The low-carb diet is a widely practiced approach that attempts to eliminate a large portion of carbohydrates from the diet. However, many people don't know what this means exactly and which foods are suitable for the low-carb diet.
We will therefore explain to you what low carb is, which foods are allowed and which are not, and what the perfect diet plan should look like.
Table of contents
- What is the low-carb diet and how does it work?
- The benefits of the low-carb diet
- 10 reasons why the low-carb diet improves your health
- The perfect meal plan for a low-carb diet
- Get into ketosis faster with the low-carb diet
- The low-carb diet or the ketogenic diet – which is right for you?
- Conclusion
- Sources
1. What is the low-carb diet and how does it work?
The low-carb diet originated as a trend in America and has experienced a real boom there. In 2004, the University of Bristol declared the low-carb diet the most popular dietary trend in the USA, replacing the previous low-fat trend [1]. The goal of a low-carb diet is to significantly reduce the proportion of carbohydrates in the diet.
Only up to 150g of carbohydrates are allowed per day . Bread, potatoes, and pasta are therefore no longer on the plate or only in a reduced form. Instead, valuable proteins and fats are used.
For many, the trend is driven by the hope of shedding pounds. However, weight loss isn't always the primary goal of a low-carb diet, as the low-carbohydrate diet can do much more than just reduce your body weight.
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2. The benefits of the low-carb diet
The low-carb diet offers countless health benefits . First of all, contrary to many misconceptions, you can actually feel full even with low-carbohydrate foods. Your hunger will even be curbed in the long run , as fats and proteins take longer to digest , thus making you feel fuller longer.
A low-carb diet not only targets visible subcutaneous fat and helps you lose weight, but also the invisible visceral fat. Visceral fat accumulates in the abdomen and thus around your internal organs. Excessive amounts can cause significant damage there.
A meta-study from Tulane University in New Orleans discovered another positive effect of the low-carb diet [2]. By removing carbohydrates from the test subjects' diets , many of them lost weight .
Since excess weight negatively impacts blood pressure , a low-carb diet relieves strain on your heart and protects against cardiovascular disease . By reducing carbohydrates in your diet, triglyceride levels in the blood can be lowered . Triglycerides are fat molecules that significantly increase the risk of heart attack.
In contrast to a diet that includes carbohydrates, a diet that relies more on fat and protein also ensures that your blood sugar levels fluctuate less . When you supply your body with sugar, i.e., carbohydrates, it reacts by releasing insulin to metabolize the sugar.
As a result, you'll initially experience a rapid increase in your performance, which then plummets. A drop in blood sugar levels can negatively impact attention, memory, and learning.
With a low-carb diet, your insulin levels are not affected as much, which is why your brain is supplied with energy more consistently and you are therefore more productive.
All of these negative effects on your performance can lead to mental and physical exhaustion in the long run, because your body's energy reserves are limited and you would be dependent on a constant supply of sugar.
This is not only annoying, but also truly unhealthy! To counteract this and further improve your performance, a low-carb or ketogenic diet is recommended. This way, you can always be fully focused and full of energy at work, at university, or in everyday life. A ketogenic diet also offers the same benefits, only in an even more intense form.
The low-carb diet is the perfect starting point. We've compiled a list of 10 benefits of a low-carb diet for you. To help you come up with delicious recipes and put together your low-carb meal plan, we've compiled a list of carbohydrate-free foods.
Take-home message #1: The low-carb diet is not only good for your health, but also ensures fewer fluctuations in your insulin levels.
3. 10 reasons why the low-carb diet improves your health
- fewer cravings
- less visceral fat
- better triglyceride levels in the blood
- lower blood pressure
- more constant blood sugar level
- lower risk of heart attack
- less water retention
- greater ability to concentrate
- more stable energy levels
- improved sleep
4. The perfect meal plan for a low-carb diet
Many people find it difficult to imagine a diet that completely eliminates carbohydrates. Sure, Western cuisine consists largely of carbohydrates. But what would a diet plan look like that eliminates pasta, potatoes, bread, and the like?
To help you better visualize it and ease your way into the low-carb diet, we've put together a meal plan for you. What you should always remember: everyone is different, so you should always adapt your meal plan to your individual needs .
When starting a low-carb diet, many people feel like they're missing something essential to feel truly full . This may well be true, as carbohydrate-rich foods dominate most people's diets. What many don't realize, however, is that healthy fats , such as those found in fish , are significantly better and longer-lasting satiety aids .
