Atkins and Possible Intestinal Problems

The most general complaint of those who are on the Atkins diet is the intestinal issues that are brought on with cutting back carbohydrates. These issues can include constipation and diarrhea. These problems can happen to anyone at some point, but those who follow a low-carb diet are especially prone. Most times dieters will experience diarrhea during the early part of the diet. This is a result of your body flushing out excess carbohydrates. It also starts the beginning of the ketosis process. So in actuality, experiencing diarrhea at the start of the diet is a positive beginning. It shows that you are on the path to becoming a fat burning machine. Constipation is another and because of the lack of fiber in the low carb weight loss program. Whole grains, legumes and fruit are one source of dietary fiber, and they are all prohibited on the Atkins diet’s initial start. However, you should not be afraid of the low-carb way of living because of these small issues. There are simple solutions that can stop and help with these symptoms and allow you to continue with the weight loss diet plan. My first tip is to make sure to include the exact amount of low-carb veggies in your daily eating plan. In the beginning phase, you can eat up to 20 grams of carbs per day. This is roughly equal to 3 cups of salad veggies. Some individuals are tempted to use their carbohydrate grams on cheese or artificially sugared soda. Eating proper vegetables is a crucial part of maintaining intestinal health while following the Atkins diet. It’s also important to consume a minimum of 8 eight-ounce glasses of water per day and get some sort of exercise. Both of these steps can help with intestinal issues.

If you are experiencing constipation only, then there are many ways for relief. When you switch from a diet full of processed and refined sugar foods, your body will need some time to correct itself to this new way of eating. You’ll need to make sure to add more fiber intake with proper vegetables and fruits (certain fruits are allowed after the initial induction phase). You can also try a fiber supplement like sugar-free Metamucil. Make sure you are eating enough fats and oils. Constipation can be a result of not enough fat in your diet. Adding a tablespoon of olive oil or flax oil to your salads or other vegetables can help your intestinal issues. Also, try to add a variety of veggies to your salad. Pale iceberg lettuce has very little fiber in it. Try dark green lettuce or have a serving of dark green steamed veggies (broccoli, asparagus or spinach are good choices).

If these suggestions don’t work, try cutting out all sodium from your diet for a few days. This includes pickles, mustard, diet soda, ham, bacon and bottled salad dressing. This will decrease your fluid retention and should help with bowel movements. Diarrhea should not be a problem after the first week of the Induction diet. However, on rare occasion, it does persist longer. First, look over your diet. If you are consuming low carb protein bars or other sugar free products, stop them. They may contain sweeteners like glycerine, sorbitol and malitol which are known to cause diarrhea and gas. Homemade low carb desserts may also be a cause of your issues. Most of them use maltodextrin, an artificial sweetener used in baking. Maltodextrin is made from corn and can cause problems for some individuals. If you are not used to eating raw veggies everyday, this may be a cause of your diarrhea. figure out that your body will fix itself to the vegetables and the intestinal side effects won’t last very long. Make sure you are chewing your raw vegetables thoroughly. Also, using lightly steamed vegetables rather than raw can be a solution to this issue. Intestinal problems are well known during the first portion of the Atkins diet. Keep in mind, however, that these issues will go away within the first few weeks of the new way of eating. If the problems persist, try the previously mentioned tips to get relief.

The Atkins Diet and Diabetes

The Atkins weight loss principles lay out the program for a healthy, more balanced way of eating than the usual American diet. Its main point is on using good carbs in balance with good protein. This is in to what most Americans eat on a every daybasis. The average American eats many processed foods that have hidden sugars and highly processed carbs. This has put most Americans on the road to diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions. What is sad is that diabetes has a predictable set of stages and that they can be simply recognized and changed. The highway to diabetes has to do with something that we call the glycemic index. All carbohydrates are rated on this index with regards to the level of insulin they produce in our bodies. Foods that contain a high glycemic index rating will make your pancreas release lots of insulin to break down sugars and carbohydrates (which produce high amounts of glucose). The refined carbs and sugars that make up the most of the American diet ranks very high on the glycemic index. Our bodies are more able to digest these foods as younger individuals, because our bodies work more efficiently when were younger. There could have been different side effects, like gaining weight and moodiness, but we did not notice them much. As we get older, these symptoms begin to grow and become more prevalent. The United States obesity epidemic is a result of high-carbohydrate diets and unstable blood sugar levels.

