Let’s look at the low-carb, high-fat diet, which claims that eating less or no carbs and instead consuming more fat can lead to weight loss.
Dieting is the act of shedding unnecessary body fat. But a diet method claims you can still lose weight even if you consume a lot of fat. This is the low-carb, high-fat diet.
Why do you lose weight when you follow a low-carb, high-fat diet?
Science Behind Low-Carb, High-Fat Diets
The primary energy source for our muscles and brain is glucose. And the nutrient that can provide this glucose is carbohydrates. The carbohydrates that enter our body through meals are broken down into glucose and circulate in the blood. The pancreas secretes insulin to process this glucose. Insulin helps the glucose in the blood enter the cells of the body to be used as an energy source.
However, if you reduce your carbohydrate intake, the body looks for a new energy source to replace glucose, which is fat. The body breaks down fat to create a substance called ‘ketones.’ In other words, if there are no carbohydrates, the body enters a ‘ketogenic’ state where it breaks down body fat for energy, resulting in weight loss.
Also, insulin resistance can be reduced by reducing the intake of carbohydrates that sharply raise blood sugar, and the levels of blood sugar and triglycerides can also be lowered.
Benefits and Criticisms of Low-Carb, High-Fat Diets
Of course, there are opinions criticizing the low-carb, high-fat diet. The most representative view is that people who advocated for the low-carb, high-fat diet died of ‘cardiovascular’ diseases. Many cases cite the cause of death of Robert Atkins, the founder of the ‘Emperor Diet,’ and Steve Burns, who advocated the ‘Unlimited Fat Diet.’
However, if we examine the cause of their deaths, there is insufficient causality to say that they died because of the low-carb, high-fat diet.
Atkins died at 72 from a severe head injury after falling on the street. However, his medical history mentioned myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and high blood pressure; his weight at the time of death was 258 lbs. This led to claims that his usual low-carb diet caused heart problems that led to his death. Ultimately, the cause of his death was a head injury, and according to Stuart Trager of the Atkins Medical Society, his heart disease was viral, not dietary.
It is also difficult to say that Steven Burns, who died of a stroke at 42, reached his death due to the low-carb, high-fat diet. He had been studying alternative medicine and even ran an AIDS treatment clinic, and later contracted AIDS himself. His cause of death was a stroke, but since one of the significant causes of death from AIDS is stroke, it is difficult to say that the low-carb, high-fat diet led to a stroke.
Challenges in Sustaining a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet
However, there are difficulties in maintaining this low-carb, high-fat diet for a long time. Maintaining a restricted diet that requires not eating carbohydrates for life is very hard. Basically, you have to give up all foods that contain a lot of carbohydrates, such as rice, bread, noodles, snacks, and beverages.
Also, even if you avoid common foods, as mentioned above, there are many cases where you unknowingly consume foods that contain carbohydrates. For example, there are carbohydrates in milk or vegetables like cabbage, but if you consume them without knowing, you cannot effectively follow the low-carb, high-fat diet.
As such, not only the low-carb, high-fat diet but all have pros and cons. Therefore, instead of following what others do, it is advisable to find a diet that suits you and proceed with it.
By. Shin Soo-Jung (soojungsin@inews24.com)
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