Low Carb High Protein Diet – Should You Use a Low Carb High Protein Diet to Lose Weight?
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If you feel like you are being bombarded with advertisements and claims about various weight-loss programs and products – you are not alone. There are various methods that people are using to get rid of excess weight and apart from the bogus claims and hype that accompany most of these schemes – some of them can be dangerous to your health.
The high-protein, low carbohydrate diets are an example of a diet that is not good for your body. Yet, despite of this fact, this type of diet is even recommended by some doctors to their patients.
How does a high protein, low-carbohydrate diet work?
When you don’t supply your body with sufficient amount of carbohydrates – that required for fuel by the muscle cells and brain; your body will try to find an emergency fuel to produce energy. This fuel is called ketones, and is usually used in times of fasting or famine.
What are ketones? Ketones are a product of fat breakdown that can be used by many cells in an emergency situation, when carbohydrates are scarce. As the body produces ketones in increased quantities, the acids rise in the bloodstream – a condition that is called ketosis. The excess protein and acids must be eliminated from the body. This job is done by kidneys, which become overstressed and enlarged.
This differs from ketosis caused by fasting, because when fasting, there is no excess protein, the amount of acid in the bloodstream is small, and a fast usually does not last more than a few days.
So, what basically happens when people are following a high-protein, low-carb diet for an extended period of time- they are damaging their kidneys and increasing their risk of kidney stones. They are putting a heavy burden on their liver, heart and intestines. They are also increasing their risk for osteoporosis, because many minerals stored in the bones get washed out with the acids.
Do not be a victim of such unhealthy diets, because you will have to pay the price down the road with eventual deterioration of your health.
