The post Low Carb Diets and High Blood Pressure first appeared on Sun Diet.

Most of us know that feeling. The one where your stomach convinces you that you’ve held out long enough. Have a piece of cake, enjoy that burger, you deserve it!

Then Monday comes, you haven’t lost any weight after all your hard work and your diet starts all over again. This makes you frustrated because you are not seeing the results you want. And who can blame you?

It’s not realistic to avoid carbs for the rest of your life.

One also can’t ignore the fact that high protein diets (I.e. large amounts of red meat) have been labelled as having negative impacts on health – ranging from increased risk of colorectal cancer and diabetes to greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

One can hardly blame people for being so hesitant to start a diet – they are hesitant because of health risks and because they believe that it is impossible to avoid carbohydrates completely.

We agree!

“Low Carbs”, “No carbs”, “Banting”, “high fats”, “high protein” and “carb-free” are catch-phrases at the moment, with many jumping on the bandwagon in order to lose some weight. But do you understand exactly what these terms are and what they mean for weight loss?

Now, before you read any further, please understand that we are in no way endorsing a no-carb diet or even a high-protein diet.  What we can say is that the correct types of carbohydrates in the correct portions are actually very healthy.

Our human physiology has not really changed much over the past 500 years, but our environment has. Humans have always relied on carbohydrates for energy. The difference is, in today’s modern lifestyle humans have become used to low levels of activity, excessive portion sizes and calorie rich/nutrient-poor processed foods. Most conventional diets usually consist of 50% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 20% fat.

Obese persons have a ‘disturbed’ carbohydrate metabolism and cannot digest such a high percentage of carbohydrates. This is the main cause of obesity and its related diseases.

To tackle the ever increasing obesity problem, we need to go back to nature. Nature offers us proteins, fats, vegetables and fruit. Man offers us refined sugar and processed foods.

This is the basis of the Banting/Tim Noakes way of eating. Banting advocates a low carb/high fat lifestyle, avoiding carbohydrates (including starchy vegetables) as much as possible.

The Banting Diet was first prescribed by Dr. William Harvey in 1861 for a hefty undertaker named William Banting. After William Banting successfully trimmed down because of this diet it became very popular and gained a lot of momentum.

Noaks advocates animal protein, full cream dairies (including milk, yogurt and cheese) and an intake of between 25 – 50 grams of carbohydrates a day (nett carbs, meaning total carbs minus fibre). This is basically a ketogenic diet.

Sun-Diet works on the same principle, removing carbohydrates from your diet – but only for the first phase of the program. We advocate a carbohydrate-controlled eating plan. We all need carbohydrates, protein and fat in our diets to keep the body functioning at an optimum level.  The crux lies within balanced and controlled amounts!

What most people don’t realise is that an excess of carbohydrates causes hunger because it stimulates the body to produce insulin which lowers

the blood sugar. Low blood sugar tells your body:

“Eat — you are hungry”.

The key words here, once again, are balanced and controlled amounts of macronutrients. If you eat the correct proportions of each food group, then your body will be able to digest it all properly. The only carbohydrates that you should eliminate from your diet, if you want to maintain a healthy weight, are refined sugars such as cakes, sweets, bread, etc.

This might seem like an impossible task right now, but after eating from the correct food groups in the correct proportions you will not experience the sugar cravings that you have experienced in the past. This might sound strange – but you won’t even notice that you are not eating these types of carbs.

According to a survey done amongs our clients at The Diet, more than 94% of them are maintaining their weight after 1 year upon completion of the program. The majority of them experienced weight gain of a kilogram or two, as life sometimes happens and you give in to the food available at parties, family gatherings, etc. The good news is that your body will already be conditioned to your way of eating and you will lose the weight once you follow your eating plan again.

With a success rate of 94% at The Diet, the question shouldn’t be “Is this way of life sustainable?” It should be, “Why aren’t we doing this already?”

The post Is Banting Sustainable? first appeared on Sun Diet.

