So somebody has no carbs-sugar-fat diet ?

just to have some advices and can communicate about it.

share recipes, help each other’s


thanks


nina from paris

Answers

  • This was posted three days ago and no one has replied. So here's what I think.

    A person could survive temporarily on protein alone. That's not saying much though because it is true only in the sense that a person could survive temporarily on water alone. Fats and carbohydrates are essential macronutrients. People might have useful discussions on the relative proportions of protein, carbohydrates, and fat but pretending there are healthy ways to eliminate two of those three is encouraging dangerous, even deadly, eating disorders.

    "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Michael Pollan

  • Carbohydrates are not essential macro-nutrients. Your body can produce all the glucose it needs. In this sense it is absolutely not essential. No other carbohydrate is used for building anything in your body. There are essential fatty acids and amino acids but not a single carbohydrate that is essential. There are side -effects to ketogenic diets (very low carbs), but there is no consensus to what creates the problems. We still do not know that for sure. Some researchers believe it has more to do with hormonal issues, that come from bad mineral ratios, mainly low sodium intake. Another hypothesis is low pre-biotic fiber intake that hurts your gut biome. They might both be true, and still incomplete.

  • I'm familiar with people taking "low-carb" to ridiculous extremes but didn't know the cult actually has a "no-carb" sect. Most of the time, click-baited headlines switch "no" to "low" in the body of the article but it should be no surprise that some folks wear reductio ad absurdum as a badge of honor.

    "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." Michael Pollan

  • Speaking as a dietitian, it's important to know what goal or outcome people are trying to achieve via their specific diet. Low carb diets can be useful if someone needs to lose weight quickly (i.e. for surgery) but the reality is that the weight loss is often short-term (as is the case with the majority of "diets"). In some conditions, like brain cancer and epilepsy, a ketogenic diet can be particularly useful since it essentially starves the brain of glucose and this seems to have a benefit on symptoms of the illness. However, this wouldn't be a reason to generalize this type of diet to the broader population.

    It's also worth remembering that food provides more than macronutrients; there is a range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients that can be lost when people cut out macro groups. And if performance is an outcome (i.e. sports or racing), carbs are a must. While your body can make glucose (often times by turning our own muscle into glucose), it's a very time-consuming process, which means your muscles can't perform in the way you want them to.

    I'm open to people following any diet, provided it:

    • Meets requirements for the majority of vitamins and minerals
    • Results in positive biochemical parameters (i.e. blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc.)
    • Helps them to have the energy and stamina they need for daily living
    • Doesn't become an obsession

    Physical health is just one realm of wellness; far too often I find that people sacrifice their mental health in pursuit of dietary perfection.

    Kind regards,

    Susan Macfarlane, MScA, RD
    Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
    cronometer.com
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