Many individuals who are overweight are also insulin resistant. This resistance means that the insulin is not being produced and eliminating glucose from the blood stream. Your pancreas gets over worked and then lets out huge amounts of insulin, sometimes 20 times more than the body really needs. This results in the blood sugar dropping to dangerously low levels. This sets off a chain reaction in the body that leads to a release of adrenaline to correct the blood sugar problem. As you get older, blood sugar and insulin difficulties become more of a problem. The condition is called “hyperinsulinism” and is a definite for type II diabetes. It normally comes with high blood pressure and high triglycerides. After years of consuming a high-carbohydrate diet, you will more than likely become a full diabetic. Insulin is the body’s primary fat creator and extra weight usually accompany late onset diabetes. Pre-diabetic conditions, if not treated right away, will lead to diabetes. However, there are warning signs to diabetes that show up early. Your physician can perform insulin level tests that will let you know if you are at risk for early diabetic symptoms, and studies show that low-carb weight loss like Atkins can actually help. getting your blood sugar under control is one of the most important methods to controlling early diabetic conditions. The Atkins diet controls blood sugar. The combination of proteins, fats and good carbs will keep your body satisfied without the up and down effects. Controlling carbohydrates in quantity as well as the type will help limit your insulin spikes. This will let your pancreas function in the way that it was meant to work, and it will decrease the likelihood of you developing early diabetic symptoms. It’s a bad cycle that, if left untreated, can lead to diabetes when you get older. When the Atkins diet is followed correctly it produces even level blood sugars throughout the day and helps you stay away from becoming diabetic.

Atkins and Appetite Suppression

One of the most popular, and common, effect of following the Atkins diet is appetite suppression. Many people of the plan report that the between meal hunger pains they used to have are going away very quickly. This makes it much simpler to stay on the weight loss plan and continue to shed weight. While many other diets have their dieters starving between meals, the Atkins diet offers relief from feeling hungry all the time. The Atkins diet, with its specific combination of foods and ingredients, has a powerful appetite suppressing effect. The number one key component is the amount of protein in the Atkins diet. Protein, more so than carbohydrates, has the power to control hunger. If you’ve ever eaten a carb heavy meal and then felt hungry afterward, you know that carbohydrates don’t have much of a full feeling power. Protein, when combined with a small amount of healthy fats, can keep you feeling full for longer periods of time. One of the most amazing appetite suppressing foods on the Atkins diet are eggs. Eggs are a great form of quick and easy protein. A recent study showed that eating eggs for breakfast would actually stave off hunger pains through the rest of the day. The research concerned two groups of women. One group ate eggs for breakfast and the other had a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. The calorie count for both breakfasts was exactly the same. The subjects kept track of what they ate the rest of the day and answered questions about their levels of hunger and satisfaction throughout the day. The results showed that the women who ate the eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied throughout the entire day. They ate less at each meal than the women who were in the bagel group.

Eggs contain about 6 grams of protein each. This helps to even out blood sugar and produces a feeling of satisfaction. Both of these factors help to curb cravings. Egg yolks also contain lutein and xenazanthin. These nutrients have been shown to have incredible effects on eye health. So it’s important to eat the whole egg, and not just the white. Eggs contain choline that is important in brain functioning and memory. These nutrients are just an added benefit to the appetite suppressing qualities. Broccoli and cauliflower, two of the acceptable vegetables on the Atkins program, also have appetite-suppressing effects. These vegetables are very bulky and they help make your stomach feel full. When your stomach feels full, it will actually create a chemical response in your body. Your body will reduce its appetite because it believes that your stomach is full of high calorie foods. This will happen regardless of what is in your stomach. You can achieve the same results with water and psyllium husk fiber. Both broccoli and cauliflower provide bulk in your diet and are essential vegetables on the Atkins plan. The Atkins diet focuses on eating small protein balanced meals a few times per day. This will help keep your blood sugar stabilized and avoid carbohydrate cravings. With high carbohydrate diets, you are riding the wave of carbohydrate highs. After you eat, you feel great and full. Then a few hours later, you come crashing down and are hungrier than you were previous to eating the carbohydrate. This cycle continues and, over time, you will eat more and gain weight. The protein, fat and vegetable meals of the Atkins plan put your blood sugar back in balance. They provide just enough of each type of food, with a proper amount of carbohydrates (from the vegetables). The vegetables provide quick carbohydrate energy, and the protein gives the meal staying power. This combination helps suppress your appetite. The Atkins diet is actually a craving control diet that can help suppress your appetite. If you’ve had a problem with carbohydrate cravings before, this new way of eating will help control those cravings. The more you eat on the plan, the better your cravings will be controlled and the easier it will be to follow the diet.

