The difference between Restricted Carbohydrate Diet and Non-restricted Carbohydrate Diet

Today, the term "low-carbohydrate diet" is most strongly associated with the Atkins Diet and other diets that share similar principles. The American academy of family physicians defines low-carbohydrate diets as diets that restrict carbohydrate intake to 20 to 60 grams per day, typically less than 20 percent of caloric intake. Some low-carbohydrate diets may exceed one or more of these definitions, notably the maintenance phase of the Atkins Diet. There is no consensus definition of what precisely constitutes a low-carbohydrate diet. Medical researchers and diet advocates may define different levels of carbohydrate intake when specifying low-carbohydrate diets. For the purposes of this discussion, this article focuses on diets that reduce (nutritive) carbohydrate intake sufficiently to significantly reduce insulin production and to encourage ketosis (production of ketones to be used as energy in place of glucose). The body of research underpinning low-carbohydrate diets has grown significantly in the decades of the 1990s and 2000s.Most of this research centers on the relationship between carbohydrate intake and blood sugar levels, as well as some related hormone levels. Some evidence suggests blood sugar levels in the human body should be maintained in a fairly narrow range to maintain good health. The two primary hormones that regulate blood sugar levels are insulin, which lowers blood sugar levels, and glucagon, which raises blood sugar levels. These are both produced in the pancreas insulin from beta cells and glucagon from alpha cells. It is recommended by Grosvenor and Smolin in “Nutrition: From Science to
Life,” that if one decides to lose weight, one should consider the contents of the food consumed and incorporate a daily exercise routine. There are a lot of different studies to support the idea that a diet that includes a low consumption of carbohydrate and a high consumption of fats, also known as the Atkins’s Diet, will cause one to feel less active compared to others who will include carbohydrate as one of the main food groups in their diet. People participated in a study conducted by Wells and Read in 1996 found out that they felt significantly less energetic and more tired and nauseated after consuming a low-carbohydrate and high-fat meal compared to participants who had a meal that contained 50- 60% carbohydrates. In addition a similar study conducted by Lloyd, Green, and Rogers in 1994 also concluded that a high fat meal causes participants in their study to report more negative feelings. Participants reported that although they felt that they had eaten enough food to satisfy their apatite they also reported that they had less energy and their overall moods shows more anxiety, despair, stress, frustration, and anger compared to other participants who consumed a moderate amount of fat.

Scientists believe the reports of negative moods such as the anxiety, despair, or lack of energy in people who diet eating a carbohydrate-restricted diet may be caused by a physiological reason in the brain. The brain, along with other organs of the body, uses the components of carbohydrates as its main resource for energy therefore when people who diet restrict the amount of carbohydrates in their diet they are also restricting fuel for the brain to function. The lack of fuel for normal brain function causes the hypothalamus, the part of the brain believed to regulate hunger and emotions, to also be affected causing a more negative emotional affect. The people who diet and which whom consumed a mixed amount of carbohydrates and fats in their meals did not report a large amount of anxiety, despair, or lack of energy due to the meal. Consequently, the low consumption of carbohydrates may cause the bad moods in people who diet which in turn can causes them to feel that they have not exercised to their fullest capacity and stop exercising before successfully losing any weight.

The negative emotion reported by people who diet on a low-carbohydrate and high-fat diet is only one of the side-effect suggested by the scientists who also reported that the low amounts of carbohydrates directly affects the people who diet’s exercise routine. In addition to fueling the brain with energy for functionality, glucose, a sugar which is also a type of carbohydrate, is used to fuel energy to the body’s muscle (Grosvernor and Smolin). A low consumption of carbohydrates causes the fatigue that people who diet on a low-carbohydrate and high-fat diet describe which is also known as hypoglycemia or the body’s ability to control the coordination and movement of the muscles. In addition to not being able to fully control the coordination and movement of the body’s muscles, hypoglycemia also causes heavy sweating, weak muscles, and temporary psychological confusion during anaerobic exercise or heavy physical activity. Dieters who included a combination of carbohydrates and fats in their meals did not report fatigue, lack of energy, or symptoms of hypoglycemia. In addition, people who diet who did not restrict the amount of carbohydrates in their diets reported that they were happy with their exercise routine and were motivated to continue exercising to lose weight whereas low-carbohydrate and high-fat dieters reported that exercising was not helping them lose weight at all.

Comparison of mood, energy levels, and evaluations of exercise routine differed between dieters consuming a restricted- carbohydrate diet also known as the Atkins diet, and the people whom ate a non-restricted carbohydrate diet shows that dieters eating a moderate amount of carbohydrates and fat were more satisfied with their diet plan. The reports of mood and energy level directly affect the evaluations of the exercise routine. This comparison exemplifies two important causal concepts: (1) the direct relationship between diet and the ability to exercise to the one’s fullest capability and (2) the importance of moderation of carbohydrates consumed in a diet to fuel the brain with sufficient energy and provide the muscles with enough energy. Intern it is better to use a diet that allows a sufficient amount of carbohydrates than a diet which doesn’t give you enough for your body to be healthy and function properly.