Low-carbohydrate diets or low-carb diets are dietary programs that restrict carbohydrate consumption, often for the treatment of obesity or diabetes. Foods high in easily digestible carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited or replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fats and moderate protein (e.g., meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, cheese, nuts, and seeds) and other foods low in carbohydrates (e.g., most salad vegetables such as spinach, kale, chard and collards), although other vegetables and fruits (especially berries) are often allowed. The amount of carbohydrate allowed varies with different low-carbohydrate diets.

Such diets are sometimes 'ketogenic' (i.e., they restrict carbohydrate intake sufficiently to cause ketosis). The induction phase of the Atkins diet[1][2][3] is ketogenic.

The term "low-carbohydrate diet" is generally applied to diets that restrict carbohydrates to less than 20% of caloric intake, but can also refer to diets that simply restrict or limit carbohydrates to less than recommended proportions (generally less than 45% of total energy coming from carbohydrates).[4][5]

Low-carbohydrate diets are used to treat or prevent some chronic diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and diabetes.[6][7]

As with the Paleolithic diet, several advocates of low-carbohydrate diets have argued that these diets are closer to the ancestral diet of humans before the origin of agriculture, and humans are genetically adapted to diets low in carbohydrate.[8] Direct archaeological or fossil evidence on nutrition during the Paleolithic, when all humans subsisted by hunting and gathering, is limited, but suggests humans evolved from the vegetarian diets common to other great apes to one with a greater level of meat-eating.[9] Some close relatives of modern Homo sapiens, such as the Neanderthals, appear to have been almost exclusively carnivorous.[10]

A more detailed picture of early human diets before the origin of agriculture may be obtained by analogy to contemporary hunter-gatherers. According to one survey of these societies, a relatively low carbohydrate (2240% of total energy), animal food-centered diet is preferred "whenever and wherever it [is] ecologically possible", and where plant foods do predominate, carbohydrate consumption remains low because wild plants are much lower in carbohydrate and higher in fiber than modern domesticated crops.[11] Primatologist Katherine Milton, however, has argued that the survey data on which this conclusion is based inflate the animal content of typical hunter-gatherer diets; much of it was based on early ethnography, which may have overlooked the role of women in gathering plant foods.[12] She has also highlighted the diversity of both ancestral and contemporary foraging diets, arguing no evidence indicates humans are especially adapted to a single paleolithic diet over and above the vegetarian diets characteristic of the last 30 million years of primate evolution.[13]

The origin of agriculture brought about a rise in carbohydrate levels in human diets.[14] The industrial age has seen a particularly steep rise in refined carbohydrate levels in Western societies, as well as urban societies in Asian countries, such as India, China, and Japan.

In 1797, John Rollo reported on the results of treating two diabetic Army officers with a low-carbohydrate diet and medications. A very low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet was the standard treatment for diabetes throughout the 19th century.[15][16]

In 1863, William Banting, a formerly obese English undertaker and coffin maker, published "Letter on Corpulence Addressed to the Public", in which he described a diet for weight control giving up bread, butter, milk, sugar, beer, and potatoes.[17] His booklet was widely read, so much so that some people used the term "Banting" for the activity usually called "dieting".[18]

In 1888, James Salisbury introduced the Salisbury steak as part of his high-meat diet, which limited vegetables, fruit, starches, and fats to one-third of the diet.[original research?]

Originally posted here:
Low-carbohydrate diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UPDATE: See our interview: hCG Diet Reviewed by FullBars Dr. Michael Snyder

You wont see me promoting quick fixes or fad diets anytime soon. But every once in awhile something comes along that seems so dangerous I have to call it out. Thats why Im going to help reveal the truth behind the HCG diet.

What it is: HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) is a hormone produced during pregnancy by the cells that form the placenta. This hormone is detected in the blood around 11 days after conception; it is detected in the urine around 12-14 days after conception. While it is most commonly associated with pregnancy, it is present in both genders.

