An Introduction to Low Carb Diet plans

Low carbohydrate (or low carb) fat loss programs have really increased in popularity over the last ten years or so. This is in large part due to the achievements of the ever-popular Atkins diet plan and the low carb diets that followed it such as the South Beach front diet. But you dont need the latest book or even high priced diet program to abide by a low carb diet. All you require is some basic dieting knowledge and among several other low carb free diet plans that could be found on the web.
Low carb diets are typically lacking in carbohydrates (duh!) and high in fats and proteins. How low the carbohydrates are supposed to be depends within the particular diet plan. Typically, low carb diet plans start you off intended for a week or two of very lower carbs. Meals typically consist of meats (lots of meat!) and vegetables with some zero carb sauces or dressings; not any dairy, grains, or fruit allowed. Next certain carbs are slowly added for the meals but never at a high percentage. Typically, carbs will be the cause of 5% - 20% of your calories on a low carb diet.
Why low carbs? When you consume carbohydrates it raises your blood mister level. This in turn causes ones body to release insulin. It is blood insulins job to get that sweets (glucose) out of the bloodstream and into your cells. First it tries putting glucose into muscles and in the event the muscles are full of glucose insulin shots pumps the remaining glucose into fatty cells. While the insulin is doing its work your body will shed the glucose in your bloodstream 1st before trying to burn your body fat. So, if you can keep the glucose level low in the bloodstream, insulin wont put that glucose in your fat cells and the body has very little glucose in the bloodstream to use for energy. Therefore, the body should use something else, like fat, burning for energy. This is the concept of low carb dieting.
So now that you know basic principles of low carb diets you know very well what to look for when searching free of charge low carb diet plans on the world wide web or diet books in the bookstall. The low carb diet plan must steer you far away from starchy carbs like white bread, white rice, and pasta and encourage you to consume leafy green vegetables to get your fiber, vitamins, and minerals your body requires without spiking the glucose levels.

One final thing to take under consideration is that a low carb diet totally goes against the USDAs food pyramid guidelines. Although low carb diet plans are popular modern research has not determined whether they ar healthy or not. There are difficulty with the increased levels of fat using up (particularly saturated fat consumption) and its effect on cholesterol in a low carb diet. You should do the research and check with your doctor to see if low carb diets are best for your family.

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The Basic Premise

I come from the perspective that the healthiest diet and circumstances for human beings, body and mind, will be the ones we are evolved for. In practical terms, that means the diet and habits of our Paleolithic ancestors. More recently I've focused my personal research on the nutritional aspects of this theory, and that is where I will begin with my blog posts. Paleolithic psychology is an academic science in it's own right. My particular interest is in where molecular biology, nutrition, and optimal brain function meet.

Let's begin with diet. Ancient humans ate wild game (including marrow and organ meats), shellfish, fish, tubers, green leafy vegetables, eggs, fruits, and nuts. Notably absent are the vegetable oils and highly processed foods created in the last 50 or so years. Grains (corn, wheat, barley, rye, oats, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, etc.), legumes (red and black and pinto beans, legumes, garbanzo beans, peanuts), nightshades (white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant) and milk products are also relatively new foods to the human palate.

Anthropological evidence and epidemiological studies of modern and past hunter gatherers, as well as agrarian societies of the last 10,000 years, show us that the physical health of hunter gatherers far surpasses the health of grain-based societies (1). They lived longer (until the last 100 years and the invention of antibiotics and vaccines), and were free of diseases such as osteoporosis, metastatic cancer, and tooth decay, and modern hunter gatherers who eat traditional diets do not have diabetes, hypertension, obesity, atherosclerosis, acne, osteoporosis, dementia, or any of the most common cancers that we suffer from in the West.

Traditional agrarian societies were also relatively healthy (2), but they did not consume white flour, vegetable oils, refined sugar, or pasteurized milk products. In addition, they used a number of soaking and fermenting techniques to make grains and legumes healthier. And while some grains may be acceptable after preparation, I believe there may be no hope for wheat.

It is only in our modern world that we have access to entirely invented foods, chemical sugars, processed oils, quick rise breads, and genetically modified soy and wheat. While I will come up with a lot of biochemical smoke to pinpoint the fires in these nouveau foods that I believe are unhealthy, I do that out of intellectual interest rather than necessity. I already know that humans who did not eat those foods were healthier than we are. We'll see if we can find some good evidence that they were happier, too.

The vast majority of our calories should come from foods that are known to be healthy - grassfed beef, pastured chickens and other poultry and their eggs, pastured game meats and pigs, locally grown or organically grown produce, wild fish from unpolluted waters, coconuts and other tree nuts, and olive oil. Fermented and full fat (especially raw, if you are not immunocompromised - very young children and babies, pregnant women, etc.) dairy is also acceptable. Anything that has ingredients you cannot readily pronounce without a background in biochemistry should be, for the most part, avoided, as best you can. If you are a cook and have the time and industry to prepare grains and legumes as they should be prepared, then have at it. Don't worry, more details about the specifics will follow!

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A Paleolithic Body and Brain

The next phase of medicine is coming, I hope. One where doctors will help people find solutions rather than medicate away the symptoms. The state of our health is tenuous, and our longevity is linked to a number of prescription drugs and expensive medical procedures. Most of us have to decide whether we want to die of heart disease or cancer. In the mean time, we live with disability at the end of our lives, often for many years.

I work in one of the most maligned and least understood fields of medicine - Psychiatry. My job is to help people feel better, and to accomplish this task I look at medical, genetic, psychological, and social influences on a person's life, and hopefully come up with a plan to correct glaring problems. A lot of the time, I prescribe medication to help the process along. I'm hopeful that an increased understanding of the brain and paleolithic nutrition will greatly reduce my need to rely on prescriptions in order to help people.

The brain is the most complicated and therefore vulnerable organ in the body. Almost any illness, medication, and nutritional deficit can show up first as vague (or not so vague) psychological or neurological symptoms. We are not supposed to be fatigued, scattered, depressed, or have wild aggression and mood swings on a regular basis. We are meant to be sharp, serene, and generally happy. If we look hard enough, I'm sure that science and common sense will give us some answers.

Our current state of health, by the numbers:

Mental Health

Cancer

Heart Disease

Diabetes

I want to do better.

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