Whether as a diet to lose a few pounds or as a long-term nutritional concept, low carb is already on everyone's lips. However, the approach requires that you deal intensively with your diet in order to avoid health consequences. Thus, the low-carbohydrate lifestyle is probably not suitable for everyone.
A healthy middle ground is the reduction of carbohydrate intake throughout the day . So you start the day with a healthy breakfast of complex carbohydrates and fiber, and reduce carbohydrates with every subsequent meal. After all, dinner should hardly contain any carbohydrates.
Before you start your low carb diet, there are a few things you should know:
What is low carb?
Low carb refers to a nutritional concept in which the carbohydrate content in the daily diet is reduced .
While with a balanced diet, about 50% of the energy is absorbed via carbohydrates , with low carb this value is usually between 10 and 40%. Instead, fat is preferred as an energy source over carbohydrates.
Low carb is often used as a dietary form to lose unwanted fat deposits. However, some see cutting carbohydrates as a long-term diet .
The most radical low-carb concepts include, for example, the Atkins diet or the ketogenic diet. Only 20-60 g of carbohydrates are eaten daily. With a daily calorie requirement of 2000 kcal, this results in a carbohydrate content of 4-12%.
Why abstain from carbohydrates?
A low-carbohydrate diet helps to keep blood sugar levels constant . So if you do without carbohydrates and eat a protein- and fat-rich diet instead , you will stay full longer . In addition, low-carb diets are also less likely to cause food cravings.
It is also believed that the body builds up less fat reserves when carbohydrate intake is reduced. Because when the carbohydrate store is full, the body stores excess energy in the form of fat.
The same applies vice versa: If the body needs energy, but the carbohydrate stores are empty due to the low-carbohydrate diet, the body draws on its fat reserves.
So low carb sounds promising as a dietary concept.
Do we need carbohydrates?
In short, carbohydrates are sugar molecules that are considered important building blocks of our cells . Most of the energy from carbohydrates is used for vital body functions . This includes, among other things, breathing or heartbeat. Most of the energy is spent on brain activity.
Nevertheless, we could
theoretically live completely without carbohydrates
.
Because unlike protein and fat, carbohydrates are not essential. That is, they are the only macronutrient that the body can obtain from protein itself. Carbohydrates do not have to be absorbed through food like fat and protein.
Is Low Carb Dangerous?
However, a radical reduction of carbohydrates also has its disadvantages:
Carbohydrates as important fiber suppliers
Carbohydrates contain important fiber and vitamins that our body needs to stay healthy. So completely abstaining from carbohydrates in the long term is not a good idea.
Instead, it is recommended to cover about 40-50% of your daily energy needs with carbohydrates. Use complex carbohydrates to provide your body with sufficient fiber and vitamins.
A
good choice are, for example
,
oatmeal
,
whole grains
as well as porridge or low-sugar
muesli
.
Legumes
should also
not be missing from your diet, as they also contain a lot of fiber and micronutrients such as vitamins.
Low carb means high fat
In a balanced diet, carbohydrates serve as the main source of energy for the body. This means that the drastic reduction in a low-carb diet can quickly make you feel energyless, especially at the beginning of the change in diet .
This is where fat comes in. To prevent energy losses, you should increase the fat content to 50-60% in a low-carb diet . In addition to carbohydrates, fat is the second major source of energy for our body . For comparison: The recommended fat content in a balanced diet is 30%.
However, caution should be exercised with increased fat intake. If you often reach for animal fats , this will have a negative effect on your health in the long term. Your blood lipid level rises, and at the same time the risk of heart and circulatory diseases such as heart attack and stroke.
Those who opt for a low-carb diet should therefore pay more attention to choosing healthy fats. These can be found, for example , in flaxseeds , nuts , chia seeds , avocado or olive oil . On the other hand, butter, sausages or palm fat should be avoided.
The Healthy Mean: Low(er) Carb
It can make sense to reduce the carbohydrate content in your diet if you want to get rid of a few kilos.
It is important to cover the lower carbohydrate content with complex carbohydrates . Only then will you benefit from the advantages of the low-carb diet.
A popular variant of the low(er) carb diet, for example, is the omission of carbohydrates in the evening . This allows your body to gain energy from food during the day and to draw on its fat reserves at night.
So start the day full of energy in the morning and provide your body with healthy carbohydrates that fill you up for a long time. During the day, you reduce your carbohydrate intake and leave it out completely in the evening.
Still looking for a low carb breakfast? Then try our Lower Carb Sport Muesli with raspberries, almonds and coconut . With a 60% lower carbohydrate content than comparable oat-based breakfast products, it is therefore ideal for a low-carb diet
This allows you to easily achieve a carbohydrate content of less than 50%, but you do not have to do without the energy of carbohydrates.
Which carbohydrates are allowed with low carb?
The following table shows which carbohydrates you can eat in moderation with a low-carb diet , and which ones you should eliminate from your diet. Many of the recommended carbohydrate sources also contain healthy fat and protein. This means you are well prepared for your low-carb diet.
| Allowed Carbohydrates | Occasionally allowed carbohydrates | Not allowed carbohydrates |
| Oatmeal | Potato | White Bread |
| Millet | Sweet potato | Pasta |
| Buckwheat | Wholemeal bread | Cake |
| Nuts , seeds | Bulgur, Couscous | Candy |
| Berries (raspberries, blueberries), grapefruit | Bananas, apples, grapes | Fruit yoghurt |
| Leaf lettuce, spinach | Oranges, mango, pineapple | Grape sugar |
| Tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, broccoli | Dried fruits , dates | Snack biscuits (chips, crackers) |
| Cabbage vegetables | Carrots | Long grain rice |
| Milk, plant-based milk alternatives | Alcohol | |
| Cottage cheese, plant-based yogurt alternatives | ||
| Feta, goat cheese, mozzarella |
