Are Low-Carbohydrate Diets the Key to Weight Loss?

While people do lose weight on just about any kind of diet, including low-carbohydrate diets, temporary weight loss is not recommended. Instead, lifelong weight control and good health need to be the focus of weight-loss efforts. Here are some facts to consider before embarking on a weight-loss program.

The popularity of low-carbohydrate diets is rising once again. Many readers will remember that these diets were also popular during the 1970s. While scientists understand more about the metabolism of nutrients such as fats and carbohydrates today than they did 30 years ago, their basic recommendations for healthful weight loss have not changed very much, and most do not recommend low-carbohydrate diets. While people do lose weight on just about any kind of diet, including low-carbohydrate diets, temporary weight loss is not recommended. Instead, lifelong weight control and good health need to be the focus of weight-loss efforts. Here are some facts to consider before embarking on a weight-loss program.

Consume fewer calories than you burn

Weight loss occurs when your body must draw on its energy reserves; hopefully, its abundant stores of body fat. Most nutritionists agree that people lose weight on low-carbohydrate diets because they eat fewer calories than usual when their food choices are so limited.

Research has shown that diets high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains are associated with many important long-term health benefits. Plant foods, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains, contain many important vitamins and minerals. They also contain many different kinds of fiber, and we need plenty of fiber to stay healthy. We also need the hundreds of phytochemicals (literally, "plant chemicals") found in plants, including the antioxidants and other chemicals that help prevent cancer and heart disease. Nutrition research has repeatedly found many health benefits associated with the consumption of plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.