Low Carb Diets Simplified - How They Work So Well

Low Carb Diets Simplified: How They Work

Why do low carbohydrate diets work so well for most people? For years we've been told that the only way to lose weight is to eat less fat, a small amount of protein and an unlimited amount of carbohydrates. Along with some exercise, this should have been the key to losing weight. Never, in our wildest dreams, could we have believed that by eating 80% fats and protein and only 20% carbohydrates, we could lose much more weight than if we cut out as much fat as possible. Well, it's true and the object of this discussion is to explain exactly how that works.

If you've been on a low-carbohydrate diet and had extreme success, as I have, you've seen the wonderful results and are probably a big believer in the diet, however, what most people don't understand is that the low-carb diet is not just a short term diet to lose a few pounds but rather a complete lifestyle change in which one changes not only the food that they eat, but their entire metabolism is modified for better health and longer life. To start the low carb diet, one must have a lot of discipline because the changes that take place in the first two weeks to one month are often difficult to deal with but, if one can make it through the first phase of the diet, the remaining actual "active" diet time is easily handled. Let's take a look.

The low-carb diet is known by many names. There are variations of the diet that each variation's developer renames, often for just the marketing's sake. Essentially, the active part of the diet is the same. A few examples of diets that utilize the low-carb theory are the Zone and the South Beach diets. Both are variations of the original idea which was developed and published by Dr. Robert C. Atkins in the mid 1990s and for whom the original diet is named.

Dr. Atkins studied how the digestion of foods works, what enzymes and hormones are involved in the process and what the results of certain experiments were. He then developed a theory that, in the end, proved to be accurate and certainly workable, especially if certain actions were taken to prevent complications. Those actions were simple, easily performed motions such as drinking 64 ounces of water each day and taking a natural laxative if needed. He also encouraged the use of daily exercise to enhance the weight loss and tone the body. What follows is a simplified explanation of Dr. Atkins main theory which revolves around the decrease in carbohydrate consumption while, at the same time increasing the consumption of fats and protein. All variations of his original plan use this same theory but with modifications in amounts, exercise and the addition of some specific types of carbohydrates in the later phases of the program.

The Theory

There are two hormones that the body releases in response to eating. There are also many enzymes and acids involved in the digestion process but the two hormones that we are interested in and will focus on are insulin and glucagon. Though most people associate a reduction in insulin with the disease diabetes, the hormone also plays a large role in the storage of unused fat in our body systems. Glucagon, though not nearly as well known, also plays a large role but only when insulin is removed from the picture. We'll start with insulin and then will naturally flow to the subject of glucagon as we proceed. This way it will be easier to understand how the process works.

Insulin

Insulin is a wonderful hormone that is produced in our pancreas, in an area named the Islets of Langerhans. This tiny area has probably caused more problems than any other area in the body in the course of the existence of human beings. When something goes wrong with it and it cannot produce enough insulin, bad things happen to the body. Normally, insulin acts as what I like to call an accompanying hormone. All of the cells in the body require some form of energy. The easiest product for the body to convert into energy is carbohydrates. When carbohydrates are broken down into their different sugars, they are allowed to swim and float around in the blood stream. When sugar is floating around in the bloodstream because you've eaten a carbohydrate, it will continue to just float around in the bloodstream unless it makes friends with an insulin. This insulin "buddy" has a pass into the "Cell Club". Without insulin, sugar cannot get into the cell club where it is immediately converted into energy (which is the ultimate honor for a sugar). So, together, sugar and insulin, as partners, get sugar into the cell and sugar is then converted to a form of energy used by the cell. That is the gist of how insulin is used. Whenever someone eats a carbohydrate, the body signals the pancreas that it needs to release some insulin so that the sugar will have a buddy to help him get into the Cell Club.

However, the cells don't let every single sugar into the Cell Club. No, they only let the number of sugars in that they need to use and no more. So what happens to all of these sugars that are not let into the Cell Club? Well, one of two things happens. First, they can simply remain in the bloodstream, floating around and getting into trouble and causing trouble for all of the other cells because they saturate the cells, much like a crowd of people wanting to get into the Cell Club. You see, if the person has diabetes, the pancreas is not able to release enough insulin buddies to accompany the sugar and make it do the right things. So, the sugar just hangs around. But by just standing (or floating in this case) around the cells, they create an acidic atmosphere which is not a friendly one. It is super polluted with sugar and its by-product acid. So what do you think happens to the surrounding tissue? Well, it starts to deteriorate and this, in turn, causes pain and breakdown of other tissues and organs. Thus we have a condition of diabetes, which is a subject for another time. I just wanted to give you some idea of what is going on with the insulin.

Ok, secondly, if there are enough insulin buddies but the sugar is not needed for energy production, the insulin buddies simply convert the sugars into fat and store them around the body where they can be ready in case the body needs them for insulin production. So, in essence, the insulin buddies take them into the "Fat Club" and tell them to just stay there until they come for them. If energy is not released in a fast enough pattern, more and more of these sugars are left in the Fat Club and the Fat Club starts to expand around the body. This is when you see people getting fat. Those sugars may never be called on to go to a cell and be used for energy production so they just sit around, drinking in the local fluids and waiting. They're very patient and they don't care how many pile in on top of them. The more, the merrier.

