This list of low carb diet benefits is for anyone who is still on the fence about starting a low carb diet.
The thing is that a lot of people hear the term ‘low carb diet’ and automatically think that they’ll be sacrificing all the joy and pleasure that they get from food.
This is simply not true.
Before we start to dispel the myths, however, if this is your first post and you don’t know what a low carb diet is, this FAQ will explain the low carb diet in less than 2 minutes. There’s also a great low carb diet guide for beginners.
However, if you already know what a low carb diet is, let’s talk about these rumors before we move on to the juicy stuff.
Top 4 Low Carb Diet Myths
Myth #1- A Low Carb Diet Will Reduce Physical Performance
First, let me ask you a question.
Did you know that wheat and rice were not staples in the American diet until the 18th century?
Before then, hunting and fishing were the primary sources of finding food. In addition, wild fruit, wild grains, and nuts were eaten when found, but ultimately, protein and fat were the main sources of energy.
This knowledge, along with other modern research and experiments[1], proves that a low carb diet is definitely a good option for athletes and other people who are physically active, once your body adapts to the diet.
However, if you are a physically active person, going on a really low carb diet like the keto diet cannot be a spontaneous decision.
Your body has to go through an adaptation process where it begins to accommodate the nutrient intake (especially for minerals like potassium), protein intake, and fat intake. It is during this period that people experience weakness and fatigue. This should reverse after a few weeks (usually 3), but that depends on your body.
The main restrictions of the low carb diet are that persons who sprint or do weight lifting would need more glycogen, so a super low carb diet would not be the best option. One option that they could try is carb cycling.
Myth #2- A Low Carb Diet is Bad for Your Heart
Low carb diets, especially the keto diet, requires you to eat more fats than you would eat regularly. This means that you are consuming more saturated fat and cholesterol, which doctors normally tell us to avoid.
So how can people be endorsing a diet where you can eat eggs, bacon, and cheese for breakfast?
When you correctly practice a low-carb diet, numerous studies [2, 3, 4, 5, 6] have shown that you have a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Let’s break down the low carb diet benefits for your cardiovascular system.
- Inflammation has a higher chance of decreasing
- Good cholesterol, or HDL, improves significantly
- Blood pressure is reduced
- Blood triglycerides are reduced
- There is lower insulin resistance
Or you can think about it another way.
A super low carb diet like the ketogenic diet burns fat instead of carbs for energy. Your body would store less fat, and it’s when too much fat is stored in your body that the problems begin.
Myth #3- A Low Carb Diet is a Crash or Fad Diet
This one was a bit surprising.
A fad diet, by definition, is one that endorses unhealthy eating and unbalanced meals with the promise of quick weight loss.
On the other hand, numerous studies [7] have been done on low carb diets and they have proven that the diet is, in fact, sustainable and effective for the long term. The weight loss that happens is as a result of consistency. You’ll read more about that in the low carb diet benefits below.
The low carb diet has also been popular for decades, with the first low carb diet book being published in 1863 (155 years ago). If it didn’t work, it wouldn’t be around for this long.
So all of that, combined with the fact that hundreds of people, including myself, have lost weight and gained confidence on this diet, disproves that myth.
Myth #4- A Low Carb Diet is Hard to Stick to
Because of the restrictive nature of the low carb diet, this is one of the main concerns that many people have.
And it’s true. A low carb diet IS hard to stick to. For some people.
The reason why some people have a hard time sticking to the diet is that they restrict their overall caloric intake to an amount that is too low. This is very different from restricting only your carb intake.
On a low carb diet, you can eat until you are full at every single meal without overeating, simply because of the type of food that you eat.
On a low-calorie diet, however, you are restricted to a certain amount of calories per day, and you have to stop eating when you reach the limit. It doesn’t matter if you’re still hungry.
Now that kind of diet is definitely hard to stick to. With a low carb diet, this is not the case.
With the right information, resources and low carb meal plans in place, you shouldn’t have a problem sticking to this diet for the long term if that’s your goal.
If you have more questions before we move on, here’s a low carb diet FAQ.
Now that we’ve squashed the myths, let’s move on to the low carb diet benefits.
We all know that one of the major benefits of a low carb diet is weight loss. Not just any weight either.
See, crash dieting can trick people into thinking that they are making progress, when in fact they are just losing water weight that can return in a heartbeat. Or as soon as they start eating carbs again.
A consistent low carb diet can help you to lose FAT, which is the true goal of low carb weight loss.
