BUT GUYS, WHY LOW CARB?

Here is why, anywhere, anyplace you can substitute carbohydrate heavy options for low carb versions YOUR BODY WILL THANK YOU!

All humans are intolerant to carbohydrates to a certain extent, as carbohydrates are NOT the preferred fuel source for humans as a species, and humans have a ZERO REQUIREMENT OF CARBOHYDRATES TO SURVIVE.

Zero requirements?

Yes, you read it right! but I thought I needed carbs for energy?

I know you thought so! We have been telling people this fad history for a long time now, but long story short, no! you do not need carbohydrates for energy and in fact, a carbohydrate loaded meal will give you LESS ENERGY in the long run, will make you feel tired, cranky and lethargic, hungrier throughout the whole day, eventually sick, fat, old and diseased.

Reasons why we choose the low carb way of life.

1.

Once you cut excessive carbs is easier to lose weight!

Studies show that low carb diets reduce body fat much more than low-fat diets, even though the low-carb groups are allowed to eat until fullness, which means not counting calories and naturally losing fat because it promotes satisfaction! YAY! so you are never feeling like you are on a diet because you naturally feel less hungry.

2.

Cause a greater reduction in blood pressure

3.

Lower blood triglycerides much more than any other diet approach

4.

Increased Levels of HDL (the “good”) Cholesterol

5.

Lower blood sugar and improve symptoms of diabetes

When you limit your carb consumption, you stimulate increased fat burning and decreased fat storage

When you eat a carbohydrate meal, (because high blood sugars are toxic) the body responds with a hormone called insulin, your body releases insulin to carry glucose (sugar) to the cells, Insulin helps convert the excess carbohydrate foods you eat into either glycogen (the storage form of carbohydrate in the muscles) or into fat stored in fat cells. Too much insulin being released can also be toxic and highly inflammatory for your body.

Convinced? If you need to lose weight, lower triglycerides, increase HDL cholesterol, lower blood sugar levels and insulin, feel better, have more energy, be more productive in life, protect your immune system, sleep better, eating like this will definitely give you this positive effects and a low carbohydrate strategy is the best recipe to date to reverse disease and obesity.

But you can say, Andreia, but I feel pretty good, I am happy with my weight, or I am an athlete or a bodybuilder, should I still eat low carb?

The answer is YES! And here is my favourite reason to eat low carb:

People might ask but I am already healthy, I don’t want to lose weight, or I need all these carbs so I can have energy and perform my sports?

The answer is: No one needs carbs and choosing carbohydrates as your primary food source is AGING YOUR FASTER, doesn’t matter if you are skinny or not, athlete or not, carbohydrates will age us faster. Period. That’s definitely a reason not to eat them! Who wants to age faster, make their body look and feel older, or die younger? I don’t think that’s the wish of a lot of people.

Insulin is in fact a MAJOR accelerant of the aging process, and also affects many bodily processes, all of which can impact your longevity.

For example, insulin:

  • Alters the expression of numerous hormones
  • Stimulates your sympathetic nervous system
  • Promotes vasoconstriction

Research Now Shows HOW Carbohydrates Shorten Your Lifespan

Elevated Insulin Levels — The Leading Cause of Premature Aging and Premature Death

Increased insulin and leptin receptor sensitivity have clearly become the leading candidates for premature death.

This results from two primary conditions:

1.Excessive amounts of sugar/grains and processed foods, combined with

2.Insufficient exercise

How to reduce insulin levels? Limiting Carbs and Exercising are the Cornerstones of “the Fountain of Youth”

 Exercise is also complementary way to reduce your insulin levels. Physical exercise does indeed help you regain insulin sensitivity, specially proper intense exercise done with low force in a safe manner like we promote at Intense Health is the best strategy to date also for this purpose.

In fact, exercise may have on itself the effect of “relative calorie restriction” as it produces many of the same benefits you get when cutting calories from your diet.

These benefits include:

  • Improved insulin sensitivity
  • Decreased fat mass
  • Reduced risk of cancer

Studies repeatedly show that regular, moderate-to-vigorous exercise can help prevent or delay your onset of hypertension, obesity and heart disease, just to name a few of the diseases that significantly contribute to premature death.

Every time you choose that carbohydrate rich meal, you are causing more oxidative stress and release of free radicals on your body which will age will faster, independent if you are skinny or not, athlete or not as again humans were not built to be ingesting carbohydrates in big frequency. Carbohydrate would always be available in nature for survival of species- some places on earth would have some carbohydrates available millions of years ago, so we wouldn’t get extinct through winter in the absence of food. The survival of the species would make it a good trade off, by eating carbs even by the expense of more oxidation and aging faster so we could be fatten up quickly and then we could survive the winter where scarcity would set in and naturally we would lean out when fasting for long periods when there was not food, yes having the carbs would still age the body faster, but if we wouldnt be fattened up by the carbs we could potentially die of scarcity, so nature wasn’t happy about that one…  Ageing a bit faster by eating carbs was better than diying off with no food and not enough fat storage, so at least the species would survive.

Clearly nowadays the world is different, nowadays, having food available all the time, we have a choice to use our eating patterns and exercise patterns to work in our favour so we can survive for longer, being smart in the way that you eat and the way you exercise you can trigger the youthful genes on your body, so you can live for longer, in a healthier state.

Of course, every individual is different, customization is very important, having a health professional to adjust the ratios and how much carbs depend on goals, lifestyle, genetic predispositions, previous health conditions, is important.

What are the goals?

So important to address that: do you want to live longer?

To have fun in life and just have a good body and avoid being sick and diseased?

To build muscle?

To lose fat?

To tone up?

To avoid pain?

To be more productive?

To increase your performance at work to make more money?

To perform better at your sport?

It can be a different answer, different strategy or a combination of those to maximise results in different areas of focus.

At Intense Health we will assess your goals individually and create a plan together combining exercise and nutrition depending on what YOU WANT and how YOUR BODY respond.

To learn more on how you can make the appropriate changes to make a low carbohydrate strategy work for you and combined with proper superior exercise contact us at Intense Health, we can help!

If there is someone you love and care about that think would help them to transform their life, please share away! Our health is our wealth, we are determined to change the world, one good and sensible information at a time.

We want to help YOU and the ones you love to discover how health can be fun, enjoyable and not time consuming! Apply for our free consultation offer; if interested in knowing more!

Warm Regards,

Andreia and Marcelo

Team Intense Health

Andreia

Andreia is the co-founder and Director of Nutrition and Dietetics at Intense Health, Perth's #1 Private Strength Training and Nutrition Clinics.
Andreia

Andreia

Andreia is the co-founder and Director of Nutrition and Dietetics at Intense Health, Perth's #1 Private Strength Training and Nutrition Clinics.