is it healthy to cut carbs?

[bigbobby]

I’ve had some success with dieting that has reduced carbs, so I do believe that this type of diet can work. But is it healthy?

I know that the body needs certain good fats and protein is definitely required, but are carbs absolutely necessary to health? For instance, can you be carbohydrate deficient?

Or are there nutrients that are essential that are available only in carbohydrate containing foods, so that if I cut them too low, I will actually end up deficient in them, instead?

I can’t seem to find these answers anywhere online so I thought maybe someone here might know.

[ChristySmiles]

I don't think that you can actually be carb deficient. In fact, I think I've read that carbohydrates are actually the only macronutrient that you can actually live without. You can't live without fats or proteins, though. The only problem with cutting carbs is that it makes it very difficult to obtain a lot of other nutrients and fibers that are primarily available in carb containing foods.

The best idea is just to be very wise about the carbohydrates that you do eat and make sure that they are nutritionally dense. That helps to make sure that every one of them is worthwhile.

[madscientist]

I don't see any problem with cutting carbs in terms of health. You probably shouldn't entirely eliminate them because then when you start to eat normally again after you've lost the weight, you'll end up with digestive issues and you'll balloon the weight back on again at a huge speed. It's far better to just cut back instead of eliminating it altogether.

[speeddemon]

I don't like any diet that says "cut out this" or "cut out that". It doesn't think healthy and long term enough. Instead of trying to just hack away carbs, look into the healthiest diet and remember portion size. That will naturally help you to reduce your weight without feeling deprived

[Ron]

Before making any final decisions about whether or not to eat carbs and how much of them you should be eating, you might want to think about talking to your doctor. Different people need different levels of nutrition based on a lot of things from activity level to weight to health conditions. Only you and your doctor can figure out if it's good or even safe for you to change the balance of the carbs you eat.

[char]

it all depends on how you do it. Don't eliminate them, but you can reduce them if you're eating too many