Benefits Of Having A Low-Carb Diet

A diet that is focused on restricting your carbohydrate intake as compared to an average diet is referred to as a low-carb diet. Along with cutting carbs, it promotes increasing the intake of those food items that are high in fat and protein. That means restraining yourself from consuming food items such as bread, pasta, and other sugary foods.

Doing so will not only reduce your appetite, but it will also help you lose more weight at first. With it come its other advantages, such as helping an individual lower their risk of facing type 2 diabetes and its complications and even safeguarding them from metabolic syndrome as well. The most common foods that you can eat will consist of meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, and much more.

Studies conducted have concluded that having a low-carb diet carries numerous benefits for every age group. By following the recommendations given by some well-known organisations, like the World Health Organisation (WHO), one can for sure prevent themselves from facing issues such as cardiovascular diseases, type II diabetes, obesity, etc. Despite having so many controversies around it, the benefits of having a low-carb diet are incomparable. Read along to learn about them.

It might sound somewhat odd to many that following a diet that is rich in fat can really raise your “good” cholesterol levels and lower the “bad” ones. Those with a high amount of “bad” LDL in their bloodstream are much more likely to suffer from problems such as heart attacks.

Not just the quantity, but the size of the LDL particle in the blood also matters a lot. By taking a diet that is low on carbohydrates and high in fat and protein content, the size of “bad” LDL particles gets increased while the total number of LDL particles in your blood gets reduced a lot.

In the long run, continually taking in a low-carb diet results in your heart health boosting a lot while giving relief from heart-related issues. So try following a low-carb diet if you face issues such as hardened arteries, high blood pressure, heart failure, or other heart conditions.

Not just for one or two, regular consumption of a low-carb diet is most likely to allow relief from various kinds of nervous system disorders. Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and sleep disorders are some of them that get treated very well after an individual shifts to reducing their carb intakes.

From an early age, a low-carb diet is given to those children who don’t respond properly to drug treatment when being treated for epilepsy. The complete science behind what is happening is still unclear to many, but the main reason for it happening so are the ketones that the body makes when it has to break fat down to safeguard the brain from any sort of damage.

Triglycerides are one of the major reasons behind all different cardiovascular problems. They are a kind of lipid (fat molecule) present in the bloodstream that is made when any extra calorie is eaten. Eating more calories from high-carbohydrate meals than you can actually burn causes triglyceride levels to rise faster, increasing your risk of heart disease.

This is where the role of a low-carb diet comes in, as it aids the body in reducing a number of risk factors causing various heart diseases. The chances of triglycerides reaching elevated levels also decrease a lot as more carbohydrate consumption (simple sugar fructose) is the main cause.

HDL, also known as high-density lipoprotein, is a kind of good cholesterol. It’s responsible for absorbing cholesterol in the bloodstream and carrying it back to the liver itself, after which the liver flushes it from the body. This is why it’s advisable to have adequate levels of HDL cholesterol in your blood to remain protected from various heart diseases and strokes.

As compared to other diet types, a low-carb diet gives an individual the biggest boost in protective HDL cholesterol levels. Plus, one must try having more HDL as compared to “bad” LDL to keep their chances of facing a heart disease at bay. So, if you are struggling with some sort of heart-related issue, prefer taking a low-carb diet as much as you can.

If you are looking for a proven strategy for losing some pounds from your body, following a low-carb diet can really do wonders in that case. Various studies have already proved very well that those who are on a low-carb diet tend to lose more weight as compared to those who follow a low-fat diet.

What happens is that, basically, those having a low-carb meal tend to get rid of excess water from the body in a faster manner. This lowers their levels of insulin, and accordingly, it results in rapid weight loss in the first few weeks of doing so. Not just for short-term goals, following a low-carb diet is one of the best ways to keep excess fat at bay in the long run as well.

We all know that not all the fat in the body is of the same kind. It might take a bit more time to get rid of it from the tummy area as compared to other areas. The place where the fat is stored actually determines how it’s going to affect your health and the kinds of diseases you are going to face in the future.

In general, there are two kinds of subcutaneous fat: fat that is present under your skin and visceral fat that gets gathered in your abdominal cavity, which is seen in most overweight men. Low-carb diets work really well when it comes to reducing the harmful visceral fat that, with time, could lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes as well.

Shifting over and continuing with a low-carb diet could actually be a game changer for those with diabetes and some sort of insulin resistance. Those who have an intake of a high-carb diet tend to have fluctuating sugar levels, and so does their energy. But when they shift over to a low-carb diet, their energy levels start to remain very steady, making it easier for them to go along with their daily functions with ease.

In a study, it was concluded that shifting over to a low-carb diet can reduce an individual’s insulin dosage by 50% almost immediately. Another finding concluded that, within a span of 6 months of shifting over to a low-carbohydrate diet, they reduced their insulin dosage by almost 50%. For those on sugar medications, it is preferable to talk with your doctor before making any changes to your daily carbohydrate intake.

An elevated level of blood pressure is itself a major problem for many. Furthermore, it becomes more harmful when it becomes the reason for chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Having a carbohydrate diet comes in handy in this case as well. It works by improving both hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance, which encourages the passage of sodium in the urine, thus regulating blood pressure levels.

It also allows the body to fix itself in terms of how it handles sugar and salt when eaten. Not just for the blood pressure itself, but for the whole body, limiting and reducing your intake of carb-rich meals will allow you to stay healthy for a longer period of time and will make you live longer.

One of the most chronic health issues that one might come across is metabolic syndrome. Under it, an individual is most likely to face complications linked to diabetes and heart disease. For many, it’s also a collection of various symptoms that include elevated fasting blood sugar levels, high triglycerides, abdominal obesity, elevated blood pressure, and low “good” HDL cholesterol levels.

However, as per various experts, shifting to a low-carb diet has proved to be extremely effective in treating all of the symptoms linked to metabolic syndrome. This happened as the various participants taking part in the conducted studies started showing various health measures, such as improved cholesterol readings and lower triglyceride levels as well.

Not all sorts of diets have a proven range of health benefits, like the low-carb diet has. Plus, one doesn’t need to deprive themselves of their favourite foods while shifting the goal post of their diet. Just be extra cautious about the fats and proteins that you will choose while opting for a low-carb diet, as choosing the wrong ones might elevate your risk of developing a heart disease.

So if you’re someone who’s been following a western diet for so long and carbs account for most of your calorie consumption, it’s the right time to make a switch towards a low-carb diet to achieve your health goals more firmly.