The low carb diet consists of reducing the intake of carbohydrates, and instead, replacing it with natural fats, proteins, and vegetables. Carbohydrates are largely found in bread, rice, sugary sweets, and dairy products.

Studies suggest that a low carb diet helps losing weight and improves overall health. These diets are becoming more popular since the start of the century and are often recommended by doctors. Additionally, there is no need for counting calories. You only need to eat whole foods that provide you with a complete and nutritive diet and keep you satiated.

How Does Low Carb Diet Work

A low carb diet is indeed delicious, simple, and easy to endure. However, what most people ask is “do low carb diets work?”. It certainly does. Low carb diets bring several benefits to the human body besides weight loss. You just need to follow the basic rules and plan your main meals correctly. Here’s how it works.

Reduces insulin levels

Insulin is a hormone and it takes care of fat storage. Insulin stimulates fat production and inhibits the use of fat as energy. When we avoid sugars and starches, blood glucose stabilizes and insulin levels decrease. Then, fat burn rises and you start to feel satiated, reducing food intake and making you lose weight.

Reducing insulin levels makes adipose cells to become more accessible. Therefore, they are used as energy, burning fat in bigger proportions at the same time. This effect is one of the main causes of the effectiveness of this type of diet.

A greater water loss at the beginning

At the start of a low carb diet is frequent to see a quick loss of water, which means an abrupt loss in weight. Two factors take part in this phenomenon, glycogen and again, insulin.

When carbs are stored as glycogen our water levels rise, meaning more weight in our body. Reducing sugar intake in low carb diets decreases the formation of glycogen, bringing water levels down at the same time.
Alternatively, less insulin makes the body to secrete faster the excess of sodium through the kidneys. This causes a reduction in blood pressure along with the previously mentioned bigger fat burn.

Bigger protein intake

According to several studies, the best way to replace foods with high sugar levels is with large protein intake. Elements such as eggs, meat, and fishes are the favorite choices of the experts on the subject.
Proteins stimulate metabolism and produce the effect of being satiated. This phenomenon makes your body burn more calories and therefore, losing more weight.

The power of decreased appetite

As said before, low carb diets replace sugar with protein. This is a key factor in the success of this diet as a lower sugar intake favors appetite regulation. According to different studies, consuming less sugar impacts hormones such as ghrelin and leptin which regulate the appetite. Decreased appetite automatically lowers consumption.

There could be risks

It’s important to remember that these diets carry risks sometimes. For that reason, it’s necessary to ask for medical advice after every suspicion of a health issue. Many doctors approve low carb diets, as the only requirement often is to follow the program correctly.