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Low
carbohydrates (carbs) foods
What
is mean by carb content of a food?
Summary:
We have already discussed the terms like low-fat
and fat-free in diet foods in a previous
article. In this article, let us take the
mystery out of carbohydrates (or carbs) and see
what is really meant by low-carbohydrates foods
and net carbs.
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Carbohydrates have gotten a bad reputation lately. With the popularity of the low carb diets such as Atkins diet, the
Zone
diet, the Hampton's Diet,
South Beach Diet
and others, many of us are counting our carbohydrates. The food industry has responded to this demand by creating low-carb foods.
Low-carb foods are not necessarily low-fat or low in calories or higher in nutritious value. They may be low in just carbohydrates. In fact many of these foods are high in fat and calories. In other cases, the portions are smaller. For example, some low-carb breads when compared on a weight basis, are as carbohydrate dense as the regular bread, but per slice or piece, they have less carbs because the slice size is smaller. |
 Net carbs
This is a term that makes a lot of sense to the Atkins diet followers. It indicates the content of carbohydrates that do not come form
sugars. If you are not following a diet, such as the
Atkins, this does not mean anything.
(Related article:
Lower your sugar consumption)
Which diet foods are better?
This is a question only you can answer. Most nutritionists recommend having small or normal portions of the original foods, and in the case of calorie dense foods such as cheesecake or French fries, have small portions sporadically only.
In the US, we tend to take things to the extreme and when we read that a food is low fat, diet or low cal or has any similar terms attached to it, we interpret it as “We can eat more and as often as we want. It is good, it is healthy, and it is not going to make me fat.” This is simply not the case, and in reality, if we are trying to
control or maintain our weight and/or health, it may have a totally opposite effect.
In a study
published in The Journal of Nutrition, the researchers
found that cutting back carbs and consuming more proteins
leads to
higher weight loss and preventing muscle loss.
Related articles: Diet
foods to lose weight
3 hour diet review
Michael Pollan diet |
