Low-carb Diet Mistakes
August 31, 2004
By Stacie Overton, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The craze over low-carb diets is still going strong, but many people may not be doing low carb the right way. Molly Kimball, R.D., from the Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, says there are common mistakes people make that they do not even know they're making.
Kimball says one mistake people make when it comes to low-carb living is an all-or-nothing mentality. She says: "They’re either on a low-carb diet, or they’re completely devouring the bread basket. Finding that middle ground is important for people so they can stay with something long-term. Not having carbohydrates at night is fine. But having a slice of whole-grain bread with breakfast or a little bit of carbs with lunch is fine, and they’re still keeping their carbs under 100 grams for the day."
Another mistake? Not counting sugar alcohols in the total intake of carbohydrates from foods. Kimball says: "Sugar alcohols are basically a type of carbohydrate that are not completely broken down; they're not completely digested. So legally on food labels, food manufacturers are able to say that you can subtract it from the total carbohydrates and it’s not included in net carbs. But it’s still causing your body to produce insulin. By not counting [sugar alcohols] in the carbohydrate content, you’re actually not counting the impact they're going to have on your insulin." However, she adds that you can subtract the total grams of fiber from the total carb count in every food (guilt-free). She says, "Fiber is a type of carbohydrate, but it is not digested at all by the body."
Another dangerous road to travel, says Kimball, is not taking into account the number of calories you're eating. She says: "All [people] look at is carbohydrates, but most of us still don’t take into account the calories of the nuts, cheese and beef. Whenever people do a low-carb diet, they tend to have a lot of saturated fat." So cut calories, not just carbs. Kimball says: "I think if you’re going to do a low-carb diet, choose lean proteins. Go with grilled fish, lean pork, lean beef or chicken. If you’re doing fats, choose healthier fats like nuts, avocadoes and olive oil. Limit the heavier saturated foods, fats like butter, and higher fat meats."
Kimball says, "Another mistake you can make is adding in all these newer low-carb treats, like low-carb chocolate and low-carb ice cream. The calories that they had initially cut out, they’re putting right back in with these low-carb versions of the traditional foods. So, again getting back to the idea that the calories do still matter. People often do stop losing weight when they’re adding in these low-carb treats."
Finally, when looking at the labels of low-carb foods, Kimball says to look at how that product is made to be low carb. She says: "If it lists ingredients like soy protein or oat fiber and that’s how they’re making it low carb, then great. If it’s just enriched flours and sugar alcohols then it’s really not a great low-carb product."
SOURCE: Ivanhoe Interview with Molly Kimball, RD, Ochsner Clinic, New Orleans
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.