Why do people go on a low carb diet? The most popular reason is to lose weight, but a low carb diet will also help to control your blood sugar levels, blood pressure and cholesterol. When the carbs are reduced in the diet, increased protein and fats are consumed with some of the diets regulating exactly which proteins and fats are allowed.

How do low carbohydrate diets help you lose weight? Carbohydrate is used as fuel for energy. Any carb that is not immediately burned is stored in the body as fat, to be available at some future time for energy.

So, if you constantly eat more carbs than you can burn, you will increase your body fat and put on weight. If you restrict the amount of carbohydrate in your diet, your body will need to find another source of fuel for energy; this alternate fuel source is your body fat. On a low carb diet, you burn fat and lose weight.

Some of the low carb diets, like Atkins, heavily restrict carbs, forcing the body to burn fat. Other diets, like Zone and South Beach are less severe, while some others only restrict the type of carbs that raise blood sugar levels quickly. These high glycemic index carbs are the ones that are digested quickly and released into the blood, causing blood sugar to spike but you feel hungry again soon after.

What are the pros (advantages) of a low carb diet? The “famous” low carb diet plans advocate that the modern diet is unnatural, and that humans evolved on a low carbohydrate diet. They believe that the modern trend of excessive carbs in the diet is the cause of obesity, diabetes and other health issues, like high cholesterol and blood pressure. Scientific research has, in fact, proven that replacing carbohydrate with protein and fat will increase “good” cholesterol in the blood, and lower the “bad” cholesterol.

What are the cons (disadvantages) of a low carb diet? The critics of low carb diets hold a different view to those who advocate them. This group claims that it isn’t carbs that cause obesity. They claim that obesity is caused by the over-eating calories from all food sources combined with a lack of activity. Also, a diet high in protein has been linked with kidney problems, osteoporosis and some cancers.

So, what is the answer? If you want to lose weight, try limiting your consumption of high glycemic foods – sugars, highly processed foods, pre-prepared foods that have added sugar, and fast food. Eat lean protein, whole grains, several serves of fresh fruit and vegetables every day and drink 8 glasses of water. Add in some mild form of exercise (walking for 30 minutes is great) on most days of the week. This type of low carbohydrate diet may be all you need to lose weight.

There are many ways in which a low glycemic index diet can help person, such as:

• Cholesterol levels will be reduced. So anyone suffering from high cholesterol should consider switching to this type of diet.

• Hunger will be kept at bay for longer. Something which is crucial if you are trying to lose weight and not snack on food between meals.

• People with diabetes find that their condition becomes more manageable than a low glycemic index diet.

• The chances of heart disease are reduced. In fact maintaining a low GI diet will help you to improve your health all round.

• Gradual weight loss can be achieved and maintained quite easily on this type of diet.

• You are not restricted to certain groups of food. Often people find sticking to restricted diets impossible. Just make sure that you do not eat too many foods with a high glycemic index.

• Anyone looking to increase their intake of fibre will be pleased to know that low GI foods are high in fibre.

As you can see a low glycemic index diet offers many benefits. So if you want to keep healthy and lose weight safely this could be just what you are looking for.

So, what is the difference between “good” and “bad” carbs?

Let’s deal with the bad guys first. “Bad” carbs are simple carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion, give us a spike in blood sugar and then leave us feeling hungrier than before. These carbs are used for instant energy, but any excess that is not burned off as energy immediately is deposited as body fat. They are mainly “empty” calories that don’t add much, if any, nutrition to the body.

Bad carbs include highly processed foods like white bread and processed breakfast cereals; foods with added sugar like most pre-prepared food, cakes, pastries etc; fast food, fatty and fried food.

Now for the good guys – “good” carbs are the complex carbohydrates that are harder for the body to digest so they break down slowly and keep us feeling fuller for longer. The best low carb weight loss diets will focus on these types of carbs. Good carbs include whole grain bread, less processed cereals like oats and bran, pulses such as dried beans and lentils, fruit and vegetables. These foods contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals – nutrients that the body needs to survive and thrive. Complex carbs also contain dietary fiber, an important food for the digestive system that can prevent some cancers.

No weight loss program is complete without some form of physical activity. The reason exercise is always mentioned in any effective weight loss program is its importance in burning the extra calories necessary for sustained loss of weight. To lose weight and keep it off, you need to burn more calories than you eat.

So that is the low carb weight loss formula – limit those bad carbs and use the good carbs to curb your appetite. Watch the pounds melt away.

By following the Mediterranean diet plan you will be able to reduce your risk of heart disease, reduce your cholesterol and even reduce the risk of having cancer. Foods generally found in the Mediterranean diet plan include vegetables, fruits, red wine, a small amount of red meat, regularly eating fish, small amounts of nuts, canola oil and olive oil.

Most individuals in the Mediterranean food diet eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, up to nine portions a day. The best fruits are those with a lot of color as they contain a lot of antioxidants. Antioxidants are the compounds that fight heart disease and keep your heart strong. Whole grains are preferred over processed grains and if you do eat bread then it should not be slathered with butter or margarine. Butter and margarine are fats that should be avoided.

Unlike most diets the Mediterranean diet plan does not restrict fat as long as you are eating foods that are high in unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are beneficial to your body and are not stored as fat. Nuts, fish and oils like canola and olive oil are all unsaturated fats. Virgin olive oil and extra virgin olive oil also contain a lot of antioxidants. Hydrogenated oils and saturated fats are fats that are harmful to the body and tend to be used in butter and fried or fast foods.

Wine is also included in the Mediterranean food diet plan though it should only be taken in moderation. Particularly red wine is important as red wine has the highest concentration of antioxidants in any food. Limiting oneself to one or two glasses, that contain about 3 to 5 oz, a day is the recommended consumption rate.

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