The Basics of the Atkins Diet

The Atkins Induction diet is not a new phenomenon. This weight loss program first came on the scene in the late 1970s and has boomed in recent years in response to the non fat diet program. Many people really struggled with low-fat eating diets, they searched and searched for that one solution and then came Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution book. Many people have gotten on the Atkins diet and there has been a lot of hype as a result. But what are the basics of the Atkins weight loss program? The Atkins diet is based on a theory of why we gain weight. According to Dr. Atkins, the to many carbohydrates and simple sugars that we consume leads to weight gain. The way your body processes the carbohydrates you consume have more to do with your belly size than the amount of fat or calories that you intake. In his book, Atkins outlines a phenomenon called “insulin resistance.” He says that many overweight individuals have cells that do not work properly. When you eat to many carbohydrates and sugar, your body recognizes that your sugar levels are to high. Insulin is released from your pancreas in order to store sugar as glycogen in your liver and muscle cells for extra energy later on when you need it. However, your body can only handle so much glycogen at one time. As soon as your body reaches its limit for glycogen storage, the excess carbohydrates are stored as fat. This happens to every single person who eats too many carbs. However, people that are insulin resistant have an even more difficult time using and storing extra carbohydrates. The more insulin that your body is exposed to, the more resistant it becomes. Overtime, your pancreas lets out more insulin and cells become insulin resistant. The cells are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They create less glycogen and more fat.

As a result, insulin resistant people gain extra weight. The carbs get changed into fat instead of energy. Other side effects include being tired, brain “fog” (the inability to focus, poor memory, loss of creativity), low blood sugar (which can leads to hypoglycemia), intestinal bloating, sleepiness, depression and increased blood sugar. There is much more than gaining weight when it comes to being insulin resistant. The cure for individuals who are insulin resistant is a weightloss plan that restricts carbohydrates. The down side of the Atkins diet is a limitation of carbohydrates in all of its forms. The foods restricted on the Atkins plan include simple sugars (like cookies, sodas and sweets) and complex carbohydrates (like bread, rice and grains). Even carbohydrates that are considered healthy, such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat bread, are avoided on this program. The diet has you restrict your carbohydrate intake to less than 40 grams a day. This will put your body in a state of ketosis. While in ketosis, your body will burn fat as fuel. According to Dr. Atkins’ research, the ketosis state will also affect insulin production and it will prevent more fat from being formed. Your body will begin using your stored fat as an efficient form of fuel, and by this taking place you will lose weight. Another great thing about the Atkins plan is that ketosis will end your cravings for carbs. If you’ve been living on a lot of carbs diet, you may have found that you simply cannot get enough carbohydrates. With carbohydrate restriction and ketosis comes a reduction in carbohydrate cravings. People who have been on the Atkins diet for some time report that they do not crave carbohydrates as they once did. Although the initial phases of the Atkins diet are strict, the program will teach you to restore balance to your diet in the long run. People who use the diet slowly bring in certain amounts of carbohydrates back into their eating until they find a comfortable balance between their maintaining a proper weight and carbohydrate use. The basic idea of the Atkins diet have been adapted to many other low-carb weight loss plans. However, the Atkins weight loss plan still remains strong as one of the most effective low-carbohydrate solutions for those who are insulin resistant.