A Review of Low
Carbohydrate Dieting for Beginners
by
Maggie Ball
A casual glance through the pages of any woman's magazine will reveal
a myriad of diets. Low fat, high fat, low protein, high protein diets
based on grapefruits, on eating no fruit, eating lots of fruit, on food
combinations, or food avoidance. Most of these diets contradict one
another, and some
are dangerously low in protein, calories, vitamins, and/or minerals. If
you have a few pounds or kilos to shed, how do you choose? Where do you
begin?
As a PhD qualified health educator,
researcher, exercise
physiologist, and writer with more than 20 years in health sciences,
Tanya Zilberter is as qualified as anyone to guide would be slimmers.
She runs three very popular diet focused web sites: dietandbody.com,
DietAndBody.com, and BestLowCarbs.com, and Dr Zilberter's eBook Low Carbohydrate Dieting for Beginners,
is, as one would expect, a well written, well researched guide to low
carbohydrate diets. While I'm quite familiar with the FDA requirements,
and was raised by a health conscious fanatic vegetarian, occasional
macrobiotic, raw food, chew counting new age mother, I must say that
the concept of a low carbohydrate diet was new to me. The basic premise
for low carbohydrate diets is that
the body will always burn carbohydrates first since it is the body's
preferred fuel, and then burn fats second. Therefore a high
carbohydrate diet will
limit fat burning.
Zilberter's book covers this point in
more detail, along with
information on what a low carbohydrate diet is, and a detailed look at
the different types
of low carbohydrate diets, including ketogenic diets (high fat, low
protein,
low carbohydrates), the Atkins diet, Carbohydrate Addict Diet,
Neanderthin, Protein Power, The Schwarzbein principle, Sugar Busters,
and The Zone Diet. The book is well written and easy to understand,
with plenty of references to back up the statements, along with
anecdotal evidence of people who have benefited from specific diets,
diet comparisons, typical menus, testimonials, food charts, proponents,
and opponents, trends, and why the FDA guidelines, which contradict
much of what the proponents of low-carb diets state, may not be
appropriate for everyone.
From my own perspective, I must say
that the only diet which makes
any sense to me is the Schwarzbein diet, which recommends a range of
whole
"live" foods, including complex carbohydrates, and avoids supplements,
which
I generally donut believe in, except for pregnant women, and those with
specific
deficiencies. Certainly I would be personally loath to reduce my intake
of
good quality whole grains and legumes, however, Zilberter is an expert
(and
I certainly am not), and her survey is quite thorough and well put,
with
nice graphics, clear, simple writing, and a very logical and balanced
presentation.
If you are considering a low-carbohydrate diet, or want to try
something
a little different from the standard FDA diet of eating lots of complex
carbohydrates,
fruits and vegetables, and little fat, or, perhaps more importantly,
have
had difficulty shifting weight using more conventional diet methods,
this
guide is certainly worth a read.
About the reviewer: Maggie Ball is a
freelance writer, reviewer,
and
interviewer. She is content manager for The Compulsive Reader at
http://www.compulsivereader.com, Australian Literature Reviews at
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/10111, and is the author of "THE
ART OF ASSESSMENT: How to Review Anything," available at:
www.compulsivereader.com/report1001.html
