Low carb Diets and its side effects..
When you're trying to shed a few pounds, one of your go-to strategies might be cutting carbs. With low-carb plans like the ketogenic diet ,trending, it’s easy to think it's a good idea to avoid carbs altogether. But before you try sticking to fat and protein alone, we'd like to bust some myths for you.
Alongside fat and protein, carbohydrates are one of the three macronutrients in our diet with their main function being to provide energy to the body. They occur in many different forms, like sugars and dietary fiber, and in many different foods, such as whole grains, fruit and vegetables.
Today world the most controversial topic is carbs. But we also need to understand the basic functions of Carbs.
6 Essential Functions of Carbohydrates
Our bodies could not function without carbohydrates. Our brain especially relies solely on carbohydrates for its metabolic properties. Essential functions that make carbohydrates important are as follows:
1. Provide Us with Energy
The main thing carbohydrates give us is the energy for metabolism. This is why dieticians recommend that more than half of our calories should be supplied in the form of carbs. Some carbs are used immediately for cellular processes, while excess carbs are stored in the form of glycogen, which is present in the liver. Some carbs turn into fat and are stored in our fat cells.
2. Use Protein in Other Beneficial Ways
Without the functions of carbohydrates, our body would have to use protein for fuel. Protein, however, is necessary for other cellular processes and when it is wasted as fuel, we have less protein for the repair of tissues and for the production of enzymes. Carbs allow our body to use protein for what its primary purpose is and not just for fuel.
3. Are Necessary for Fat Oxidation
The body needs carbs in order to burn fat. A breakdown product of carbohydrates is called oxaloacetic acid, which is necessary to metabolize fats. Without this breakdown product, fats get turned into ketones, which can be toxic to the bodies. This is why we need carbs in order to allow fats to be metabolized correctly by the body.
4. Help Gastro-Intestinal (GI) Function in the Body
Carbohydrates play a role in the production of B complex vitamins made by beneficial bacteria in the body. The beneficial bacteria live off the carbohydrates consumed by the GI tract and can then help us in return by producing valuable vitamins we need to function. One of the functions of carbohydrates is to provide fuel for these beneficial bacteria so that they can symbiotically help us in return. Carbohydrates, such as lactate, help the body absorb calcium better, which is good for our bones.
5. Make Our Food More Flavorful
Carbohydrates provide us with more flavors in the diet. Carbohydrates come in more varieties than just about any other food. They are easily digested by the GI tract, especially when cooked, and give us the staple food our bodies need to function.
6. Help Cellular Recognition Processes
This means that carbohydrates are important to our immune system. Many antibodies and proteins used in the immune system contain both carbs and protein. Without carbs, these combination protein/carbohydrate molecules cannot form. The carbohydrate component helps the liver know when to degrade the antibody by being cleaved off the proteins making up the immunoglobulin.
Also the amount of carbohydrates in your diet will also help to produce the amount of insulin needed in our body.
In other way, the production of Insulin is directly depended on the amount of carbs. Without carbs insulin production also is reduced.
So lets get into the function of Insulin :-
In addition to the regulation of glucose, insulin also plays a role in other areas of the body. It may be involved in all of the following functions to:
Modify the activity of enzymes and the resulting reactions in the body.
Build muscle following sickness or injury via the transportation of amino acids to the muscle tissue, which is required to repair muscular damage and increase size and strength. It helps to regulate the uptake of amino acids, DNA replication and the synthesis of proteins.
Manage synthesis of lipids by uptake into fat cells, which are converted to triglycerides.
Manage breakdown or protein and lipids due to changes in fat cells.
Uptake of amino acids and potassium into the cells that cannot take place in the absence of insulin.
Manage excretion of sodium and fluid volume in the urine.
Enhance learning and memory of the brain functions.
It is evident that insulin plays a number of essential roles in the body, including the management of sugar levels in the blood and many other areas.
So If you are looking for weight loss or other medical conditions it is always a good idea to get professional help from a Dietitian who can help you with a healthy diet planning.
The best rule for healthy diet is to stick with complex carbs with fiber and completely avoiding simple carbs and oligocarbs ( maltodextrin, high fructose etc..)
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