In recent years, different weight loss diets focused on restricting carbohydrates have gained a lot of popularity. Two of the best known are the diet low carb or low-carbohydrate diet, and the ketogenic diet, also called the keto diet or very low-carbohydrate diet.
In this article we will focus on the first and see some of the differences with keto, as well as the limitations of both.
What is a diet? low carb?
J. Alfredo Martínez, director of the Precision Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health Program at the IMDEA Food Institute, explains that «the Low carb diet, according to the British Dietetic Association (BDA), would be the one that provides between 50 and 150 grams of carbohydrates daily. That is, one in which the amount of daily calories from carbohydrates is less than 30% of the energy consumed per day by a person.”
To get a better idea of how much that percentage means, the expert reminds us that «under normal conditions, it is recommended that 50-55% of daily energy comes from carbohydrates.»
What is the diet used for? low carb
The low-carbohydrate diet is usually used in short-term approach to type 2 diabetes in adults living with obesity and overweight, since it allows controlling blood glucose and cardiovascular risk. On the other hand, there does not seem to be sufficient evidence in type 2 diabetes.
Martínez, a member of the Spanish Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, adds that «it is also very common to do so when the goal is to lose weight as part of a low-calorie diet.» There is a lot of controversy about the convenience of maintaining this type of strategies with dietary restrictions. a food group over the long term. Specifically, because many of these diets tend to be high in fat. Eating a high-fat diet, especially one high in saturated fat from foods such as red meat, cheese, cream and butter ., ‘could increase the risk of developing heart disease’, the BDA also warns.
Another point of discussion is that low-carbohydrate diets restrict the intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, all of which are vital for maintaining good health and whose presence is related to a lower incidence of cancer risk. It is also questioned whether they can be maintained in the long term so as not to regain the lost weight without a yo-yo effect.
Train low, compete high, another controversy
Train with glycogen stores at a minimum.
A decade ago, a nutritional training strategy for endurance athletes called Train low, compete high (Train low, compete high). It consists of training with a low availability of glucose and its reserves in the body (glycogen) to ‘teach’ the body to use lipids as an energy substrate, that is, to create metabolic adaptations (metabolic flexibility). Some athletes do it by training on an empty stomach or taking advantage of double training days (morning and afternoon), leaving the afternoon day with depleted glycogen stores.
This technique is used in only those days of training at low intensities, not the days of series or slopes. The goal is ‘nutritional training’, something like ‘training’ the body to optimize its energy resources. On the day of the competition, the athlete arrives with their glycogen stores full, so the body can use those reserves and fats, just as it has been ‘training’ in the previous weeks.
Limitations of this strategy
Martínez remembers that this nutritional strategy has no use in athletes with explosive or short-duration activities. «A marathon athlete, who is interested in having very good reserves and accumulating glycogen for the day of the race, is not the same as another athlete specialized in shorter and more intense events, such as a 200 or 400 meter dash runner. .»
Little scientific evidence
Despite the effusiveness of the first years, there is hardly any evidence that there is actually a noticeable improvement in performance. This type of tools, in addition, must be integrated into the nutritional periodization within a training plan. In other words, it requires a joint work of the trainer and the dietitian-nutritionistIt is not something that can be done lightly since there is a risk of cramps and even injuries.
For this reason, the expert concludes that «both in the case of professional athletes and those who are not, the fundamental thing is that a dietician-nutritionist analyzes the specific case and develops a diet that is as personalized as possible. A dietary pattern that takes into account both the type of exercise and the particularities of the individual».
Diet low carb in vegans
Both low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets reduce carbohydrates to a greater or lesser extent and increase proteins. «It is complicated for the dietician-nutritionist to create a low-carbohydrate diet for a person who follows a vegan diet.» And he remembers that, as with any eating model that involves restriction, you have to be very careful. Be careful not to cause nutritional deficiencies.
Differences between diet low carb and the ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet is also a type of low-carb diet, just in a much more restrictive way. So while on the diet low carbWe were talking about an approximate intake of between 50 and 150 grams, in the case of the ketogenic diet an approximate consumption of 20-30 grams has been established (about 120 kilocalories daily).
One of the effects of this drastic adjustment of carbohydrates is that it forces the body to consume more protein and fat in order to reach the total calories necessary for the physiology of the body. «Consequently – points out the expert -, we produce more urea, which forces the to work the liver in a more demanding wayand also greater formation of ketone bodies.
Precisely, this physiological process is one of the reasons why the keto diet «necessarily requires personalized monitoring, since, although it does not have to pose a health risk, when the person has renal problems or any other alteration, it can become a factor to be taken into account,» he warns.
The entry Low carbohydrate diet, lose weight or demonize carbohydrates? was first published in Nutriiendo.
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