Now let us say, that this person in whom the fat is really building goes on a low-carb diet. In order to do this, he must limit his carbohydrate intake to a very low level but he can increase or keep his fat intake at a high level.

Let's back up for a second and discuss the order in which the body uses the three different food groups as energy sources. The first and easiest to burn are the carbohydrates. These are the first things that the body looks to burn for energy when it's in need. The second thing it likes to burn and will always put in second on the list, is fat. Yes, when there are no carbohydrates around, the body will burn fat in order to give itself energy. It breaks the fat down into a carbohydrate form and takes it to the Cell Oven where it is converted to energy; weeeeeeeeeee! The last thing the body wants to use for energy production is the protein. Why? Because this is what the body tissues and organs are made of. Yes, your body, skin, hair, everything, is made out of protein, which is the building block of the human body. When the body has to start using protein for energy, that means it has run out of its normal fuels, carbs and fats. That is a bad thing and probably means that this person is starving to death. That's the way the body sees it anyway but it has no choice as it is just trying to survive and humans cannot survive without energy. Imagine taking small pieces of your organs, like your heart, your lungs, your liver and yes, even your brain, and burning them. Yep, that's essentially what happens when you start burning body proteins.

Ok, now let's go back to the fat storage story. All these fat cells are hanging around waiting to be converted to some form of energy but it never comes. So, they just wait and accumulate more and more. But, as we said, our person is now on a low-carb diet so let's see what is happening.

Very few carbs are coming in and the ones that are coming in are instantly used for energy production. The Cell Ovens are fired up and ready to go but there are just not enough carbs coming in to convert to energy. Ok, the Cell foreman calls up to the brain and says, "listen, we're ready to burn some carbs but none are coming in. What's up?" The brain simply says, "don't worry I'll take care of it." The brain then contacts the pancreas and says, "cut back on the insulin release and instead, release the glucagon and tell it to go convert any Fats that it sees hanging around into sugars and send them into the cells for energy production." The pancreas does what the brain tells it to. It closes down on the insulin valves and opens the glucagon valves wide open. The glucagon is released and goes around to the Fat clubs picking out Fats to be converted to carbs. Those carbs are immediately sent to the Cell Ovens with an insulin buddy and everyone is happy.

No longer is insulin just floating around in the body taking the excess carbs to the Fat club. It is again being used very efficiently and not much of it is being released because there's no need. The valves as just barely open for it. The cells are happy because they're getting the carbs for energy production and no longer have the sugar crowds hanging around, tearing up the place. The pancreas is happy because it doesn't have to waste anymore insulin and can relax a little.

The Results Are In!

So, let's see if you're paying attention:

If the insulin is significantly diminished and the glucagon is enhanced and working all over the body, breaking down fats into useable fuel and this fuel is being burned off by the Cell Ovens, what do you think our "fat person" is experiencing?

Did you say "weight loss?" You ARE paying attention!

Obviously, you understand what is going on here. Since the body is not taking on any more carbohydrates, it has to find another source of fuel. That source of fuel is the naturally occurring secondary source of stored body fat that the glucagon guys are going around and releasing and converting to fuel.

Now, keep in mind that when glucagon converts that fat into a fuel source, the chemical reaction that takes place is NOT the same as the one that happens when carbohydrates are used for fuel. You see, when fat is converted into fuel it releases a substance called "ketones."

Normally, ketone production would mean that your body is unable to locate carbohydrates to use for fuel so it is having to resort to fat in the system. Well, yea, that's what is happening here too but it's not a malfunction. No, it's being done on purpose so your ketone production is NOT a bad thing in this instance. So, when you go to your healthcare provider and he or she tells you that you have a high ketone count, be sure and tell them that you're on a low carb diet. They'll understand and won't be concerned with your high ketone count except for one issue. When your ketones are high, your kidneys have to get rid of them for you. If the ketones, which are large molecules, are filtered out of the body through the kidneys, don't have LOTS of fluids to wash them through, they tend to get stuck in the kidneys and cause all kinds of problems. There's a very simple solution for that. Drink plenty of water. Don't hold back. Do it, drink at least 64 ounces of water every single day without fail and you will NOT have that problem...ok?

So, if your body is continuously burning fats and does so for a long period of time because you are not introducing a bunch of junk carbs into it, the result will be that you'll be much leaner and your cholesterol and triglycerides and other bad things that have been floating around in your blood stream, will be reduced and you will be much healthier. Your energy level will be higher, many of the chronic health problems you've been experiencing will either go away completely or will diminish significantly. It works, folks. There is just too much proof.

There may be some problems with the low-carb diet but, for the most part, it is a highly effective and workable diet.

As always, we advise you to check with your health care provider and read as much information as you can about the low carb diet prior to your starting it.

Read Dr. Atkins book, "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." It's the one that started the whole thing.

Another great book to read is "Protein Power" by the Drs. Michael and Mary Eades.

Gary Vaughn is a Masters level RN and has studied and written about nutrition and dieting for quite some time. He has been published both professionally and online. He is the owner of Repair My Weight Loss, an information rich website about popular diets, diet myths, diet solutions and diet reality. The website can be found at repairmyweightloss.com repairmyweightloss.com