Do Low Carb Diets Work? Some Do

Well, that's a very broad question which doesn't have a simple answer. As with all diets, they have to suit the dieters lifstyle and if you constantly crave spaghetti and bread, it might not be the right diet for you.

The secret to a low carb diet that works is knowing the difference between good and bad carbohydrates. Bad ones are anything containing sugar, so sweets, cakes, biscuits, fizzy drinks and quite a lot of processed or frozen food are a complete no no.

However, there are good carbohydrates and any low carb diet should include some of these because they give you energy, give you some roughage for regular bowel movements and best of all when you're on a diet, make you feel full. These include whole wheat, cereals, grains and some high fibre fruits.

The problem with a low carb diet is that you have to eat something. If you're not eating much by way of pasta, rice, potatoes or bread, what do you eat apart from lettuce? Because carbohydrate counters usually say that meat, butter, cheese, etc. contain negligible amounts of carbohydrate, it doesn't mean that you can eat a plate full of bacon every morning. This is for two reasons - one, you need a balance of nutrients and two, if you are prone to high cholesterol, too much saturated fat of any kind is very bad, although one school of thought has it that this diet raises HDL, which is good cholesterol.

Probably the best known low carb diet is the Atkins Diet and many people have not only lost weight, but have based their whole lifestyle around this diet. This is a high protein diet, which does have advantages in that it can improve healing time and lowers blood sugar.

There are side effects to a low carb diet though and these are constipation and bad breath, both caused by the high protein intake.

So do low carb diets work? I think that depends on the individual, but if you're not keen on a low carb diet, but are serious about losing weight lizebiz.com/ct/32/EZA Best Diet Books has articles and discussions on a range of diets for you to try.