It’s important for our bodies to receive and use certain nutrients. Among these nutrients are carbohydrates and fats .These two, carbon based, organic compounds are greatly utilized by our bodies and essential for overall health. In digestion our body performs a constant balancing act in an attempt to distribute these nutrients as needed throughout the body. Our bodies rely heavily on carbohydrates and fats for energy. Given that, it’s important to supply your body with the right amount of calories from these. Consumption of too many or too little overall calories, however, can be dangerous.” Both of these macro-nutrients are often misunderstood and avoided by dieters, when they don’t necessarily cause weight gain by themselves. Weight gain is often caused by eating too much of the wrong ones.”(DoctorOz.com, 2013) In avoiding or minimizing carbohydrates and fats excessively harm can be done.
What are Carbohydrates? Carbohydrate is Latin for hydrated (watered) carbon and is mostly found in plant based foods. Carbohydrates such as glucose are made through photosynthesis. In this process, plants containing chlorophyll use energy from the sun, to take in carbon dioxide and water through their roots. These plants release oxygen into the air while the remaining carbon and water stays in the plant as carbohydrates. Most carbohydrates are made up of some ratio of C6H12O6, (6 carbons and 6 waters). Carbohydrates can be broken up into two groups, simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates (mono- & disaccharides) consist of one or two sugars, while complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides) consist of more.
What are Fats? Fats are a type of lipid that dissolves in alcohol and other organic solvents but doesn’t dissolve in water. (Fat Basics,...
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...olesterol?: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbc/
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of the original misnamed Mayo Clinic diet, has gained much attention for both its success and failure as a method of weight loss. Studies show that there is no specific nutrient, including carbohydrates, proteins, and even fats, that directly causes a person to gain or lose weight. The pivotal factor in weight loss is the capability to consume less fuel than the body needs to burn in order to function. However, two large weight loss food corporations, Atkins Nutritionals and the South Beach Company, have successfully marketed their own brand of low carbohydrate diets. These low carbohydrate diets share many similarities, while maintaining distinct modifications between the diet methods.
Carbohydrates pose a big role in food and diets as we are all very familiar with them. This macromolecule provides a short period of energy for our bodies through glucose, this is similar to how lipids store energy as well. Carbohydrates are found in eukaryotic cells on the outer surface of the cell membrane. A carbohydrate is made up of 3 different elements, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen which is the same for the other 3
One of the four molecules is carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are made out of CHO. The main building blocks are sugars (saccharides). What carbohydrates do for us is they store fuel for our cells. They are fast energy. Glucose, fructose, and galactose are examples of single or simple sugar molecules or monosaccharide. Maltose, sucrose, and lactose are examples of two sugar molecules linked, also known as disaccharide. Starch, glycogen, and cellulose are examples of many sugar molecules linked. They are also called polysaccharide. If you wanted to test if there were carbohydrates in something you could do the sugar or the starch test.
Good fats come from vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish. The two broad categories of beneficial fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The good healthy fats are liquid at room temperature, and do not solidify. They are different from saturated fats as that have fewer hydrogen atoms bonded to their carbon chains.
The less severe disadvantages surrounding the diet consist of physical weakness, low energy level, slower reaction times, headaches, and dehydration. These less dangerous, yet clearly relevant reactions are due to the elimination of carbohydrates from the diet. Blood sugar levels become very low when carbohydrates are not ingested, causing physical pain and weakness as well as a slower reaction time. Headaches also occur as a natural response mechanism that act as signals for the body that carbohydrates are needed in order to prevent further problems. Moreover, when the body breaks down stored fats t...
Severely restricting carbohydrates is not healthy and offers little advantages in terms of fat loss. Consumers of low carbohydrate products are often deceived into believing all low carbohydrate products are better for their health. However, usually when a product claims to have a low amount of carbohydrates, it fails to mention the increase of fats and proteins the product gains to compensate for the lost carbohydrates. In reality low carbohydrate diets increase health risks and give dieters false hopes. Carbohydrates are significant in supplying energy to the body’s needs. Through plenty of carbohydrates, especially for active people and athletes, the body is able to use its’ adequate amounts of energy efficiently.