The concept of ketogenic dieting is not new – it has existed in many forms and in many variations. It has many similarities to the Banting and other popular diets. It is even similar to what we do at Sonlandpark Pharmacy’s Sun-Diet. The basis of all these diets rests on the same fundamental idea that you avoid carbohydrates and consume more fats and proteins. It can be described as a medium to high-fat and protein diets, with low-carbohydrates.

A ketogenic diet is quite simply any diet that forces the body into a process called ketosis, whereby fats are burned instead of carbohydrates for use as energy. A proper ketogenic diet calls for the dieter to consume decent amounts of fat, moderate amounts of protein, and very low amounts of carbohydrates.

Our bodies are used to turning carbohydrates into glucose to send all over the body as energy. When we enter ketosis by sufficiently limiting our carbohydrate intake, our livers start breaking down fat cells into fatty acids and ketones, to be used as energy. This is why we sometimes experience bad breath or body odours when we lose weight – we are excreting ketones.

Check out this really nifty infographic from Faithfully Free

Why does the ketogenic diet work?

Initially this diet was known for its ability to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children and depression in adults. But the ketogenic diet works much like any other diet: by limiting the amount of calories you consume, thereby creating a caloric deficit where the body burns more energy than it takes in. That is the fundamental science of weight loss.

Some diets will argue that 100 calories of carbohydrates is the same as 100 calories of fat, but few will argue that all successful diets rely on caloric restriction, one way or another.

The main difference in a ketogenic diet is that carbohydrates must be limited or avoided initially. This is because of our blood glucose levels. When we eat carbohydrates, our blood-glucose levels rise rapidly.

By eating a low carbohydrate diet, we keep our blood sugar levels low and steady, and as a result, carb-induced hunger spikes are avoided.  Reducing insulin levels is paramount to success with any diet, as insulin is the hormone that tells our bodies to store fat.  By keeping our insulin levels low, we create an environment within our bodies that limits fat storage and promotes fat lipolysis. Vleis en olie img

What do I eat on a ketogenic diet?

Image courtesy of http://www.theketogenicdiet.org/what-is-the-ketogenic-diet/

It is generally recommended that ketogenic dieters should consume about 60% of their macronutrients from fat, 35% from protein, and 5% from carbohydrates.

Carbohydrate intake should generally be limited to less than 50 grams per day. When starting out, it is recommended that you limit your carbohydrates to 10 grams per day, as being strict initially will make sure you enter ketosis, and help you learn the ins and outs of successful low carbohydrate dieting. If you refer to the image above, you will see exactly which foods to eat sparingly, and which to enjoy in abundance.

What are the benefits of a Ketogenic Diet?

Typically, most diets have similar benefits, these are: lowered cholesterol, lower blood pressure and of course weight loss. Ketogenic diets have the added benefits of regulating your blood sugar (which means curbing your cravings and hunger pangs), giving you more energy and helping to reduce unpleasant skin conditions such as acne.

Initially you might see some restrictions or physical limitations when you start your diet, especially if you are a very active person. But your body will adapt and soon you will have a lot of energy, more than you know what to do with!

Because of all the changes happening in your body during this change in your diet you might experience other symptoms. As your body becomes induced into a ketogenic state, your body will naturally use what’s left of your glucose. This means your body will be depleted of all glycogen in the muscles – which can cause a lack of energy, and a general lethargy. In the first few days, many people report:

• Headaches
• Mental fogginess
• Flu-like symptoms(known as the “keto-flu”)
• Dizziness
• Aggravation
• Yep, it’s pretty much a week of PMS for everyone!

Most of the time, this is the result of your electrolytes being flushed out or a process of ‘detox’, as ketosis has a diuretic effect. Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep your sodium intake up. In fact, you should go overboard with the salt – salt EVERYTHING! This will help with water retention, and help replenish the electrolytes.

There is no real danger in starting any type of ketogenic diet, but to be safe – always check with your pharmacist and doctor first!

The post What is the Ketogenic Diet? first appeared on Sun Diet.