The Low Carb Diet Merry-Go-Round

By Craig T. Hunt, RDN

Low carb, good carb, net carb, bad carb - it’s a confusing mix of diet terms that makes people want to throw in the kitchen towel.  And maybe that’s not such a bad thing, except each diet has been helpful to someone. Very low carb diets are medically therapeutic for people with certain types of epilepsy, and low carb diets have helped people lose weight and improve blood sugars.

Most diets have been repackaged on the diet merry-go-round for decades under various names; Atkins and Protein Power are cousins to Keto and Paleo.  But for as many people as diets have helped, there are far more people that have experienced the “yo-yo”. To radically alter food intake for a month or even a year and then return to old habits beckons the question – were any sustainable health benefits achieved?

The evidence is clear that most Americans would benefit from making food and lifestyle changes, but that doesn’t mean a wholesale makeover is warranted. The Japanese word for taking small steps is Kaizen, and instead of launching a new diet, how about adding more vegetables to lunch or dinner? How about substituting a whole grain food for a refined? Instead of skipping most meals, how about eating enough during the day to avoid overfeeding just before bedtime.

The determination of starting a new diet can be alluring, but many small steps over time can add up to a significant and sustainable lifestyle shift - and there’s no need to throw the kitchen towel.