Table of contents:
- What is the LCHF diet?
- How is the LCHF diet different from other high-fat diets such as the keto or Atkins diet?
- Who is suitable for this diet?
- Which foods should you cut back on in this diet?
- Recommended food?
- Are there any side effects that occur while following this diet?
The LCHF diet is a diet that has many benefits, ranging from eliminating fat in the body (so you can lose weight), reducing sugar cravings, and also reducing overall hunger. Hence, some people go on this diet. However, what exactly is this LCHF? What foods should be avoided and which are recommended? Here is the review.
What is the LCHF diet?
The LCHF diet stands for Low Carbohydrate - High Fat. This diet is an umbrella term for all meal plans that reduce carbohydrates and increase fat with moderate protein. The LCHF diet does not have clear standards for nutritional percentages, because LCHF refers more to lifestyle changes.
The LCHF diet is also sometimes called the Banting Diet, because it comes from someone named Wiliam Banting from England who popularized this diet after losing weight with amazing results.
Meal planning in this diet emphasizes unprocessed foods such as fish, eggs, fresh vegetables that contain little carbohydrates, and nuts. This diet does not recommend food or drinks that are processed or packaged through various processes in the factory.
How is the LCHF diet different from other high-fat diets such as the keto or Atkins diet?
The LCHF diet is a type of diet that has a low carbohydrate and high fat principle, without any rules on how much fat, carbs, and protein there is. The keto or Atkins diet is a more specific form of the LCHF diet.
In the ketogenic diet, there are guidelines or standards that recommend what percentage of fat is recommended. For example, the standard ketogenic diet consists of 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and only 5 percent carbohydrates to reach the ketosis state. Ketosis is a condition in which the body begins to convert energy burning from fat, no longer from carbohydrates.
Another example, on the Atkins diet, to initiate weight loss in the first two weeks of the Atkins diet (induction phase) it is recommended that you only consume 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. After this phase, you can increase your carbohydrate intake even more.
Now, on the LCHF diet, everyone who lives it does not need to carefully calculate the amount of nutrients that must be followed. In essence, just follow the principle of lower intake of carbohydrates than fat.
Living the LCHF lifestyle is helpful for people who prefer flexibility with the amount of fat and carbohydrates they want.
Some people may find it appropriate to reduce carbohydrate intake to under 50 grams per day. However, others are not necessarily suitable when it comes to consuming less than 150 grams of carbohydrates per day.
Who is suitable for this diet?
Since this diet is recommended for lower carbohydrates, this diet is recommended for people who want to lose weight or maintain an ideal body weight.
Also reported on the Diabetes.co.uk page, the LCHF diet is recognized by the Swedish government as a recommended diet for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Because, the principle of this diet involves less levels of the hormone insulin when processed in the body. This will be safer for people with diabetes.
In addition, this diet is also suitable for people with heart disease, epilepsy and alzaimers. Before running this diet, you must first consult the doctor and nutritionist who handles it.
Which foods should you cut back on in this diet?
- Grains and starches such as bread, rice, pasta, cereals and noodles
- Sugary or sweetened drinks such as soda, sweetened tea, chocolate milk, or juice
- Sweeteners such as sugar, honey and syrupmaple
- Starchy vegetables are potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and beets
- Fruits can still be consumed, but the amount is limited to only small portions
- Alcoholic beverages
- Food or beverage products that are labeled low in fat
- Processed food
- Margarine
Although the above foods should be reduced to the LCHF diet, the amount of carbohydrates consumed per day varies, depending on the suitability of each person.
Recommended food?
- Egg
- Olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil
- Fish: all fish especially fatty fish such as salmon, sardines and tuna
- Beef and poultry
- Dairy products such as cream, yogurt, butter, and cheese
- Non-starchy vegetables, such as green leafy vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, peppers
- Avocado
- Berries such as blueberries and raspberries
- Nuts and seeds
Are there any side effects that occur while following this diet?
Because the body receives less carbohydrates than fat, these changes require the body to adapt. These adaptations have some of the side effects of this diet, such as:
- Nausea
- Constipation (which occurs most often) aka difficulty defecating
- Diarrhea
- Limp body
- Headache
- Muscle cramp
- Insomnia
- Headache
Therefore, this diet is not recommended for people who are hypersensitive to cholesterol or are often referred to as hyper-responders. Because, cholesterol will more easily accumulate and be dangerous in people who experience this.
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