Low-Carb-High-Fat (Ketogenic) and Low-Carb-High-Protein diets are the latest diet craze nowadays. They may both promise fast weight loss but there may also be side effects that proponents of these diet systems don’t tell you about.
Low-Carb-High-Fat (Ketogenic) Deplete Healthy Glycogen Stores
Glycogen is stored glucose and it’s stored in your liver and muscles for a quick energy release when required. When glycogen stores are depleted, your body may suffer from dehydration. Most of the weight you lose in the first couple of weeks in a ketogenic diet is actually water and muscle, not fat.
Glycogen Store Depletion Leads to Early Fatigue
When there is not enough glycogen stored in your muscles, they tire easily, making exercise uncomfortable. When you tire easily, you don’t feel like doing intense exercises. When you don’t exercise properly, your caloric expenditure dips together with your basal metabolic rate. Low carb diets may lead to weight gain instead of the other way around.
Glycogen Store Depletion Leads to Muscle Loss
The process of muscle loss is called atrophy and this is most likely due to the fact that glycogen is your muscles’ fuel of choice during movement. When there’s not enough glycogen, muscles use protein and fat for fuel and the body goes catabolic, breaking down muscle tissues to feed its own movement. That’s why bodybuilders or those that want to attain a strong physique avoid diets that significantly limit carb intake.
Low Carb Diets May Not Be Healthy
Ketogenic diet systems, for example, promote the consumption of high levels of fat to make up for the lack of carb intake. This includes saturated fat which, according to decades of research, can lead to a variety of medical conditions like strokes, heart diseases, kidney and gall stones, certain cancers, arthritic symptoms, and a lot more. Although fat is a necessity in every diet, it should be in moderation, and should be composed of mostly healthy fats.
Low carb diets may also lack in fiber since you tend to consume animal based food to get the ‘recommended’ amount of protein and/or fat. Fiber has been proven to decrease the risk of some cancers, especially in the digestive tract. The body also needs nutrients and antioxidants than can only come from fruits, whole grains, and legumes – all of which are limited in the low carb diet systems.
So before you jump into the low carb diet bandwagon, you may want to consider these things first.