What it does in the body: HCG signals the hypothalamus (area of the brain that affects metabolism) to mobilize fat stores. In pregnancy, this helps the body bring nutrients into the placenta, fueling the fetus with the energy to grow.

The weight loss claim: The HCG diet (using daily hcg injections) will help you lose 1-3 pounds per day. The HCG-diet combines the daily injections with a very low-calorie diet (500 calories per day).

500-calories per day is severely restrictive! In fact, it is not enough calories to support normal brain function. Your body will compensate by using stores of glycogen, protein (muscle) and some fat, which lowers your resting metabolism. Before you can lose true weight, you will be so irritable, lightheaded, and cranky that youll reach for whatever food you can get your hands on and have a field day.

Scientific evidence: There is no scientific evidence supporting HCG injections as a weight loss strategy. In addition, these injections have not been approved by the FDA for use in weight loss. In fact, since 1975 the FDA has required all marketing and advertising of HCG to state the following: HCG has not been demonstrated to be effective adjunctive therapy in the treatment of obesity. There is no substantial evidence that it increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or normal distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie-restricted diets.

HCG is a hormone extracted from urine of pregnant women. It is approved by FDA for treatment of certain problems of the male reproductive system and in stimulating ovulation in women who have had difficulty becoming pregnant. No evidence has been presented, however, to substantiate claims for HCG as a weight-loss aid. via the FDA

HCG ban: The hormone was recently added to the list of banned substances in Major League Baseball, as it was becoming increasingly popular among steroid users. Athletes turned to this, among other performance enhancing drugs because it mitigates the side effects of ending a cycle of steroids.

Negative side effects: The common side effects include headaches, mood swings, depression, blood clots, confusion, and dizziness. Some women also develop a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS); symptoms of this include pelvic pain, swelling of the hands and legs, stomach pain, weight gain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, vomiting/nausea, and/or urinating less than normal.

See more here:
HCG Diet | How Does the HCG Diet Work | HCG Diet Dangers

By Dr. Mercola

Grains should represent a small part of your diet, regardless of your age. I personally seek to avoid most grains, except rice.

But if you're going to eat some grain-based foods, how much is too much?

This debate heated up earlier this year when two nutritional experts, Dr. Paul Jaminet and Dr. Ron Rosedale, engaged in a debate over how many starches are too many.

Dr. Rosedale believes there is no such thing as a "safe starch" and that all starchy carbohydrates should be avoided, which of course includes all grains.

Dr. Jaminet, on the other hand, is a little more forgiving of some of the "safer starches," such as potatoes and rice. He believes some people need a small amount of these in their diets.

This is an interesting debate.

It's well thought out and well articulated, but quite lengthy.

If you have time, I do recommended you reading through all of it to see the nuances of their contrasting views.

The amount of carbohydrates one should consume for optimal health is a widely controversial topic. Fortunately we can gain some insights as to how much we might need by examininga child's diet, which is critically important for proper brain development. As you would expect, the quality of a child's diet will directly affect his or her cognitive functioning. Two recent studies highlight just how important this is.

The rest is here:
A Low-Carb Diet May Not be Healthy for You - Mercola.com

A GERD diet, when combined with other lifestyle changes, can often help reduce, or even eliminate many of the painful symptoms associated with acid reflux.

For GERD sufferers, the discomfort and complications can potentially affect every area of life, but finding the right treatment is sometimes a process of hit and miss since what works for one person may be ineffective for another.

In this article about creating a diet for GERD, you will get:

Understanding what GERD is, its causes, symptoms, the effects it has on your body, and the way your body responds to specific treatments is necessary to help you devise a plan diet to manage the condition.

Although research has led to many breakthroughs in this area, the one thing that has been proven most unequivocally is the fact that we are all individuals. And, since we are all different, there is no definitive treatment or GERD diet that will work in every circumstance.

In other words, there is a long list of suggestions that have been known to help treat the symptoms of GERD and encourage the body to heal itself, but it may take you a lot of time and a little extra patience to find what works for you and how to put together your own GERD diet.

