Nine Reasons Why High Protein Low Carb Diets Are Not an Optimal Choice

 

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Low carbohydrate diets have been around since the 1970s. These high protein weight loss plans have recently gained huge popularity as can be seen by the massive amount of books, advertisements, foods and entire stores dedicated to the subject. While some of these diets restrict the amount of carbohydrates you are allowed others prohibit them all together.

Despite their popularity high protein, low carb diets have several disadvantages. Here are nine reasons you should avoid them.

Diets that emphasize restricting your intake of carbohydrates also deplete the healthy glycogen, which is the glucose that is stored in your liver and muscles. When you deplete your body’s supply of glycogen your body will dehydrate. This immediate water loss it why dieters report seeing results so quickly.

Secondly, the drainage of your body’s glycogen causes dieters to have less energy. Glycogen is broken down to make glucose to supply your body with fuel, without it you will feel tired and sluggish and are less likely to exercise as a result.

The depletion of glycogen also contributes to loss of muscles or muscle atrophy. Without the fuel created by the break down of glycogen, the muscle fibers contract, making it difficult to maintain muscle tone. In addition, without carbohydrates to make fuel your body will begin to use fat and protein which are found in your bodies muscles.

The next reason to avoid low carb, high protein diets is because it may give you a saggy appearance. Because you muscles have a difficult time maintaining tone they begin to sag, causing your skin to sag as well.

Also, your loss of muscles may cause your metabolism to slow down. This means you will have to work much harder to burn the same amount of calories.

Another reason to avoid these low carb diets is that most people regain the weight they lost during the diet and then some once they’ve returned to their normal eating habits. It is difficult to maintain a low carbohydrate diet for very long because of how tired it makes you. Once you begin your normal eating habits again you will immediately gain back all of the water weight that you initially lost. In addition, because the diet has slowed down your metabolism, your body can burn fewer calories than it could previously.

The seventh reason to avoid low carb, high protein diets is because of their long term health effects. This diet requires that you eat a large amount of animal products and saturated fats. This will lead to health problems including heart disease, strokes, kidney stones, and certain types of cancer. You eating habits on this diet may also cause high cholesterol and hypertension. A low carb diet may also lead to gout, which is a painful swelling of the joints. A high-protein diet may also increase the risk for osteoporosis, or a weakening of the bones in women and men.

Also, low carb diets lack fiber. Animal products possess no fiber, unlike plant products, which are rich in fiber. The lack of fiber may cause heart problems, digestive disorders, constipation, and other bowel disorders.

The ninth reason to avoid this highly popular low carbohydrate, high protein diet is because it may cause bad breath. When your body is in a state of ketosis it increases its production of acetones causing your breath to smell badly.

In summary despite the mass popularity of low carb diets there are plenty of reasons to avoid them. Carbohydrates are a necessary part of a healthy diet, like any other food group moderation should be the key factor in determining the amount you consume.