Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Low Carb Diets, an Introduction to Atkins

By Ricardo d Argence

You have just been to a social gathering and there are tears playing mischief in your eyes. Maybe your being overweight will never let you make an impression while your dumber but thinner counterparts get away so luckily. You need to do something about it and yet everyday when you lazily crawl out of bed nothing seems to right.

Most of the time, when a person has gained too much weight it is usually due to improper nutrition. Our metabolism automatically follows a pattern, and if we throw it out of whack it will fail and breakdown into fat.

For the need to address the matter, Dr. Robert Atkins created a dynamic low carbohydrate diet in the 1970's, and had a book that elaborated on the diet. It wasn't popular when it was first released, but thanks to it's reintroduction to the United States in the 1990's, it has become more popular and fueled numerous coffee table discussions. The Atkins diet has attested to be favorable in many instances while nutritionists and health experts dismiss it as being a popular fad.

A brief look at the Atkins diet reveals a diet plan based on the portion of carbohydrates allowed each day broken down in a food chart that contains several different phases. In the typical initial stage, you are allowed to consume 20 grams of carbohydrates daily. Within the beginning two weeks, the individual can only eat bacon, chicken, pork, seafood, butter and oils, and is not allowed to eat anything with a high sugar count, such as breads, dairy products, produce and grains.

During the maintenance section of the proram it is recommended that the dieter increase his carbs by 5 grams each day until he is averages around 40 to 90 grams each day. Adipose tissue will be exposed through extensive carbohydrate consumption.

A few of the down falls of the low carb diet are as follows. Things initially take place in a healthy manner when carb intake is reduced and the body begins to release energy by breaking down fat. Lipolysis occurs during starvation causing proteins to break down and take the place of the absense of body fat ultimately causing ketosis.

During ketosis, ketone bodies are formed in the blood stream that impede the capability of your blood cells to carry oxygen and may permanently damage brain tissues leading to coma or brain death. So one should stay on the lookout for signs of ketosis. Ketone is the body forms in the digestive system and interacts with enzymes causing bacteria to ferment and this leads to bad breath. When fat is broken down, less energy is released which can make you feel sluggish. 1 gm of carbohydrate release 7 Kcal of energy while 1 gm of fat releases only 4.9 Kcal of biochemical energy.

All in all, the Atkins plan will work if executed in moderation along with a regular exercise regimine. Regular exercise reduces stress levels and improves your mood apart from making you lose weight and look better. Being physically fit has numerous benefits such as being more relaxed, confident, and having an overall calm about you. - 15784

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