Can low carbohydrate diet make you slim?

Obesity research is basically an attempt to explain attitude of slim people towards obese. Some doctors don’t want to deal with obese patients because they think; they are dealing with someone non sensitive towards his/her own health. Obesity is beyond control of obese person. There could be genetic, hormonal or metabolic reasons behind altered physiology.

Intake of carbohydrates (sugar and starches) and fat generally blamed for getting obese or overweight. My great grandfather died at the age of 105 year and his diet was always rich in fat and protein with optimal amount of carbohydrates, but he remained slim and active throughout his life. The narrative that dietary fat causes heart attack is an absurd idea. I wonder to learn that Dr. Atkin’s New Diet Revolution also suggested high-fat diet to minimize the risk of heart disease. On the contrary low-fat and low-carbohydrate (low calorie) diet being recommended by the physicians could be more harmful for your heart. Diet rich in fat and low in carbohydrates improves the level of HDL and reduces the level of LDL in our blood, which is said to be healthy environment for our heart. Fat rich and low-carb diet also controls blood pressure and insulin level. The low-fat diet which people have been eating with hopes of protecting heart has been bad for heart ‘actually’ as it is rich in carbohydrates.

Our bodies burn carbohydrates along with fat to generate energy. Carbohydrates are burned first and fat later by our bodies. So, by drastically reducing carbohydrates and eating more fat and proteins, our bodies would ‘definitely’ reduce weight by burning stored body fat more efficiently for fuel and energy. When your body changes from carbohydrate burning engine to fat burning engine, our fat storing spots (belly, hips and thighs) become a source of energy; and we lose weight in spite of eating fat rich food with little or no carbohydrates. When this happens, we feel less hungry and tend to eat less.

Low carbohydrate diet would ‘definitely’ make you slim.

Good Health: Role of Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

Proper nourishment is must for good health and vitality. Human happiness is linked to physical & mental health and employment. Productivity targets can only be achieved if we have good health. Balanced food or diet is must for building strong and fortified bodies. The best preventive medicine is nutrition. Only the individuals with strong immunity would have long lifespan. Consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables is must to acquire vigor and vitality. Fruits are unique in their flavors and taste. Fruits are known to attract eyes and enhance production of digestive juices.

Biological definition of fruits is different from the general notion. Fruits are produced from flowers or flower and are tissues of ripened ovaries or ovary along with adjacent tissue too. Fruits are eaten fresh or dry whereas majority of the vegetables are cooked. Fleshy, pulpy or juicy parts of fruits are eaten raw or used in food preparations. Let us look at the nutritive value of fruits:

Carbohydrates are energy constituents of fruits. The important fruit carbohydrates (sugars) are sucrose, fructose, dextrose and glucose. The water content in fruits is around 85%. A small amount of protein and traces of fat are also present in some fruits. Fruits are rich is indigestible fibre, minerals and vitamins. The caloric value of fruits is very high as compared to vegetables.

Fruits are rich source of vitamin-C. We know that vitamin-C boosts our immunity and saves us from scurvy. Vitamin-C is very strong anti-oxidant and protects us from ionizing radiation. It is known to heal bleeding gums. The citrus fruits are most dependable source of vitamin-C and are available around the year. Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica, Amla) is the richest known source of vitamin-C. The fruit pulp of Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica, Amla) has been reported to have 0.6% vitamin-C (i.e. 600 mg per 100 grams of fruit pulp).

The B-vitamins are in very low concentration in fruits. However fruits like grapes, pineapple, banana and custard apple have fairly good amount of B-vitamins. Deep orange and yellow colored fruits are an excellent source of b-carotene (precursor of vitamin-A). Vitamin-A is an essential nutrient for our optic nerves. So, consumption of fruits containing b-carotene (precursor of vitamin-A) would protect us from nutritional blindness. Papayas and mangoes are the best source of b-carotene (precursor of vitamin-A). Oranges, musk-melons, cape gooseberries, carrots and tomatoes are also a good source of b-carotene.

Calcium and minerals act as building materials of our skeleton as well as soft tissues. These are also regulators of metabolic functions. Iron is an essential component of hemoglobin. Iron, calcium and phosphorus are found in fairly good quantity in fruits. Apples, guavas, watermelons, raspberries, apricots, black grapes, dates and figs may contribute appreciable amount of iron to our diet. Fruits are also a rich source of cellulose and hemicelluloses which are also called complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides). Cellulose and hemicelluloses contribute to the indigestible bulk in the diet. Due to their fibre content fruits act as natural laxatives.

Aromatic compounds like methylbutyrate, higher esters or phenol derivatives give characteristic flavour and odour to fruits. Tannins present in some fruits have bitter taste and astringent action. Fruits containing tannins like gooseberries (Phyllanthus emblica, Amla) and Terminalia chebula (Harad or Haritaki) are good for our digestive system. Tannins are most commonly found in large number of raw (immature) fruits and some vegetables too. One must eat around 200gm fruits daily for good health and vitality.

Food For Health And Fitness

Health is not mere absence of disease or infirmity but a state of complete physical, mental and social well being. An optimal amount of balanced diet is essential for individuals of all age groups. Environmental factors do influence our dietary requirements. Food is essential to build up the body to make it fit for wear and tear and cope with environmental conditions and infectious agents. Food acts as fuel for the production of heat and energy in our body. Our nutritional requirements include adequate proportions of protein, carbohydrates, fat, water, minerals and vitamins.

Daily requirement of an adult is in the range of 60 to 80 grams of protein, 300 to 400 grams of carbohydrates (starches and sugars), 70 to 100 grams of fat, 3-5 grams of salt and minerals and some milligrams/units of vitamins. Vitamins are an integral part of some food stuffs. Proteins are of two types. Animal proteins are rich in essential amino-acids, but plant proteins lack certain essential amino-acids. There are 8 essential amino-acids and a complete protein food should contain at least 5 of them. We require a mixed diet that is a diet consisting of foodstuffs derived from animals and plants as no single article of food contains all the essential proportions of diet materials cited above. Milk and cheese are rich source of casein, a protein. Eggs and meat are rich source of essential amino-acids containing proteins. Other sources of proteins are Soya beans, pulses and agar-agar. Water constitutes 80 to 85 per cent of our daily diet intake. Fruits and vegetables are rich source of carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. Vegetable oils are source of fat with unsaturated fatty acids. Different foodstuffs have different heat generating value that is Caloric value. One gram of protein has a heat value of 4 Calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate also has 4 Calories and 1 gram of fat has a heat value of 9 Calories. The Caloric value of a balanced diet for an adult male per day should be 2500 to 3000 Calories. A woman needs about 2200 Calories daily for good health and fitness.