I am sure that those of you who have been living with the symptoms know exactly what GERD is; but, for those who are new to the field or are experiencing some possible signs of the disease, a brief explanation may be helpful.

Gastroesophageal Reflux disease, or GERD, is a fairly common digestive disorder that occurs when stomach acid, and sometimes bile, refluxes or flows back into the esophagus and mouth.

Basically, there is a one way valve between your esophagus and stomach that allows food to enter the stomach but prevents it from refluxing back into the esophagus.

This valve is called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) which is a band of muscles that contract and relax to form a protective barrier. When the LES becomes weak or does not close properly, then acid reflux can occur.

Read the original here:
Healthy GERD Diet & Treatment: Foods to Avoid Acid Reflux

The paleolithic diet, also known as the paleo diet or caveman diet, is a diet based on the food humans' ancient ancestors might likely have eaten, such as meat, nuts and berries, and excludes food to which they likely wouldn't have had access, like dairy.

The diet is based on several premises. Proponents of the diet posit that during the Paleolithic era a period lasting around 2.5 million years that ended about 10,000 years ago with the advent of agriculture and domestication of animals humans evolved nutritional needs specific to the foods available at that time, and that the nutritional needs of modern humans remain best adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors. Proponents claim that human metabolism has been unable to adapt fast enough to handle many of the foods that have become available since the advent of agriculture. Thus, modern humans are said to be maladapted to eating foods such as grain, legumes, and dairy, and in particular the high-calorie processed foods that are a staple of most modern diets. Proponents claim that modern humans' inability to properly metabolize these comparatively new types of food has led to modern-day problems such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. They claim that followers of the Paleolithic diet may enjoy a longer, healthier, more active life.

Critics of the Paleolithic diet have raised a number of objections, including that paleolithic humans did eat grains and legumes,[1] that humans are much more nutritionally flexible than Paleolithic advocates claim, that Paleolithic humans were not genetically adapted to specific local diets, that the Paleolithic period was extremely long and saw a variety of forms of human subsistence, or that little is known for certain about what Paleolithic humans ate. At least one study suggests Neanderthal man and early modern humans ate primarily plant food.[2]

The term Paleolithic () describes a cultural period circa 2 million BCE and 10,000 BCE 'characterized by the use of flint, stone, and bone tools, hunting, fishing, and the gathering of plant foods'.[3] The term was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865.[4] It derives from Greek: , palaios, "old"; and , lithos, "stone", meaning "old age of the stone" or "Old Stone Age."[5][6]

The terms caveman diet and stone-age diet are also used,[7] with paleo diet by 2002.[8][9]Loren Cordain trademarked the term "Paleo Diet".[10]

The roots of the idea of a paleolithic diet can be traced to the work in the 1970s by gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin.[8] The idea was later developed by Stanley Boyd Eaton and Melvin Konner, and popularized by Loren Cordain in his best-selling 2002 book, The Paleo Diet.[8][9]

In 2012 the paleolithic diet was described as being one of the "latest trends" in diets, based on the popularity of diet books about it;[11] in 2013 the diet was Google's most searched-for weight-loss method.[12] The diet is one of many fad diets that have been promoted in recent times, and draws on an appeal to nature and a narrative of conspiracy theories about how nutritional research, which does not support the paleo diet, is controlled by a malign food industry.[13]

Cordain has said the diet requires:[14]

Food groups that advocates claim were rarely or never consumed by humans before the Neolithic agricultural revolution are excluded from the diet. These include:

The rationale for the Paleolithic diet derives from evolutionary medicine,[19] specifically the evolutionary discordance hypothesis. which states that "many chronic diseases and degenerative conditions evident in modern Western populations have arisen because of a mismatch between Stone Age genes and recently adopted lifestyles."[20] Advocates of the modern Paleolithic diet, including Loren Cordain, take the evolutionary discordance hypothesis for granted, and form their dietary recommendations on its basis. They argue that modern humans should follow a diet that is as nutritionally close to that of their Paleolithic ancestors as possible.

Read the original:
Paleolithic diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia