Are low carb diets bad for your health?

[kellykatt]

A friend of mine told me that there was a study that said following low carb diets is actually bad for you? Is this true? If so, why is that the case? I always thought people who followed low carb diets lost a lot of weight. I thought the reason that they typically aren't the best is that people have a hard time sticking to them and they usually balloon up once they get off them and their diet goes back to the way it was. What could be dangerous about this type of diet?

[bruceH]

I don't think they're bad for you unless you actually go too low on carbs. Reducing carbs isn't typically bad for most people because we tend to get to many carbs on average. That said, if you?re reducing carbs so much that you?re throwing your body into ketosis that?s a little extreme and not typically recommended for the average person unless they are being prescribed some special diet for their health by their doctor.

Essentially, it?s all about balance. Just as you shouldn?t reduce your calories so much that you put your body into starvation mode, don?t reduce carbs so much that your body needs to work super-hard to obtain energy. It?s all well and good to lower carb intake to reduce fat, but if you go overboard, you might see results but they won?t be long lasting cause you won?t keep it up and you?ll just put yourself in a vicious weight loss-weight gain cycle.

[Tiff]

I think they are bad for your health. I don't think reducing carbs is bad, but the diets that have you really restrict and limit them aren't good for you. It's not good because when you dramatically restrict your carbs you can be hungrier and not feel well. Plus, when you go back to eating carbs you'll balloon up for a while cause your body's metabolism will be so out of whack. Honestly, Atkins, Keto and all the other carb-hating diets are just not a good idea.

[Maggie]

Nope. They are not bad for your health. As everyone else said, it all depends on by how much you lower then. You should get more protein and fiber than carbs, but carbs are still important. They do provide your body with useful energy that can be highly beneficial. Remember, it's all about a balanced diet. Any diet that tells you to eat more of one thing than anything else isn't necessarily good for you, even if weight loss will result from it.

[1000kw]

Limiting carbs is good. Cutting then out entirely or too much just does bad things to your body and health. Lowering carb intake can help with weight loss, blood sugar control and heart health. Eliminating them or drastically limiting them, however, lowers your energy levels and increases your risk of nutrient deficiencies among other bad thing. Don't go overboard with carb and focus on balance and you'll be fine.

[antoniojones1968]

They are if they are extreme. Otherwise, they're fine. We could probably all stand to lower the amount of carbohydrates we eat in a day...just not to the point where we're starving ourselves or eliminating all carbs from our diets.