I don't get this no carb thing... don't I (people) need carbs to for my body to function properly?

[Anonymous]

Doesn't one have to eat carbs to function, to live? Aren't they a nutrition building block? I've read (mostly here) that people dropped weight doing no carb diets, but ultimately, isn't that unhealthy?

What carbs can I eat? Aren't fruits and veggies carbs? I must be able to eat them? And bread? I can't imagine cutting it out completely.

TIA

[Anonymous]

no carb people skip breads, etc.
they eat fruits and veggies

[Anonymous]

Agree with pp.

Op, google "healthy carbs".

[Anonymous]

OP, technically you don't need carbs, your body can convert protein (and fat) into glucose, which is necessary for your body. But it's pretty inefficient, which is why people lose weight on ketogenic diets. A small amount of protein is converted to glucose, while dietary and stored fat is used by your body, rather than dietary carbs. Fat burning, rather than sugar burning, as they say.

It works great for some people, okay for others, and not at all for others.

[Anonymous]

I swear the exact same post was put up over a year ago. I remember it because a friend of mine phrased it exactly the same way when asking me about it. Was that you or are you new?

Well, either way - here's what it is. When people say "no carb," or more accurately "low carb," what they mean is that they've cut starchy bulk items from their diet - rice, bread, potatoes. Most diets have starchy filler - it's cheap, stores well, a high source of calories. It makes sense that people ate it historically. But now we eat too much of it and it happens to be a nutrient sparse type of food anyway so you really don't loose much of anything when you cut it out of your diet; instead you free up room for more nutrient dense foods like vegetables and fruits.

So a low carb diet removes the starchy bulk and replaces it with extra veggies. The sweets get replaced with a limited amount of fresh fruit. For those who do continue to consume caffeine and want some sweetness in their drinks, they stick with natural sources of sweetness rather than refined - so things like real maple syrup, agave, and honey. You still get some carbs in your diet - it's not a zero carb approach - but you've cut the food categories that are simple pure carbs and nothing more, ie empty calories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I swear the exact same post was put up over a year ago. I remember it because a friend of mine phrased it exactly the same way when asking me about it. Was that you or are you new?

Well, either way - here's what it is. When people say "no carb," or more accurately "low carb," what they mean is that they've cut starchy bulk items from their diet - rice, bread, potatoes. Most diets have starchy filler - it's cheap, stores well, a high source of calories. It makes sense that people ate it historically. But now we eat too much of it and it happens to be a nutrient sparse type of food anyway so you really don't loose much of anything when you cut it out of your diet; instead you free up room for more nutrient dense foods like vegetables and fruits.

So a low carb diet removes the starchy bulk and replaces it with extra veggies. The sweets get replaced with a limited amount of fresh fruit. For those who do continue to consume caffeine and want some sweetness in their drinks, they stick with natural sources of sweetness rather than refined - so things like real maple syrup, agave, and honey. You still get some carbs in your diet - it's not a zero carb approach - but you've cut the food categories that are simple pure carbs and nothing more, ie empty calories.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, technically you don't need carbs, your body can convert protein (and fat) into glucose, which is necessary for your body. But it's pretty inefficient, which is why people lose weight on ketogenic diets. A small amount of protein is converted to glucose, while dietary and stored fat is used by your body, rather than dietary carbs. Fat burning, rather than sugar burning, as they say.

It works great for some people, okay for others, and not at all for others.

What you're really trying to say - if I may correct you - is that "technically you don't need starchy carbohydrates". By that I mean white pasta, bread and rice. You do however need complex carbs if you want a balanced diet. That means limited whole grains, with lots of veggies, fresh fruit and legumes.

Otherwise your statement basically says that all you need to eat are animal derived foods - meat, eggs, dairy - ONLY. Good luck with that. Not only will you become horribly constipated, your cholesterol will be through the roof, your breath will be horrific and you will be lacking in most of the vital nutrients your body needs in order to function properly. Nutrients found only in plant derived foods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, technically you don't need carbs, your body can convert protein (and fat) into glucose, which is necessary for your body. But it's pretty inefficient, which is why people lose weight on ketogenic diets. A small amount of protein is converted to glucose, while dietary and stored fat is used by your body, rather than dietary carbs. Fat burning, rather than sugar burning, as they say.

It works great for some people, okay for others, and not at all for others.

What you're really trying to say - if I may correct you - is that "technically you don't need starchy carbohydrates". By that I mean white pasta, bread and rice. You do however need complex carbs if you want a balanced diet. That means limited whole grains, with lots of veggies, fresh fruit and legumes.

Otherwise your statement basically says that all you need to eat are animal derived foods - meat, eggs, dairy - ONLY. Good luck with that. Not only will you become horribly constipated, your cholesterol will be through the roof, your breath will be horrific and you will be lacking in most of the vital nutrients your body needs in order to function properly. Nutrients found only in plant derived foods.

I don't think that's what PP is saying actually. While not the right choice for many, a super low carb / ketogenic diet has been used successfully to help control severe epilepsy, and may be useful for certain other conditions, for example I know they are currently studying it in relation to brain cancer.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet