3 and Appendix A for more information on glycemic load.

      Looking at the changes in food intake and the increase in obesity in the past 20 to 30 years, it’s pretty obvious that Americans have gotten away from eating basic whole foods. Much of what Americans eat is processed, refined, or somehow changed from its original form. The intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources, and good fats is severely lacking.

      Unveiling the plan

      The Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan is designed to help you get back to eating basic healthy foods in a satisfying way. The plan shows you how to lower your total carbohydrate intake in a safe and satisfying way, and it explains how you can replace the refined sugars and flour products in your diet with whole, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Not only do you discover how to eat quality lean proteins and protective fats, but your appetite needs will be met naturally, and you won’t be hungry. Your body will thrive on the nutrients you’re feeding it rather than wilting on empty calories. You’ll naturally start to lose your surplus fat and your health and energy will soar.

The Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan consists of the following:

       Vegetables and whole fruits

       Lean protein, fish, and poultry

       Low-fat cheese, low-fat milk (or dairy alternatives), and yogurt

       Moderate amounts of fat, especially monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as avocados, olives, olive oil, peanut oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil, and sesame seeds; and nuts and seeds

       Whole grains, and starchy vegetables such as legumes and corn

      Sugar, white flour, and other refined grains are limited on the Whole Foods Weight Loss Eating Plan, as are fried foods, processed snack foods and processed meats. The following sections discuss the three categories on the plan.

      Green Light foods

      The green light means go. You can move around freely in this section and eat as much as you need to satisfy your hunger. Green Light foods include СКАЧАТЬ