The girl once in high school struggling with her weight has now learned the value of a low carb diet and what it can do for her body and her health. “The low carb diet was most beneficial for lowering triglycerides, which are the main fat- carrying particle in the bloodstream” (The Nutrition Source). Therefore, targeting the fats in one’s body is one of the most important aspects of the low carb diet. If one can lower the triglycerides in their system this will guarantee that the diet has more of a chance of working correctly ensuring weight loss. When trying to accomplish this task The Nutrition Source suggests that it is good to try to include some fruits, vegetables, and whole grains essential vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Although some might be quick to analyze the access of ease to this diet, it is easily attainable if one has a plan set up to how they will go about starting a low carb
The bad fats are trans fatty acids. Trans fatty acids are created and are saturated fats meaning they have no carbon double bonds. Diets high in saturated fats increase the risk of heart disease. Foods to avoid would are beef, butter, and lard. The good fats are unsaturated fats. These are commonly called monosaturated fats, and polysaturated fats. Diets high in unsaturated fats are, “associated with a lower risk of heart disease” (p.137) Monosaturated fats can been found in avocados, olive and canola oil. Polysaturated fats such as linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid are essential fatty acids because the body is not able to produce them, as described, “they are needed for the formation of the phosopholipid that give cell membranes their structure and functional properties.”(p.138) Cholesterol is needed to, “synthesize other sterols, including vitamin d; bile acids, which are emulsifiers in bile; cortisol, which is a hormone that regulates our physiological response to stress; and testosterone and estrogen, which are hormones necessary reproduction.” (p.140) I am pleased to mention that I met all the requirements for fatty acids and
Low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, may not be the best choice for weight loss due to long-term ineffectiveness, potentially negative side effects and a lack of long-term research. Ever since the recent popularization of the Atkins diet researchers have been trying to prove Dr. Atkins’ claims and determine whether or not the diet is safe. The current body of research available on dieting supports a diet low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates with an emphasis on calorie reduction. Studies have also shown a strong link between diets high in fat and both increased cholesterol and increased risk of heart disease. The Atkins diet is the opposite of what has generally been recommended; it requires the reduction of carbohydrates to 5% or less of total calories leaving fat and protein to make up the rest. The high fat and low-carbohydrate content of this diet goes against most diet research, has potentially harmful side effects and there is insufficient evidence to judge the long-term effectiveness of the Atkins diet.
What are carbohydrates? What role do they play in our bodies? The role of carbohydrates in our bodies is to provide energy, as they are the body’s main source of fuel. These biochemicals are needed for physical activity, brain function and to operate the organs. Carbohydrates can be found in dairy, fruits, grains, and in starchy vegetables. Complex carbohydrates are foods which contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Oat meal, brown rice, quinoa, potatoes, beans, peas, whole grains and other starchy vegetables are good examples of complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are a major source of energy for the body and can be found in fruits, fruit juices, and dairy products. While both kinds of carbohydrates use glucose as a source,
In the last couple of decades, dieting trends have astronomically increased. The average dieter has trained his or her ears and eyes to react to the word ‘fat’. Low fat, reduced fat, fat free- these are all words that until recently have set alarms off ringing in the typical dieter’s head. Recently, new vocabulary, such as ketogenic, ketosis, and low carbohydrate have stepped into the dieter’s world and questioned, or rather challenged, the ‘fat’ free method of dieting. So, after you have devoured the entire box of ‘fat’ free cookies perhaps you will ask yourself....WHAT ABOUT THE CARBOHYDRATES???
The food that we put into our bodies is one of the most vital aspects of promoting good health because it acts as our personal fuel. If the food we consume contains mostly empty calories and few nutrients, our bodies’ performance levels will be far less than standard. Furthermore, if we over consume foods without properly assessing their nutritional value, our bodies will be unable to completely process it, ultimately leading to obesity.
Carbohydrates are divided into two groups, simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, sometimes called simple sugars, include fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and lactose (milk sugar), as well as several other sugars. Fruits are one of the richest natural sources of simple carbohydrates.
4. Stein K. High-protein, low carbohydrate diets: Do they work? Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2000,100:760-761.
A low carb diet is a meal plan that people follow, where all carbohydrates are cut out of every meal for the purpose rapidly losing weight. Many wonder whether low carb diets are healthy and beneficial, or detrimental to ones health. This report will explain many aspects of low carb diets, including a general overview, myths associated with low carb diets, short and long term effects, an overview of the most commonly practiced low carb diet, and the reason people start living this lifestyle.