Your body metabolizes fats differently than carbohydrates or sugar, which ensures a longer feeling of satiety . Therefore, it's also important to consume sufficient healthy fats , which you can find in olive oil , fish , and avocados , for example . However, caution is advised with some vegetables and fruits, as low-carb traps lurk here as well.
In other words, not all fruits and vegetables are automatically low-carb , even if that might come as a surprise to some. Bananas, for example, have a carbohydrate content of 20g per 100g and should therefore be eliminated from your diet on a low-carb diet. As for vegetables, you shouldn't eat potatoes , parsnips , corn , or peas .
Another tip for beginners: Plan your day and your meals in advance . A proper low-carb diet isn't for fast food or takeaway fans. A quick roll from the bakery next door doesn't fit into your diet; therefore, you should plan well in advance to avoid such situations and, above all, cravings.
Especially in the beginning, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself and should also anticipate setbacks . You'll quickly feel the first successes, a positive boost to your mental performance, and this is guaranteed to motivate you in the long run!
10 low-carb foods for your low-carb diet plan:
- many vegetables (e.g. zucchini or peppers)
- eggs
- Meat
- oil
- Fish
- mussels
- Milk
- tofu
- Cheese
- Mushrooms
5. Get into ketosis faster with the low-carb diet
A low-carb diet can also improve your performance – both mentally and physically. This can be further enhanced, for example, with the ketogenic diet . With a ketogenic diet, carbohydrates are virtually eliminated from your diet or reduced to a minimum.
You'll then consume a maximum of 50g of carbohydrates per day and eat mainly healthy fats from fish, meat, and oils like MCT oil . You're probably wondering why you should do this. The reason for this is to help your body produce energy.
If you reduce carbohydrates , your body switches to what's known as ketosis , meaning it derives its energy exclusively from the fats you consume through your diet. The benefits of ketosis are numerous, but most importantly, fats provide you with energy more quickly and consistently , thus improving your physical and mental performance . This was proven by a recent study from the Department of Nutrition at Cleveland University [3].
Because fats can be converted into energy more quickly in your body than carbohydrates, they provide you with energy more quickly. Thus, the ketogenic diet has a direct impact on your physical and mental performance. A diet like the ketogenic diet, completely without carbohydrates, ultimately offers you the same benefits as a low-carb diet, only in an even more intense form.
Low-carb is essentially a " gentle transition " to a ketogenic diet . You can transition step by step from a high-carb diet to a low-carb diet and finally to a ketogenic diet. This makes the low-carb diet a good beginner's tip for a diet that largely avoids carbohydrates.
Take-Home Message #2: The low-carb diet eliminates a large portion of carbohydrates from your diet. This can be good not only for your figure but also for your overall performance. The next step for pros: the ketogenic diet for even more performance!
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6. The low-carb diet or the ketogenic diet - which is right for you?
If you primarily want to directly increase your mental and physical performance, both the low-carb and ketogenic diets are the right choice for you. They increase your concentration and stabilize your energy. This is primarily because your insulin levels are less susceptible to fluctuations and stress due to the energy source of ketones.
Your body and brain remain at a constant level. Your choice depends on how well you can discipline yourself. The ketogenic diet, with a complete avoidance of carbohydrates and the goal of ketosis, requires iron discipline and perseverance, but also achieves the best results.
On a low-carb diet, you can indulge in a few "healthy" carbohydrates every now and then, but you won't be able to improve your mental performance as much as in ketosis. The low-carb diet can be the perfect introduction and transition to ketosis!
MCT C8 oil is also perfectly suited for a low-carb diet. It works not only in ketogenic diets, but also in low-carbohydrate diets. This is because caprylic acid is the only MCT that directly forms ketones. Therefore, you can benefit from MCT oils even if your diet contains moderate amounts of carbohydrates.
Take-Home Message #3: Want to boost your mental performance? Then the low-carb and ketogenic diets are ideal for you. The low-carb diet allows for more freedom, while the ketogenic diet puts you into ketosis, allowing your brain and body to perform at their peak.
7. Conclusion
With a low-carb diet, you reduce your carbohydrate intake to a maximum of 150g per day. Instead of carbohydrates, you eat mostly fats and proteins.
This means your insulin levels no longer fluctuate as much, and your performance level remains consistently at a constant level. At the same time, many people successfully lose weight with the help of a low-carb diet. This, in turn, has numerous health benefits.
8. Sources
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1732993/pdf/v059p00091.pdf
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3530364/
[3] https://ketosource.co.uk/caprylic-acid-c8/
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