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My main issue with low carb is that humans have been eating carbs for thousands of years. The obesity epidemic is only decades old. I've seen enough evidence

by swalsh 4y ago

My main issue with low carb is that humans have been eating carbs for thousands of years. The obesity epidemic is only decades old. I've seen enough evidence that low carb is working for people, so it would seem like something in the carbs we eat in particular is causing the problem... not carbs in general. We should significantly increase the science in this area in my opinion.

chrisco255 4y ago
Your ancestors spent hundreds of calories a day farming those carbs in the fields. They didn't order it straight to their door via Uber Eats.
- poisonarena 4y ago
  i mean even in the 70s and 80s people werent ham planets like they are now
  - ryathal 4y ago
    Fats were far more prevalent in the 70s and 80s though. Many recipes called for lard, shortening, butter, or tallow. Food was also far less processed, featuring less added sugars or other carbs that have been added for appearance or shelf stability reasons.
gjvnq 4y ago
The big issue is probably the "hidden carbs" in snacks and the vast amounts of sugar on everything.
- ryathal 4y ago
  It's not just sugar. Shredded cheese has potato starch added to prevent clumping, which adds about 1-2 carbs per serving.
goodpoint 4y ago
Correct. Yet demonizing carbohydrates is more dramatic that just eating the right amount. Fad diets are driven by hot takes and propelled by psychological biases. Also, radical changes in diet often lead to temporary improvements in mood and energy levels. People often ascribe the improvement to the new diet rather than the change and think they found the holy grail. Edit: "keto" as "prescribed by reddit" is a fad. If you are referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet it's a therapeutic diet to be prescribed by specialists to ameliorate epilepsy. """The ketogenic diet is not considered a benign, holistic, or all-natural treatment. As with any serious medical therapy, it may result in complications, although these are generally less severe and less frequent than with anticonvulsant medication or surgery"""
- nightski 4y ago
  Keto is not a fad diet nor a hot take. I've been on the diet for a decade and I know plenty of others who have as well. There is quite a bit of research around it and it has been in use for a century or more. It may not be for everyone and that is totally fine. But it's just a normal diet.
treis 4y ago
IMHO it's obvious why it works. If you came up with a diet program that cut out cake, cookies, candy, chips and basically every other bit of junk food that'd get you a "no duh". Add on eating your hamburger with lettuce buns and suddenly you're an innovative genius.
cskCollo 4y ago
You are right - The a big difference is the increase in processed sugars/foods and what I personally call hidden sugars(For example, corn syrup is added into sausage). Many people do not also think of carbs as sugars. Our ancestors ate carbs for thousands of years but it was healthier carbs e.g whole grains. So its better for you to eat corn/beans than something like a big mac with a chocolate shake(the science is there). I believe that the point of this article is low carb diet should also be included in the diet recommendations so that health practioners should also have it in their arsenal of tools && schools to teach it. It's not an either or argument.
prirun 4y ago
IMO, a big difference is the way food is grown and processed. When I was a kid, my great aunt and uncle had a farm and grew wheat. Now most things are grown by large, profit-oriented corporations that don't give a shit about the quality of food but only how much profit they make from it. If some GMO trick kills bugs, great! They don't care if it also kills people or makes them sick.
Dma54rhs 4y ago
I've seen someone close to me having success with losing weight with this diet. But truth be told to me the low carb diet looked like lower calorie diet redefined. Whatever works of course.
- timbit42 4y ago
  Reducing carbs reduces the subsequent blood sugar spike, which reduces the insulin the pancreas must produce to push that sugar into the fat cells, increasing weight, and eliminating the subsequent sugar crash which causes you to feel hungry. On a keto diet, instead of being hungry 2 hours after eating, you won't be hungry until 6 hours later. This reduces calories eaten which helps reduce weight.

by swalsh 4y ago

chrisco255 4y ago

Your ancestors spent hundreds of calories a day farming those carbs in the fields. They didn't order it straight to their door via Uber Eats.

poisonarena 4y ago
i mean even in the 70s and 80s people werent ham planets like they are now
- ryathal 4y ago
  Fats were far more prevalent in the 70s and 80s though. Many recipes called for lard, shortening, butter, or tallow. Food was also far less processed, featuring less added sugars or other carbs that have been added for appearance or shelf stability reasons.

gjvnq 4y ago

The big issue is probably the "hidden carbs" in snacks and the vast amounts of sugar on everything.

ryathal 4y ago
It's not just sugar. Shredded cheese has potato starch added to prevent clumping, which adds about 1-2 carbs per serving.

goodpoint 4y ago

Correct. Yet demonizing carbohydrates is more dramatic that just eating the right amount. Fad diets are driven by hot takes and propelled by psychological biases. Also, radical changes in diet often lead to temporary improvements in mood and energy levels. People often ascribe the improvement to the new diet rather than the change and think they found the holy grail. Edit: "keto" as "prescribed by reddit" is a fad. If you are referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet it's a therapeutic diet to be prescribed by specialists to ameliorate epilepsy. """The ketogenic diet is not considered a benign, holistic, or all-natural treatment. As with any serious medical therapy, it may result in complications, although these are generally less severe and less frequent than with anticonvulsant medication or surgery"""

nightski 4y ago
Keto is not a fad diet nor a hot take. I've been on the diet for a decade and I know plenty of others who have as well. There is quite a bit of research around it and it has been in use for a century or more. It may not be for everyone and that is totally fine. But it's just a normal diet.

treis 4y ago

IMHO it's obvious why it works. If you came up with a diet program that cut out cake, cookies, candy, chips and basically every other bit of junk food that'd get you a "no duh". Add on eating your hamburger with lettuce buns and suddenly you're an innovative genius.

cskCollo 4y ago

You are right - The a big difference is the increase in processed sugars/foods and what I personally call hidden sugars(For example, corn syrup is added into sausage). Many people do not also think of carbs as sugars. Our ancestors ate carbs for thousands of years but it was healthier carbs e.g whole grains. So its better for you to eat corn/beans than something like a big mac with a chocolate shake(the science is there). I believe that the point of this article is low carb diet should also be included in the diet recommendations so that health practioners should also have it in their arsenal of tools && schools to teach it. It's not an either or argument.

prirun 4y ago

IMO, a big difference is the way food is grown and processed. When I was a kid, my great aunt and uncle had a farm and grew wheat. Now most things are grown by large, profit-oriented corporations that don't give a shit about the quality of food but only how much profit they make from it. If some GMO trick kills bugs, great! They don't care if it also kills people or makes them sick.

Dma54rhs 4y ago

I've seen someone close to me having success with losing weight with this diet. But truth be told to me the low carb diet looked like lower calorie diet redefined. Whatever works of course.

timbit42 4y ago
Reducing carbs reduces the subsequent blood sugar spike, which reduces the insulin the pancreas must produce to push that sugar into the fat cells, increasing weight, and eliminating the subsequent sugar crash which causes you to feel hungry. On a keto diet, instead of being hungry 2 hours after eating, you won't be hungry until 6 hours later. This reduces calories eaten which helps reduce weight.