Carbnivore - Low Carbs Diets

Low Carbs Diets

Hello, Mr. or Ms. Carbnivore! If you're a carbnivore (defined as someone who's a carb eater more than a meat eater) you might have tried a low carbs diet only to find it wasn't for you. And that's fine. But did you ever wonder why it was so hard to stick to it?

Why Low Carb Diets are Losing Popularity

Simply put, there are two main reasons why low carbs diets are losing popularity:

Boredom
Health risks

The first issue is boredom. This is particularly true for people who love carbs. At first, you think it's going to be just fine. You might love your carbs, but you also like meat, eggs and cheese. You've just shied away from those foods for years thinking they were bad for you and caused high cholesterol. But then you see people on these low carbs diets who get to eat all the meat, eggs and cheese they like and they're losing a lot of weight! You figure it can't be that bad, so you go for it. You scour bookstores and even the Internet to figure out which of the many low carbs diets is right for you. Then you start.

What you didn't bargain for is a bunless cheeseburger. And breakfasts without toast, hash browns, pancakes or biscuits. And not getting even a baked potato with that steak. You just get steak and a salad (no dressing). Yum. But you persevere. You learn to like quiche and omelettes and foods you never even thought you'd try like meal replacement bars and shakes. (Why do they call these things "shakes" anyway? They're as thin as water!) Finally one day, when you're constipated, nauseated, grouchy, have bad breath and a headache, you throw in the towel and give up on low carbs diets. Within a few days, you're no longer constipated, you're no longer grouchy, you have fresh breath, your headache's gone and you're no longer nauseated. Coincidence? No. These are all side effects of low carbs diets. (Specifically, ketosis. This is the state your body is in when it burns fat.)

You see, low carb diets have many side effects. Besides those listed above, if you're on a low carb diet for a long time, you run the risk of the following conditions:

Kidney stones - This happens when your body starts to burn protein for fuel instead of carbs or fat. Uric acid is released in your blood stream due to too much protein and passes through your kidneys, and uric acid causes kidney stones to form.
Cancer - Why? Because of the nutrients you miss out on when you cut fruits and vegetables out of your diet. It helps to take a multivitamin supplement and a fiber supplement, but you still miss out on major antioxidants.
Osteoporosis - Most people stop drinking milk when they go on a low carb diet. They think it has too many carbs, especially if you drink the recommended amount. However, there is a new brand of milk that's got low carbs (only 3 grams a cup) and it has all the calcium of regular milk. A calcium supplement will help too.

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