I’m on holiday this week and have set up the blog to provide you with some reading in my absence. However, that does mean a bonus blog-watch rather than the usual Wednesday article.
I’ve often mentioned that I follow a low-carbohydrate diet. I find it helps me to control my figure and was, to a certain extent, a conscious decision to help me meet this aim. However, my low-carbohydrate levels have also resulted in part from my move to a Paleolithic diet. The processed and “Neolithic” carbohydrates and potatoes that I have taken out of my diet tend to have much higher carbohydrate levels than vegetables and fruit.
Chicken salad - living the low-carb lifestyle
Listed below are some links to interesting studies, articles and thoughts on low carbohydrate diets.
- Starting with a scientific line of questioning, a paper published last year looked at current research into low-carbohydrate diets and concluded that low-carbohydrate diets can be a viable option for weight loss (comparable to fat restricted diets). There is also some evidence that low-carbohydrate diets can be beneficial for glycemic control, triglyceride levels and HDL cholesterol.
- Chris at Conditioning Research also put together a summary of some important low-carbohydrate diet information, including a link to some research by Chris Gardner which again showed that a low-carbohydrate diet gave better weight loss a blood test results than the Ornish, Zone and LEARN diets.
- Dr. Davis posted up the results of Gretchen’s experiment during which she followed a low-fat diet for a day followed by a low-carbohydrate diet for a day. She measured both blood glucose and triglyceride levels throughout both days. Dr Davis does draw some conclusions and the results of the experiment are interesting, however I would be hesitant to place too much weight on any conclusions, even those that are favourable to the low-carbohydrate diet. One day is not really long enough to know the long-lasting effect for any diet.
- Next up is a viewpoint published on Kurt Harris’s PaNu site about why there are potentially problems with resting your arguments on ethnology. I’m particularly interested in the point that relying on studies of tribes, like the Kitavans, who have a reasonably high-carbohydrate diet doesn’t necessarily mean we can apply the same diet approach to people with a different genetic make-up and expect the same results. For a bit more background to this, I also suggest reading an article that Kurt posted up: “I’m so bored with the Kitavans”.
- An article on Iron Man Magazine summarises the many reasons why, even when you have a low-carbohydrate diet, you may still want to consider taking in a higher level of carbohydrates just before resistance training. Some of the reasons here are the same reasons that I, and many other advocates of low-carbohydrate diets (such as Robb Wolf), still have a higher carbohydrate meal in advance of training.
- Moving slightly sideways from the low-carbohydrate theme, a recent study showed that reducing saturated fat in diet gives some favourable responses, but when it is replaced with refined carbohydrates then the atherogenic dyslipidemia associated with insulin resistance and obesity that includes increased triglycerides, small LDL particles, and reduced HDL cholesterol can be exacerbated. So it seems that for better health you should be looking to limit your intake of refined carbohydrates.
- Two new studies seemed to show that low-carbohydrate diets raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and that high-fat diets can spike stroke risk in women. However, Jimmy Moore, a supporter of low-carbohydrate diets devoted an entire post to obliterating the claims.
- Finally, here’s a video that shows that even back in the 1950s doctors were aware that low-carbohydrate diets are good for weight loss:
I’d be interested to know your thoughts on whether you think these are persuasive reasons to convert to a low-carbohydrate diet.
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