For how long can you safely reduce/cut out carbs?

You can certainly reduce the amount of carbs forever and still manage not to die (contrary to some views on this site). That being said you should be getting some carbs through the form of vegtables as a cornerstone of a low carb diet, with some fruits and generally avoiding anything processed, refined and packaged as a general rule.

Oh, and most grains are pretty much garbage, as is soy. Avoid those things as part of a carb reduction to get rid of the bloat and internal inflammation that most people actually get from gluten. Soy is stright up garbage IMO, messes with hormones, inhibits thyroid function in some people and is overconsumed by Americans especailly since they put it in just about everything processed these days (good luck finding even breakfast sausage in the grocery store these days without soy in it :mad: )

I have been doing low to no carbs for a very long time (20+ years). Started with Protein Power, then Atkins then you name the diet as long as it says no carbs it seemed to work for me. However with age comes a bit of wisdom (at least on how my own body reacts).

With regards to cutting out bread, baked goods, white rice, sugar, cookies, pizza, french fries, etc... that all makes a ton of sense and I know I can remove those from my diet forever and I'll feel better and have much more energy. When I've gone off the diet and added back those "comfort" foods I gained weight no matter how much I excercised.

However I've also overdone it where I ate nothing but meat and cheese and definitely did not feel as good. Working with a nutritionist I've greatly increased my vegetable intake (as an example added Spinach to my egg white and chicken apple sausage) and do allot more chicken and fish and less red meat (but red meat is good especialy if you can find grass fed).

So the challenge for me is to get enough fiber and in a low carb diet the best way that I've found for myself to do that is to add green steamed vegetables to every meal if possible.

Best of luck!

It depends on what you mean by "reduced carbs". I cut back on carbs, I consume between 100 - 150g/day. I eat some whole grains & complex carbs (whole grain bread, rice, sweet potato, etc.), but stay clear of simple carbs (white bread, white rice, potatos). I've been doing this for about 10 months now. I also walk on the treadmill (moderate pace) a mile a day for 6 days a week. I haven't fallen over yet.

Low Carbers get around 50g/ day or even less. That seems dicey to me, I couldn't sustain a daily carb level that low for a long period of time.

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination.

Thanks for the replies - and sorry, I should have been clearer in terms of what I meant by "reducing carbs". I didn't measure the actual amount of carbohydrate I was eating or anything, but my daily diet would consist of something like:

Breakfast - blueberries, full fat live yogurt and nuts
Lunch - large avocado with hummus and/or falafel
Dinner - salmon with asparagus and spinach, or some sort of home-made bean stew in tomato sauce
Snacks - fruit, nuts, seeds
Drinks - water (still and sparkling), fruit juice (but only once a day and EXTREMELY diluted), green tea, oolong tea
No pasta, bread, rice, oats, potatoes, refined sugar or honey, or junky carbs such as biscuits or cakes. And no booze!

My previous diet would have been: The same breakfast but with oatmeal sprinkled on, something rice-based for lunch such as risotto or kedgeree, and a similar dinner but with a potato or pasta accompaniment.

Had I lost weight on the scales and muscle tone, I would have stopped the diet. But I actually look leaner and more toned - I have the arms and shoulders of a javelin thrower despite not even doing any weights!

Can I come over for dinner?

Absolutely, if you bring a bottle of wine and dessert! Oh no ... wait ...

Avoid those things as part of a carb reduction to get rid of the bloat and internal inflammation that most people actually get from gluten

Celiac disease effects less than 1% of the population. Even the poorly-defined condition known as "gluten-intolerance" effects at most 10%.

This is not "most people" by any stretch of the imagination.

Celiac disease is the far end of the spectrum, but while it may be partly genetics, I find it unsurprising that I have issues (minor eczema that flares up whenever I eat wheat), my wife is HIGHLY gluten intolerant and my son is as well.

My mom also has issues with gluten and I personally know at least 15 other people that have issues ranging from aches and pains, acne, irritable bowel and other problems whenever they eat wheat. Your numbers might be accurate for DIAGNOSED cases (my wife is one), but I'd say that your average joe may have more issues with it than they realize.

And you're basing this assumption on what, exactly? Your feelings? LOL

The placebo effect works both ways, people who believe that they will have an adverse reaction to something will often have it regardless of whether or not there's any actual physiological reason.

I agree that people can have a placebo affect, but here's a good example:

I have a 2 year old. He has no way of knowing what he's being fed (nutrient wise) and through observation we can see that he gets a severe rash and eczema (diagnosed by a Dr.) under his eyes whenever he eats ANYTHING with gluten in it. I'm pretty sure that I'm not projecting anything on him to make him have these reactions...

The other night we ate out as a family, ordered things from the menu that based on the menu should not have had any wheat in it. Later that night I ithced a lot, but didn't think anything of it. My wife woke up the next morning with a lot of joint pain, swelling and stomach distress. She didn't know why, thought that she was getting sick. I called the restaurant just to check and sure enough the stuffed mushrooms (that the waitress assured us had no breading/wheat in it) had a panko breading mixed with the other ingredients, but the texture and taste we couldn't tell. Sure enough, looked at my son, and his rash was there.

Just saying that grain intolerance is real, many of us live without them and are perfectly healthy. There are no nutrients found in grains that can't be had through other sources that don't inflame and irritate.