3 Benefits of Low-Carb Eating

Over the past few years, scientists have started suggesting that weight gain is largely linked to high consumption of sugar and carbs, as well as low levels of activity. Fat is not the main offender, as people used to think. Eating a low-carb diet can have many benefits for your weight and energy levels, as well as an overall positive impact on how you feel.

There are many benefits of a low carb meal plan. These benefits include cutting sugar, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing your appetite. Cutting carbs can be great for your health. 

1. It helps cut out added sugar: A lot of the time, foods that are high in carbohydrates are the foods with flour and sugar in them. Cookies, donuts, cakes, bagels, and muffins are all baked goods that are naturally high in carbs because of the flour used to make them. They also are filled with plenty of added sugar, making them terrible for your health. By cutting down on your intake of things with naturally high carbohydrate levels, you’ll end up reducing your added sugar too. This can help stabilize your blood sugar and energy levels throughout the day.

2. Your blood pressure can go down: Studies have shown that diets low in carbs and added sugar are can help obese and overweight people lose weight, as well as drop the blood-pressure to a healthy level. In fact, some research suggests that low-carb diets decrease blood pressure even more significantly than drugs. Over time, high blood pressure can cause stress on the arteries, which can lead to much worse conditions, such as heart attacks. For people looking to return their blood pressure to normal, eating fewer than 20 grams of carbs per day could significantly improve health.

3. You will experience decreased appetite: One bad side-effect of many diets is that people get hungrier than normal. When you cut carbs though, you’ll experience a lessened appetite, which leads to decreased consumption of calories. Of course, you still need to ensure your body is getting the proper fuel, but eating less can benefit people who struggle with being overweight or obese.

Why do people decide to go on a low carb diet?

Besides having direct benefits on your health and weight, lowering your intake of carbohydrates can actually have a positive impact on your mood and energy levels. Many people find that they are stuck in a loop of feeling tired and hungry, eating a sugary snack, feeling better for a bit, then crashing again quickly. After you eat a snack or meal high in carbs, your blood sugar levels go up. Your pancreas has to create insulin to deposit into the bloodstream in order to lower the sugar levels back to normal. This causes a huge spike and drop in your blood sugar levels throughout the day, leading to cycles of energy and exhaustion. With diets higher in protein and fat, you experience a much slower release of sugars throughout the day as your body breaks down the amino acids in the protein. This way, you have a steady supply of energy throughout the day, plus you will stay feeling full for longer.

What foods to avoid on a low carb meal plan:

Many fruits are full of sugar. While it is natural, unprocessed sugar, it still causes your blood sugar levels to spike. Avoid fruits like bananas, apples, pineapples, and oranges. Blackberries and blueberries are the best for a low carb diet. Starchy foods are also naturally carbohydrate-dense. Corn, potatoes, and beans are best to avoid if you’re trying to cut out as many carbs as possible. While these things are contributors, the biggest culprit of all is wheat. Wheat is full of carbs, and it goes into bread, cakes, muffins, cookies, crackers- pretty much any baked good you can name. Cutting out wheat is often the hardest for people because it comes in some of our favorite treats. Once you can get yourself away from sugary cravings, cutting out wheat becomes easy, and you can always find ways around it.

Although it may be tricky at first, eating a diet low in carbs can actually make you feel much better in the long run. Once you have more energy, you’ll feel more motivated to get moving, which will only help in your wellness journey. Making a small investment now will give you a huge out for your health in the future.