Dangers of Low Carb Diets
Focused on eating protein-rich and fat-rich food sources, low-carb diets severely restrict the intake of any forms of carbohydrates. Make sure you know the dangers associated with consuming a low-carb diet before you start.
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Why Low-Carb Diets are Bad
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When you deplete carbohydrate intake, your body starts depleting your healthy stores of glycogen in the muscles and liver to convert to energy. As a result, you begin feeling fatigued and dehydrated. In addition, this glycogen depletion leads to muscle loss and a lowered metabolic rate since metabolism occurs in the muscle.
Turning Cells into Fat Magnets
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As your body goes into a state of ketosis, a type of metabolic acidosis, your cells transform into "fat magnets" that are 10 times more active in shuttling fat into cells than they were before you went on the low-carb diet.
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Too Much Fat is Never Healthy
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Consuming unreasonable amounts of saturated fat and animal products on a low-carb diet has been linked to numerous health risks such as heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, gall stones, kidney stones and arthritic symptoms.
Non-existent Nutrients
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Restricting your intake of low-glycemic carbohydrates such as fruits and vegetables leads to a deficiency in fiber, nutrients and antioxidants. A diet lacking in fiber, essential nutrients and antioxidants can increase your risk of cancers in the digestive track.
Weight Loss Faux Pas
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Most of your initial weight loss on a low-carb diet stems from a loss of lean muscle mass and water weight, not from fat.
Disease Considerations
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A low-carb diet increases your risk for osteoporosis, blindness and macular degeneration, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance and Alzheimer's disease.
Brain Impairment
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A low-carb diet impairs your cognitive performance, since it takes a long time for fat to turn into the usable glucose that the brain needs for optimal performance. Carbohydrates are the only efficient fuel source for the brain.
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