People who’ve lost weight through the low-carb diet often swear by it.  They lost pounds of weight, and still “ate great,” or so they say.

But it turns out that while they were trimming their waistline, they’re now making a beeline for developing heart disease.

According to a study performed on pre-diabetic adults over a course of eight weeks, people on a low carbohydrate diet were 25 percent more likely to develop hardened arteries, or what’s known as arteriosclerosis.  This is a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease development.

People who live the “low-carb lifestyle” avoid all things grain (and fruit).  And while it’s probably a good thing that they’re avoiding white breads, pastas, crackers and cookies, they’re not doing themselves any favors by eliminating all carbohydrates.  Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of energy and the thing that the body wants to use for energy.  So when low-carbers eat only protein and fat for food, their actually robbing their body of what it wants to use those nutrients for (protein for muscle building and repair, fat for vitamin regulation, storage and insulation).

The study was published in the journal Diabetes.

As I’ve written here in the past, carbohydrates are not the enemy.  Even starchy vegetables are not the enemy.  Carbohydrates are vital to the body’s energy needs, and you must get quality sources into your diet every day (e.g. brown rice, potatoes with the skin, whole wheat bread, quinoa, unsalted popcorn).

For a weight loss program that truly delivers results, there are tips and tricks to choose from that are far too numerous to list here.  Whatever it is, it must implement this fundamental principle:  Energy in, energy out.  In other words, eat less, exercise more.  Simple to say, but not so simple to implement in your life.  Why?  Cravings.

Depending on whether we’re sweet-tooths or salt-savorers, cravings often crack our willpower, buckled by tempting taste sensations.

Recognize these cravings when they arise and put them to bed with supplements that help to reduce them.  Even better, take them before the cravings arrive.  Supplements known to reduce cravings (especially sugar-rushes) include chromium picolinate (i.e. 200 to 600 mcg per day), L-glutamine (i.e. 500 mcg per day), and L-Tyrosine (i.e. use as directed on bottle, usually taken at bedtime).

To help burn excess body fat, try choline and inositol (i.e. use as directed), lecithin capsules (i.e. 1,200 mg capsules to be taken three times a day), and vitamin C with bioflavonoids (i.e. 3,000 to 6,000 mg per day).  Vitamin C with bioflavonoids doesn’t help burn fat per se but rather stimulates the body’s metabolic rate.  And a revved up metabolism burns more calories.

Sources
Balch, Phyllis A. “Prescription for Nutritional Healing.” 4th Ed. Avery: New York.
books.google.com
timesofindia.indiatimes.com