Category: Food

Starting a Low Carb Diet?

If you want to lose weight and eat healthier then perhaps, you have thought of switching to a low-carb diet. Such a diet can help you lose weight and stave off the possibility of getting obese, developing type II diabetes, or even arthritis.

The first thing you have to understand is that carbohydrates come mostly from the plant kingdom and although we think of them mostly as pasta, white bread, potatoes and rice, they are found in many more foods than these.

Make no mistake they are a necessary part of your diet as they provide the majority of energy you need throughout the day and all fruits and vegetables contain carbs, as well as those foods that we think of as ‘carbohydrate foods’.

However, there are two kinds that you need to know about. One is the bad carbs – this is made up of, you guessed it, white bread, pasta, and processed foods so you see this makes up most of the American diet today. Which is why we need this article – we will show you how by building a list you can tell the difference.

What are the Good Carbs?

Good carbohydrates on the other hand are what are called complex carbs in contrast to the bad carbs, which are called simple carbs. Good carbs usually come from the stalks and the leaves of green vegetables, other vegetables and fruits, and whole grains. Non-processed foods can also be a source for complex carbohydrates.

The main difference between the two being that that refined carbs (‘bad’ carbs) are processed almost immediately and much of their energy is wasted and is therefore converted into fat. Complex carbohydrates on the other hand, process slowly and then take longer to be converted, because of the fiber that they also contain, so their energy is used gradually in a manner that does not produce and store so much fat.

Some people believe that all carbohydrates should be removed from the diet because of obesity and the possibility of type II diabetes. Unfortunately, your body needs carbohydrates in order to survive and eliminating carbohydrates results in loss of energy. On top of which you would have very little to eat since all fruits, vegetables and grains, even milk and eggs contain some carbs.

You would be left with nothing to eat but the no carb foods which are mainly meat and fish. You would likely overdose on protein which can damage the kidneys. On top of that, your mind slows, and you develop muscular problems such as cramping, because you would not be getting enough of the minerals and vitamins that are found in plant foods along with the carbohydrates.

So in essence, if you want to switch to the right kind of diet you need to create a carb list. Such a list can take many forms and for some people this is quite a chore to simplify it one solution is to go up on Amazon.com and type in the word carbohydrates. On the next page we will look at creating a list of carbohydrate foods.

Say Goodbye Bad Carbs

In the last post we looked at good carbs and bad carbs, and suggested that you use Amazon.com to make a list of carbohydrate foods. You will get a plethora of hits and many many books will appear before your eyes. One of the best ways to wade through this vast amount of material is to simplify your search and add the word “diet” – this will reduce the number of books that will appear.

The next step you need is to look for series. Is there an author or author writing team that has a series of books on the topic? One such is the “Carbohydrate Addicts” series by the Heller Doctors, Rachel and Richard. This series has the advantage of not only does it provide you with the carb lists you require but it also lists techniques and recipes that can bring your diet under control and if you are craving carbs shows you how to change your eating habits.

This helps keep your blood sugar under control and insulin resistance, which can prevent the onset of type II diabetes, and also stop you from putting on excess weight and increasing obesity related risks.

The Advantage of Using Amazon

The advantage of continuing your search using Amazon is the number of books you will find. You will run across books on glycemic diets. This is quite useful as the glycemic index that breaks down the majority of foods that you can purchase today in America either at restaurants, fast food establishments, or at the grocery store.

A glycemic index tells you how long it takes for a particular carbohydrate to break down into energy, obviously the longer it takes the better it is for you and your diet.

Again, you can also find diet plans, glycemic charts, and a wide variety of healthy recipes to choose from.

Why Not Use The Internet?

Many people ask why not use the Internet to build your list of carbohydrate foods and get all this information for free. There were a number of reasons why searching the Internet to find the information you need is suspect.

Most of the time when you’re dealing with something from the Internet they are trying to get you hooked on a particular program, philosophy, or do it quick scheme.

While there are legitimate websites and people who genuinely want to share their information, they are buried in the noise of all the hucksters, snake oil salesman, and people are trying to get your money.

Using Amazon you’re dealing with people who at least took the time and the effort to put together a 200 or more page book, list their research material, have it annotated, cross index it, and go through the publishing process to actually have a book up on Amazon.

While this in itself, is no guarantee that the information is any better than what you can get off a webpage it does indicate some credibility on part of the author or authors.

The other major problem with surfing the net is information burnout. The number of websites dealing with the topic of carbohydrates and zero carbohydrate foods is virtually astronomical today. Finding the correct information and making it usable is often very difficult.

While in book form, you know exactly where all the material is and can readily access it as you need it. Using Amazon’s e-book formats and your smart phone or one of the e-book readers you can download the books in E-formats, so you can carry your list of carbohydrate foods with you quite conveniently as you shop at your grocery store or health food store building up a pantry or preparing one of the meals that you’ve seen in a book/e-book.

Building a list of carbohydrate foods

Can be simple and bring health into your life by using just Amazon and do a little searching, find a reputable source of information.

Along with this, you get the peace of mind knowing that the material at least has gone through some form of vetting process.

You can do research that enables you to properly identify which are bad carbohydrates and which are the good, which to avoid and which to embrace and eat.

Bon appetit!

Do no carb foods really exist? This is one of the common questions that people are asking nowadays especially from those who really want to have a fit body. Fortunately, no carb foods do exist. However, you just need to be careful in choosing because there are some foods that promise to contain no carbs but actually have some. Here are some no carb foods as well as the foods that might just trick you.

But first, if you’re interested in losing weight with a low carb diet, check out the Metabolic Factor weight loss here.

No Carb Foods

1. Meat

Includes all of the unprocessed flesh meats such as poultry and red meats.

But: There are some organ meats that may contain small carbohydrate contents. Cured meats such as bacon and ham may be treated with some sugar. Many sausages nowadays contain fillers or flour which are high in carbs.

2. Fish

Includes all unprocessed fish such as white fish, tuna and salmon.

But: If it is a canned fish, you should check the label for any added ingredients. Some shellfish such as oysters and mussels contain carbs. Fish eggs also contain carbs.

3. Oils and Fats

All vegetable oils which are pure such as canola, olive oil and also fat from meat have no carbs.

But: The foods where the vegetable oils have been extracted from do have carbs. For example, olive oils don’t have carbs but olives have. Spray oils are not included in zero carb foods. Pure butter has very low amount of carbs which is why it is included in most low carb diet programs. Margarine contains higher amount of carbs since it includes other ingredients.

Pure minerals don’t contain carbs such as a regular salt. See more about carbs here: easylowcarbdietplan.com

Low But Not Zero Carb Foods

There some foods that contain little amount of carbs and here are some of them. If you are following a low carb diet program, then you should check its carb content first before putting it on your diet list.

Vegetables – All vegetables contain at least small amounts of carbohydrates. Water veggies such as celery and lettuce contain less and starchy veggies contain more. However, vegetables are great to be included in a diet program because they contain minerals and fiber which are important for our survival.

Spices – Most spices are made from ground vegetables or ground seeds and these contain only little amounts of carbs. Most of them have 1g net carb for every teaspoon but you should check the labels just to make sure.

Eggs – 1 big egg contains about 0.4g net carbohydrate

Cheese – Hard cheese contain little amount of carbs while soft and creamy cheeses contain higher.

Cream, yogurt and milk – Most liquid dairy products contain some low amount of carbs and are higher in fats. Yogurts which are made with whole milk have lower amount of carbs than yogurts which are made with skim milk. Yogurts that are flavored and sweetened may be very high in carbs from added sugars.