Are Low-Carb Diets Healthy?

Are Low-Carb Diets Healthy?

Struggling with weight loss? Ever since Dr. Atkins introduced his revolutionary diet, low-carb regimens have been all the rage. These diets promise that you can lose weight, while still enjoying many of the foods you love (T-Bone steak anyone?). But some have warned that the low-carb craze isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. What should we be aware of when considering a farewell to pasta?

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Are Low-Carb Diets Healthy?
  • bagpiper2005
    What happened to me on a low-carb diet?

    Well...here I am, 5'10" and 230 pounds and I decide to drop some weight. I start eating a low-carb diet and exercising like a maniac. I won't deny the weight-loss success I had (10 pounds in the first month), but when I went in for a physical my blood pressure and lipid profiles were through the roof (160/100 and 258 total cholesterol).

    I decided then to go the other way...vegetarian. By doing so, I started dropping weight even more rapidly, my blood pressure went down 50 points systolic and 25 points diastolic, my total cholesterol came down to a nice 120 (with 58 of that being HDL). And guess what...no vitamin or mineral deficiencies that so many anti-vegetarians claim!

    So here I am now, happy at 170 pounds and still losing. I hope to get to 160 and maintain from there. Still working out like a maniac, still doing my thing. I'm so glad I abandoned the low-carb diet.

    - bagpiper2005US October 1, 2008 6:40PM

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    • bagpiper2005
      Also need to add...

      ...I drink a little bit of alcohol on a daily basis, which has been proven beneficial for cardiovascular health as well.

      - bagpiper2005US October 1, 2008 6:42PM

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    • Fredrick Hahn
      Why you lost more weight

      You lost more weight because you lost lean mass by becoming a vegetarian. Blood pressure has nothing to do with a low carb diet. You blame the diet? That is silly. Perhaps it was because you started exercising like a maniac.

      And did you that having a cholesterol level of 120 is VERY unhealthy?

      - Fredrick HahnUS October 31, 2008 2:27PM

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      • bagpiper2005
        Actually...

        ...my body fat % by skinfold measurements is only 12%.

        I didn't lose any lean muscle mass according to the skinfold tests. I still do make sure and eat a lot of protein in the form of vegetable proteins (nuts, legumes, tofu). I'm actually quite buff thank you.

        How can having a low cholesterol level be unhealthy when it's LDL that causes atherosclerosis to begin with? How can it be unhealthy when I have unusually high HDL concentration? My doctor has repeatedly told me that I'm one of her healthiest patients.

        And yes, I blame the diet for my blood pressure. Obviously when I came off of it my blood pressure went down (50/25 points to be exact), and that's increasing the intensity and duration of my exercise (about two hours a day at an extremely cardio-intense workout). My resting pulse is between about 48 and 52 beats per minute, if that tells you how healthy my heart really is.

        - bagpiper2005US October 31, 2008 3:01PM

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    • expataddie
      Too Low Cholesterol

      Dear Bagpiper, total cholesterol below 160 puts you at increased risk of stroke! Mine used to be 133 (when I ate low- fat ), but I'm much happier with my tot chol = 188 and my tot chol/HDL = 2.4, and my disgustingly high-fat diet! I'm glad the vegetarian WOE is working for you weight-wise, but don't fool yourself that your cholesterol numbers are good.

      - expataddieID April 9, 2009 3:41AM

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  • Dr Bruce Rengers
    Dr. Bruce Rengers
    Bruce Rengers has received degrees in nutrition from Utah State University (BS), the University of California, Davis (MS), and Colorado State University (PhD).... More

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