Low Carb Diet Debate
Cheryl Koch, from Yahoo! clears up a few points about her previous comments on low fat diets. She says:
“a well-planned, individualized low-carbohydrate diet can be very helpful with initial weight loss for obese persons.
I do believe, however, that these diets can have some detrimental long-term effects if other principles of good nutrition are not applied. It’s important to restrict the intake of saturated and trans-fat sources in conjunction with a low-carbohydrate diet. It’s also important to ensure that your diet is balanced and provides the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for life.
Finally, if you decide to make a drastic change in your diet, the guidance of a health professional such as a dietitian or physician can only provide additional information to help you make an informed decision about your health.”
Cheryl’s advice is very sensible. I don’t know why there was the big debate. There’s no doubt that lots of people have lost weight on low carb diets, but the long-term effects are relatively unproven. As long as there’s information about *both* the pros and the cons of these diets, people can make informed choices as to whether they want to start a low-carb diet or not.
Personally I think that the real debate should be whether it is better to lose weight regardless of the side effects, or whether to stay healthy and lose weight s-l-o-w-l-y.