But that’s just one of the great things about this low carb lifestyle. Let’s move on to some other fascinating low carb diet benefits.
Top 10 Low Carb Diet Benefits
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Reduced Hunger
Due to the fact that you eat more healthy food and less processed or refined carbs, you will feel more satisfied during meals and this helps you to eat less.
The chain effect is that your appetite will be reduced and the higher protein content will also boost your metabolism.
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Reduced Sugar Cravings
Sugar addiction is a very common problem. Like any addiction, the only way to overcome it is to cleanse your body and refrain from future consumption of the item.
This low carb diet benefit is automatic because once you stop eating refined carbs, you lower the effects that they have on your body.
It will be hard at first, but your body will soon adapt like the wonderful machine that it is.
The combination of protein, fat, and nutrient-dense vegetables on a low carb diet means that you will increase your chances of being full for a longer time after meals, and thus you’ll be less likely to snack. Even if you do need a snack, here are some low carb ideas that are satisfying without being addictive.
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Less Need to Count Calories
When you have the right information about the number of carbs that you should eat on a low carb diet, it becomes easier to prepare your dishes without spending hours on meal planning.
Here’s a calculator that you can use find out how many carbohydrates you need so that you can start to reap the low carb diet benefits.
After this initial period of getting used to your macros, you’ll know how many carbs you need to eat based on your lifestyle and activity level. Then you can begin to increase or decrease them accordingly.
Counting calories also defeat the purpose of the diet because the goal isn’t to reduce the amount of food that you consume. The aim is to reduce the foods that don’t serve your lifestyle or your health goals.
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Consistent weight loss
We’ve established earlier that the high-quality foods that you’ll be eating will automatically result in fewer cravings and reduced hunger. This means that you’ll be eating less food without feeling like your being deprived. The end result of this is consistent weight loss. It also means that your weight will be more stable after you shed the excess fat.
Studies [6] show that even people who have had problems with weight loss due to metabolic reasons report that a low carb, high fat diet, or a ketogenic diet, has helped them to lose the stubborn weight.
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Preserve Lean Muscle
Because your body has changed its source of fuel from carbs to fat, it becomes better at allocating the nutrients you eat where they are most needed.
This means that fat will be used for energy, protein will be used for preserving your muscles, and the carbs that you eat will be mainly from green leafy vegetables. The main purpose of those carbs is to give your body the nutrients that it wouldn’t normally get from fats or proteins and to provide added energy for your organs.
This is one of the best low carb diet benefits because unlike a low-calorie diet, your body won’t feel like it’s being starved. ‘Starvation mode’ would cause it to break down proteins in your body to use for fuel.
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Decreases the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
As I’ve mentioned earlier in the low carb diet myths, low carb diets reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Multiple studies have shown that this happens for a couple of reasons, the main reason being that your body becomes more efficient at using fat for energy.
When your body uses fat for energy, it begins to burn both fat that is stored and fat that is being consumed daily. Having less fat being stored makes it less likely that arteries become blocked. This is good news for your cardiovascular system.
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Reduces Blood Pressure
Low carb diet benefits go way beyond weight loss and reduced cravings. Many people decide to use the low carb diet as a way to reduce their blood pressure in a healthy and natural way, instead of using medication [8].
A case study was done by researchers who used 146 people to test this theory. One half of the group was given a limited amount of carbohydrates per day, while the other half used blood pressure tablets.
The results were that nearly half of the group on the low carb diet had their blood pressure medication reduced or completely discontinued due to the effects of having fewer carbs.
The research concluded that while the weight loss benefit of the diet influenced this reduction of blood pressure, the diet itself was also a factor in the success of the study. You can read more about the research here.
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Restores Insulin Sensitivity
Low carb diets are easy for people with diabetes to stick to because the diet is versatile and it can be used effectively by persons with any type of diabetes [9].
People with Type 1 diabetes report that they experience a more stable blood sugar level, and people with Type 2 diabetes report sugar levels that are within a non-diabetic range. Both groups have achieved this without the use of (or limited use of) medication.
It works because lowering your sugar levels also lowers the need for insulin. This reduces insulin resistance, which is a step forward for those who want to reverse their diabetes.
Let’s Recap
There are many low carb diet benefits that go beyond weight loss. Some top low carb diet benefits include reduced hunger, reduced cravings and a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Just the constant level of energy that you’ll experience during the day should be a big motivator to give this diet a try.
You’ll see that it adds to your quality of life once you get used to it.
This low carb diet FAQ and the beginner’s guide to low carb diets are some great resources to get you started.
Cheers!