Warns Dietician and Nutritionist Avni Kaul
People following a low-carb diet has become a fashion. Post the popularity of keto, low-carb diet is the new trend of most of the people who try to lose their weight. But all the body shift that we are witnessing with this new diet may not be all that safe. A low-carb diet can speed ageing and lead to a shorter life span also. And it is true.
Nutritionist Avni Kaul warns that a low-carb diet is effective in decreasing visceral fat and halting blood sugar spike but it has to be clearly monitored by the doctor or a nutritionist.
Like the weight loss, people increasingly follow ‘diet trends’ fads that are endorsed on social media by celebrities, there is a constant rise in eating disorders as well as a number of other health-related problems, which not many of you are not aware of.
You need to understand that carbohydrates are essential to maintain the energy levels up.
Here Delhi’s top nutritionist Avni Kaul talks about a low carbohydrate diet may speed your ageing and do more harm.
Fatigue And Sluggishness
Carbohydrates are the major source of energy fuel for your body. The body burns carbohydrates to produce energy and if you follow a diet that is very low in carbs, then you disallow the body from that source. You will feel sluggishness, fatigue, light-headedness, headaches, and weakness as some of the side-effects of your low-carb diet. Frequent light-headedness is an indication that your carb intake levels are dangerously low.
Constipation
Good carbohydrates in the form of fiber are also essential for digestive health. This is because fiber which is digested slower than other nutrients acts as food for the healthy bacteria present in your gut and in its absence the gut flora becomes imbalanced. Constipation is one of the ugliest side-effects of low-carb diets. Your bowel movement is disturbed due to the lack of soluble and insoluble fiber in your diet. Some other digestive side-effects are bloating and diarrhea.
Mood Swings
A hungry mind gets easily irritable. People on low-carb diets feel irritated more frequently and experience anxiety and mood swings. This happens due to the decrease of glucose in your body. Lower motivation and the depressive mood is another dangerous side-effect of having a low-carb diet.
Higher Risk Of Diabetes
Low-carb diets increase the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes This happens because diets low in carbohydrates and rich in fat can decrease the body’s response to insulin – the hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.
Both excessive consumption and abandoning carbohydrates from your daily meals could be bad for your health. The idea of maintaining a healthy weight and mind is to find a middle-path between following carb-rich and low-carb diets. Also, choose good quality carbs like complex carbohydrates like whole wheat, quinoa, steel cut oats , rice, Indian millets like ragi, bajra, jowl, amaranth instead of simple and processed carbs, to remain healthy.
Increase In Hunger Pangs
Low-carbohydrate diets highers the frequency of hunger pangs, as carbohydrates are the most fulfilling nutrients in your meals. This is due to the fact that they are digested slower than other nutrients and hence, keep your blood sugar levels under control. This is one of the reasons why low-carb diets are not very viable, as people tend to cheat on them more often.
Low Carb Diet Can Speed Up Ageing
There was a study conducted in Japan on some mice. In which a group of mice was given a low carb diet while the other group got a well-balanced diet. It was observed that the mice on the low-carb diet, in which they got only 20% of total calories from carbohydrates, was seen as equivalent to a human being skipping staples in three regular meals.
They also found that the low-carb diet group died an average of 8 to 9 weeks ahead of the group on a balanced diet.
In Buenos Aires, 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games Nutritionist Avni Kaul was the Advisor (Nutrition) from India. She is a Gold-medallist master’s science graduate from the University of Delhi in the subject of Food and Nutrition. Avni Kaul is a diet and nutrition columnist in some of India's leading newspapers and magazines like -
Columnist at TimesNow
Columnist at NDTV Food
Columnist at Grazia
Columnist at Deccan Herald
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