Recognizing the foods that you can eat on a low carb diet will help you stick to your diet plan much easily and more successfully. The kind of foods that you are allowed to eat may differ based on which diet plan you are following. South Beach, Atkins, or Protein Power, for instance, all have different rules and restrictions. There are also distinctions on the low carbs diet food you can eat depending on where you are in your diet plan. However, it will help to have a general view of the carb count in foods, to help you choose the right eating plan for you.
Firstly, let us understand the principle behind carbs or carbohydrates. These are food compounds which our body breaks down into simple sugars. While it is true that carbohydrates are essential in our body, not all carbs have equal importance. In fact, most of the carbs that people eat nowadays are not good for their health, especially considering how much of these carbs they eat.
Foods To Avoid On A Low Carb Diet
There are at least two types of carbs: the simple carbs and the complex carbs. Simple carbs are contained mainly in refined or processed foods such as sugar, white rice and white flour. As the term denotes, simple carbs are simplified forms of carbohydrates and the processes they pass through cause ample amounts of their nutritional value to be stripped away. In the end, all they can give you are empty calories and eating too much of them can make you overweight and unhealthy. Anytime you see convenience foods, always remember that they contain mostly simple carbs and it is best to avoid these kinds of foods.
Besides the fact that simple carbohudrates have much of their nutritional value stripped away, they also tend to be digested very quickly. That means they can be converted to glucose (blood sugar is a common name for this) really quickly. This is very harmful for someone with diabetes because their body can not deal with this spike in sugar levels. You can think about this throwing gasoline on a fire and not having any way to slow the fire down.
Foods You Can Eat On A Low Carb Diet
Complex carbs are considered as the “good” carbs. Unlike refined carbs, these carbs retain the nutrients and qualities that our bodies need. Fiber, for instance, is often refined away in flour and white rice, but you can still find it and enjoy its nutritional benefit in whole grains and brown rice. Fiber is essential in keeping our digestive system working normally. Complex carbs also have vitamins and minerals to keep all our body’s systems healthy and normal. When taken into our body, complex carbs are also broken down into glucose, but this process is slower than with simple carbs. This quality makes it great in keeping our blood glucose at its normal level.
These complex carbohydrates are much better for someone suffering from diabetes because they do not cause a spike in sugar levels. Unlike throwing gasoline on a fire, these are more like throwing a large piece of wood. The fire doesn’t just flare up, it actually burns for a long time.Complex carbs give us energy that lasts and that is much easier to manage by our bodies.
Here’s a clue on how you can determine whether a certain food has a simple carb or a complex carb. Just consider whether the food is very near its natural form or not. A fresh apple, for instance, is still in its original or natural state. On the other hand, apple sauce doesn’t look like an apple anymore because it has already gone through a process. Of course, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t eat apple sauce. This is just a simple illustration to show how to recognize foods. Whole foods are great foods to eat on a low carb diet plan. In short, the more processes that foods pass through, generally, the less healthful they are. Our bodies were designed to eat whole foods so it only makes sense that we should have a lot of them in our diets.
List of Foods for a Low Carb Diet Plan
Below are some foods for a low carb diet plan. Bear in mind, though, that it is always best to refer to your diet plan book to make sure that you’re following the plan and you’re not harming or depriving yourself of essential nutrients in anyway.
Low carb Vegetables: Alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, eggplant, spaghetti squash, cucumber, cauliflower, jicama, artichoke hearts, summer squash, tomatoes, bok choy, sauerkraut, fennel, celery, okra, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, asparagus, onions, radishes, turnips, peppers, leeks, bamboo shoots, celeriac, broccoli, salad greens, green onions, and spinach. Hence, you can eat as much salad as you want without having to worry about taking in too many carbs.
Low carb fruits: strawberries, limes, rhubarb, plums, watermelon, peaches, cranberries, grapefruit, cantaloupe, guava, raspberries, sweet cherries, apricots, avocados, honeydew, nectarine, blackberries, apple, blueberries, pear, lemons, and papaya. Note that there are some fruits that are low in carbs but are included in foods to avoid on a low carb diet because they are also very high in sugar. Pineapple and grapes are such fruits. There are also fruits that you probably love to eat but have high GI scores such as mangos and dried fruits.
Meat and Cheese: The general principle is that you get protein from lean sources. Avoid breaded meats; sugar cured meats such as bacon or ham, and processed meats like hot dogs and lunch meats. Many people make the mistake of thinking that if they are on a low carb diet they can eat all the fatty meats they want. This is just not the case. You still have to worry about the effects of saturated fats on your cardiovascular system. So stick with lean meats and not fatty or processed ones. Likewise, you should regulate your consumption of oysters, mussels, and organ meats because they have higher carbs than most meats.
Fish: clams, crab, flounder, lobster, salmon, sardines, shrimp, sole, squid, trout, tuna
Poultry: chicken, Cornish hen, duck, goose, pheasant, quail, turkey.
These low carb foods can help increase your metabolism, and help you lose weight. The good thing about low carb plans is that you can eat as much of allowed foods as you want, and so you can eat plenty of them whenever you’re hungry.
