Many people have advocated high fat and low carb diets for decades. The Atkins diet was one of the most popular in the 1990s, with hundreds of millions of people trying it at some point. It was a highly effective method, but it also was not sustainable for long periods as people found out. Carbs are just sugars, and as a result, it’s no surprise that your body will turn these things into fat later. However, you cannot stop eating carbs entirely either. Healthy moderation is an integral part of any plan if the results are to survive down the road.
Dr. Jeff Volek of Ohio State university actually looked at the benefits of this diet in more detail in recent years. He found that most athletes favor high fat/high protein and low carbohydrates as part of their diet. The effects are often seen in more modern methods known as the “Paleo diet” or ketogenic diets. These dramatically reduced fat in patients, increased muscle and promoted significant health benefits. Drastic reduction in carbohydrates, was found in his research, to induce rapid weight loss through a state dubbed “ketosis”, which causes stored fat to be burned instead of glucose as we typically would so with a carb rich diet.
Celebrities and Atheltes Embracing this Low Carb Paleo and Ketogenic Dieting
In a recent interview, Volek indicated that the ketogenic diet has been followed by many people for decades, even without realizing it. He indicated that it was nothing short of an “epiphany” in his life, feeling much better, more energetic, and healthier for decades. By reducing carb intake to a significant degree, and replacing them with healthy and natural fats/oils, you help stabilize your blood sugar, increase your mood through the release of endorphins in your brain and reduce the risk of many illnesses such as diabetes and cancer. The benefits are really quite significant, and well founded.
Celebrities and athletes like Lebron James have come out to show that they have used this sort of diet to help them cut excess fat and increase energy for practice. There are many benefits that go beyond the physical and impact your mental health as well. Reducing carb intake has been shown to increase cognition and even mental clarity in some studies. Dr. Volek points out that the brain is very good at used ketones but bad at using carbohydrate based sugars. There’s certainly many reasons to use this diet to increase stamina and boost performance in athletic areas.
Dr. Cate Shanahan is the nutritionist for the LA Lakers. She’s used the low carb diet for years to help players get rid of fat and stay in shape throughout the season. She has even helped Dwight Howard clean up his act and switched him over to a reduced carb and fat rich diet to boost his performance. The paleo inspired diet changed Howard from a 20+ candy bar per day eater to a low-carb weight loss guru. Along the same vein, Miami heat start Ray Allen had a significantly improved recovery after an injury just by switching to a sugar-free Paleo style diet. During this time period, he also notably lost 10 pounds of fat just by the change in diet alone.
The health benefits of having a low carb and a high fat diet are immense. Ketogenesis is a well proven technique to help with weight loss, athletic performance and overall physical health. Hundreds of thousands of people have struggled to lose weight with diet and exercise alone, but the reasons this occurs is because counting calories just isn’t as sustainable practice. Rather, going on a natural diet like the Paleo method is a great way to avoid these problems, all the while cutting your risk of obesity, diabetes and even cancer. Physicians are raving over this method still, and recommending to some of the biggest names in the world. Even saturated fats, the once vilified food stuffs, are now back on the table as great things to add to your diet.
