Is it healthy to completely cut out carbs from my diet?

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Well, given the current meta-analysis linking vegetable and fruit consumption to reduced cancer, heart disease, and early death risk which led to the recent 10-a-day recommendation, I'm finding the arguments in support of low veggie intake less and less compelling.

Do you have a link to this? I have enough trouble getting 5 a day so I'd be interested in reading it.

Thanks.

https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/doi/10.1093/ije/dyw319/3039477/Fruit-and-vegetable-intake-and-the-risk-of

Thanks. Bookmarked for a later read.

crzycatlady1 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Well, given the current meta-analysis linking vegetable and fruit consumption to reduced cancer, heart disease, and early death risk which led to the recent 10-a-day recommendation, I'm finding the arguments in support of low veggie intake less and less compelling.

Do you have a link to this? I have enough trouble getting 5 a day so I'd be interested in reading it.

Thanks.

You need to join in the the little challenge that's going on (started today!) Links are in first post-
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10521320/10-a-day-800g-veggie-fruit-challenge-participants-check-in#latest

Oh god no. Like I said, 5 is a stretch for me. I hate veggies.

Hensonator1084 wrote: »

just keep your carbs low after 6pm

Why?

Tacklewasher wrote: »

crzycatlady1 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »

Well, given the current meta-analysis linking vegetable and fruit consumption to reduced cancer, heart disease, and early death risk which led to the recent 10-a-day recommendation, I'm finding the arguments in support of low veggie intake less and less compelling.

Do you have a link to this? I have enough trouble getting 5 a day so I'd be interested in reading it.

Thanks.

You need to join in the the little challenge that's going on (started today!) Links are in first post-
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10521320/10-a-day-800g-veggie-fruit-challenge-participants-check-in#latest

Oh god no. Like I said, 5 is a stretch for me. I hate veggies.

Whereas I'm that way about fruit I'm going to fit some in this week by hiding it under pudding and graham crackers lol.

Lara_z wrote: »

I eat a lot of carbs. Like white bread, potatoes, white rice, pasta.

Would it be a problem to completely cut out carbs from my diet for 1-2 weeks?
With the exception of having ready break in the morning for breakfast. And just have a diet of fruit, veg and protein?

I've read here that starchy food can contribute to weight gain and I want to cut it out together with high sugar foods (like cakes and biscuits) for a couple of weeks.

Would this be a good idea?
Has anyone tried cutting down on carbs?

Starchy foods don't contribute to weight gain...excess calories contribute to weight gain.

Cutting out starches and added sugars isn't a bad idea at all... they are foreign to the body and don't really belong there anyways. However, to cut out "carbs" in general is next to impossible. Fruits contain a ton of carbs and most veggies do as well. So if you're cutting out the bad, processed crap, I say go for it. You'll be miserable for the first two weeks because our bodies become very addicted to sugars but it won't kill you. If you have the motivation and will power, do it!

I'm talking like junk food here people, don't get your panties twisted sheeesh!

Hello_its_Dan wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

So @EbonyDahlia you don't agree that having vegetables everyday is essential? Strange when that should be close to 50% of our diet. That astounds me, unless you are not knowledgeable enough to realise that vegetables have carbs.

Carbs are not an essential nutrient, therefore vegetables are not essential. Vegetables can certainly contribute to a healthy diet but they are by no means needed. There are actually quite a few carnivores and almost zero carbers on MFP who are thriving without plant matter in their diets. As long as you eat quality animal products, it is not difficult to maintain excellent health without plants in one's diet.

Terrible advice and one to avoid.

Vitamins
Minerals
Phytonutrients
Fiber

What do you suggest?
Supplements?
C'mon!

Any good cut of meat (especially eating a varied diet of meats) along with healthy fats from things like eggs and butter will provide all of the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to thrive.

Phytonutrients - a catch-phrase used by the health food gurus backed by lots of correlation studies that do not offer direct cause/results to justify needing them.

Fiber - needed only to clean out the residue of higher carb diets

Again, as has been posted before, carbs are not a required macro and the body can and does manufacture any glycogen that it needs from both protein and fat.

ccrdragon wrote: »

Hello_its_Dan wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

So @EbonyDahlia you don't agree that having vegetables everyday is essential? Strange when that should be close to 50% of our diet. That astounds me, unless you are not knowledgeable enough to realise that vegetables have carbs.

Carbs are not an essential nutrient, therefore vegetables are not essential. Vegetables can certainly contribute to a healthy diet but they are by no means needed. There are actually quite a few carnivores and almost zero carbers on MFP who are thriving without plant matter in their diets. As long as you eat quality animal products, it is not difficult to maintain excellent health without plants in one's diet.

Terrible advice and one to avoid.

Vitamins
Minerals
Phytonutrients
Fiber

What do you suggest?
Supplements?
C'mon!

Any good cut of meat (especially eating a varied diet of meats) along with healthy fats from things like eggs and butter will provide all of the vitamins and minerals that the body needs to thrive.

Phytonutrients - a catch-phrase used by the health food gurus backed by lots of correlation studies that do not offer direct cause/results to justify needing them.

Fiber - needed only to clean out the residue of higher carb diets

Again, as has been posted before, carbs are not a required macro and the body can and does manufacture any glycogen that it needs from both protein and fat.

Can you list off a week's worth of no carb meals? By "no carb" I mean no carb, not net carb, but absolutely zero carbs.

Feel the need to add - while carbs and plant matter are not strictly required, and supplementation isn't necessary either because animal products contain the necessary micronutrients, there's still an open and non-trivial question of what is optimal. I'm guessing this varies person-to-person, but I'd really have a hard time believing that eating plants is sub-optimal. I eat a ketogenic diet most of the time, and even when I don't I'm low-ish carb, and I don't feel nearly as well without lots of fresh veggies, nuts, some fruit, etc. Actually, I'd say those things are the basis of my diet by volume, though probably not by proportion of calories.

In any case, I think it's interesting that the advent of agriculture and (relatively, for most but not all cultures) higher-carb diets allowed us to flourish as a species by decreasing the time and work it took to gather food. And in fact, it allowed us the luxury we low-carbers have today in not having to hunt our meat.

I think it's likely that some people have better adapted to handle higher carbohydrate levels, and this is likely somewhat correlated with when agriculture was developed in the region where their predominant ancestors are from. Of course this is conjecture, but it seems to have some anecdotal evidence. The Inuits had very low carbohydrate intake, even until very recently (the level is debated, but by any standard it's pretty low). Now, as the culture modernizes and a wider variety of food is available, their carbohydrate intake has risen dramatically. Heart disease, diabetes, and other disease rates have also skyrocketed. This is only correlation, but suggests that further study is warranted.

This is also backed up by the research of Dr. Jeff Volek, considered by many to be the foremost expert on low carbohydrate diets (he holds a Ph.D, R.D., and a professorship at a respected institution; this is not just some guy writing a diet book and the focus is on more than just weight loss). No science on this is as yet conclusive, but it has some narrative for why some seem to do better on low-carbohydrate diets.