Low Carb Diet

Opinions on whether we should approach a low carb diet or not are divided. One claim in favor of low carb diet is that humans did not evolve to eat modern food based on starches, grains, or refined sugar.

Athletes should not be on a low carb diet, why?

This type of alimentation determine the body to produce excess amounts of the hormone known as insulin therefore the body stores rather than burn fat causing heart disease and obesity, diabetes or cancer.

Nutritionists in favor of low carb diet claim that humans evolved eating mainly meat and the current world wide problem of obesity is due to the assumption that the low-fat approach is healthier.

They also claim that people have been encouraged to eat more carbohydrates, which stimulate appetite and more eating causing overweight.

Nutritionists try to prove scientifically that low carb diet can be used to lose weight effectively and safely. The test period was short and they were nor able to prove the long-term health effects of the diet.

A study was performed in 1965 in California at Naval Hospital from Oakland. The dieters had to use a diet of 1000 calories daily, limiting carbohydrates to 10 grams but high in fat each day.

The group that maintained this diet over ten days lost more body fat than did the group that finished the program earlier. Defenders of low-carb diet called this experiment the metabolic advantage of such diet.

Some differences between low-carb diets are always present. These diets are being recognized by their proportion of carbohydrates intake they advice us to eat, and the methods used in determining which ones should or should not be consumed.

As a general agreement, sugar must be eliminated, but when talking about levels of fruits, grain, or vegetables, the opinions are divided. This is rather confusing because it is also a general agreement that fruits are not so good as grains and vegetables as fruits.

Side effects are also present on low carb diet.

Very low carbohydrates consumption can lower the metabolism and drive it through ketosis, resulting headaches, nausea, tiredness, dehydration, dizziness and some unusual sweet smelling breath.

Another side effect is that if diets replace calories from carbohydrates with meat, high consumption of fat and cholesterol will occur, thus increasing the risk of heart diseases.

Even more, it was hypothesized that a change in blood acidity can lead to bone loss and that kidneys can become overworked. However these kidney or bone loss side effects had not yet been proven.

Why low carb diets don't provide enough energy for athletes?

Generally, while low carb diet may help usual people to lose some weight, they are not recommended for athletes.

This is because they must get enough energy needed for their activities, and whether their body uses fat, carbohydrates or protein as fuel for exercises depends upon its intensity and duration.

Normal people don’t need high-carb diets because without an intensive psychical activity that is permanently kept they will gain weight.

Athletes need these diets instead of low-carb ones because they consume all what these diets bring, and maybe much more, so they need to eat a lot of proteins, vitamins, and even fat, in order to have a perfect and healthy body that can withstand the intense workout.

Specific high-carb diets are used on each athlete because everyone has its specific metabolism, and so a specific anabolism that has to be equaled by the catabolism.

Different sport needs different types of body construction so athletes will choose their diets accordingly.

A 10 Km runner will choose that its body must be always as slim as possible, no fat at all is required, and a specific diet to ensure he’s up to run 10 km without having any weight problems.

Others like a 100 metre runner must have full high-carb diet, and iron-clad muscles, in order to accelerate as fast as possible.

In conclusion, each athlete must be aware that in order to achieve performance, they first must have a body that fits their desired sport and that is where diets come in.

A perfect and healthy body will surely make the difference between athletes as well as the training.

Low-carb diets are not indicated for performance athletes because they do not provide the necessary quantity of vitamins, proteins and other chemical compounds that athletes need to consume during the intense training.