Category Archives: Diet And Food

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' missionary program is one of its most recognized characteristics. Latter-day Saint missionaries can be seen on the streets of hundreds of major cities in the world as well as in thousands of smaller communities.

The missionary effort is based on the New Testament pattern of missionaries serving in pairs, teaching the gospel and baptizing believers in the name of Jesus Christ (see, for example, the work of Peter and John in the book of Acts).

More than 70,000 full-timemissionaries are serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most missionariesare young people under the age of 25, serving in more than 400 missions throughout the world.

Missionaries work with a companion of the same gender during their mission, with the exception of couples, who work with their spouse. Single men serve missions for two years and single women serve missions for 18 months.

Missionaries receive their assignment from Church headquarters and are sent only to countries where governments allow the Church to operate. Missionaries do not request their area of assignment and do not know beforehand whether they will be required to learn a language.

Prior to going to their assigned area, missionaries spend a short period of time at one of 15 missionary training centers throughout the world. There they learn how to teach the gospel in an orderly and clear way and, if necessary, they begin to learn the language of the people they will be teaching. The largest training center is in Provo, Utah, with additional centers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, England, Ghana, Guatemala, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa and Spain.

Male missionaries are addressed with the title Elder and women are addressed with the title Sister.

A typical missionary day begins by waking at 6:30 a.m.* for personal study.The day is spent proselytizing by following up on appointments, visiting homes or meeting people in the street or other public places. Missionaries end their day by 10:30 p.m.

In some parts of the world, missionaries are sent only to serve humanitarian or other specialized missions. Those missionaries do not proselytize.

Missionary work is voluntary. Missionaries fund their own missions except for their transportation to and from their field of labor and are not paid for their services.

Contacts with family and friends during this time of service are limited to letters and occasional phone calls to family at special times. Missionaries avoid entertainment, parties or other activities common to this age-group as long as they are on their missions, so they can focus entirely on the work of serving and of teaching others the gospel of Jesus Christ.

*As of January 2017, missionary schedules and rules are more flexible depending on the culture of the country where missionaries are serving.

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How can the rising generation live more happy and meaningful lives? President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told a group of young adults in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Saturday, February 17, 2018, the answer can be found, in part, from a parable describing the importance of avoiding distraction and temptation.

He began his address using a parable to emphasize that your ultimate safety in this life lies in never taking the first enticing step toward going where you should not go and doing what you should not do.

The prophet explained that as human beings we all have appetites necessary for our survival. These appetites are absolutely essential for the perpetuation of life. So, what does the adversary do? He asked. He attacks us through our appetites. He tempts us to eat things we should not eat, to drink things we should not drink, and to love as we should not love!

President Nelson told hundreds of young adults, participating in the fireside in four Las Vegas Mormon meetinghouses, that they should learn to have purpose in this life, know who they are, why they are here and how to master the divine laws.

Personal Identity

One of the most important things you need to learn in life is to know who you really are, President Nelson said. He encouraged his audience to learn about their parents, grandparents and other forebears down their genealogical lines. Most importantly, he said they should know their ultimate identity.

Know that you are an elect son or daughter of God, created in His very image, President Nelson said.

Sister Nelson, who also spoke Saturday night, said, It's time that we stop comparing ourselves to others. "When you let the Lord know that you are serious about doing exactly what you came to earth to do, watch what happens. He may change many things dramatically. So hang on for the ride of your life, the ride that you were born to take.

Purpose

President Nelson reminded those present that everyone was made for a reason and answering the "why"of their lives is essential.

When you begin to catch even a glimpse of how your Heavenly Father sees you and what He is counting on you to do for Him, your life will never be the same, said President Nelson.

Divine Law

President Nelson said his experience as a heart surgeon taught him that divine laws are discoverable, predictable, dependable and repeatable. This, he explained, is true in science and religion. For example, there are laws of science that govern a beating heart and those of religion that govern revelation.

One size really can fit all who are here tonight, said Sister Nelson. Whatever is said over the pulpit can fit each one of you perfectly because the Holy Ghost will tailor-make whatever is said to fit you. I don't know what you need to hear, but the Lord does.

Sister Nelson recalled calling off an engagement when she was 24 years old after receiving inspiration while listening to general conference.

President Nelson said, The more of Gods laws you know and more importantly, live the more effective your righteous leadership will be.In that vein, President Nelson encouraged those present to follow Jesus Christ by living a life of prayer, service and careful study of Gods laws.

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Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are often asked whether the Church is becoming more mainstream over time.

If the term mainstream means that Latter-day Saints are increasingly viewed as a contributing, relevant and significant part of society particularly in the United States, where there are now some six million members then, of course, the answer is yes. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, founded in New York State in 1830 with just six members, is today the fourth largest church in the United States by independent estimates.

It follows that its members are found at every level of society in business and agriculture, in education and the sciences, in political parties and in government, in the entertainment industry and in the news media. In fact, people are much more likely to be familiar with individual Latter-day Saints as friends, neighbors and working colleagues than they are with the Church institution itself or with its teachings. This also applies in many other nations outside the United States.

If being described as mainstream means the Church loses the very distinctiveness of the beliefs that are at the heart of its message, the answer is different. While respecting the divergent views of other people of faith, Church leaders want to be clear about the beliefs that help define Latter-day Saints.

The following are some of the more important differences in belief and practice between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christian churches.

Restoration

Because Latter-day Saints believe that divine apostolic authority was lost from the earth after the death of the ancient apostles, a restoration of that authority was necessary. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that restoration began in the early 1800s with revelations to the young Joseph Smith.

Trinity

Among the most important differences with other Christian churches are those concerning the nature of God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Together, these form what is commonly referred to as the Holy Trinity in many churches and as the Godhead by Latter-day Saints.

Modern prophets, continuing revelation and new scriptures

Latter-day Saints believe that God still speaks to humankind, that He has called new apostles and prophets and that revelation flows today as it did anciently. Further, many of those revelations have been formally incorporated into new volumes of scripture. These include the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ; the Doctrine and Covenants, a collection of revelations to Joseph Smith and subsequent presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and the Pearl of Great Price, which includes the writings of Moses and Abraham as well as modern writings of Joseph Smith.

Plan of salvation

Latter-day Saint theology embraces what Church members refer to as the plan of salvation. The topic covers the pre-mortal state of all mankind, the reasons why God created the world, the nature and purpose of our life here and what future awaits us in the next life.

Temples and their purpose

The primary purpose of temple work is to seal or unite families together, with the expectation that those relationships continue beyond death. The same temple rites can be performed for those who have died. There is no counterpart to temple practices in other Christian churches.

Missionary program

This is a difference in practice rather than in doctrinal belief, since many Christian churches send out missionaries to preach the gospel. However, the missionary program of the Church is distinctive and recognizable for the sheer number and distribution of missionaries, for the length and variety of their service, and for their appearance and their preaching of a restored gospel.

Lay ministry

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no full-time professional clergy at the congregational level. Even at the highest levels of the Church, leaders who are called as full-time apostles forsake their more remunerative professions in order to serve a lifetime calling as special witnesses of Jesus Christ and to oversee the Church worldwide.

Health practices

Abstinence from alcohol among religious faiths is not unique to Latter-day Saints. However, among Latter-day Saints abstinence from alcohol is expected to be total, as is the abstinence from tobacco, tea and coffee.

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Learn About Core Latter-day Saint Beliefs

Weight loss: Choosing a diet that's right for you

Don't fall for gimmicks when it comes to weight loss. Evaluate diets carefully to find one that's right for you.

When it comes to weight loss, there's no shortage of advice. Magazines, books and websites all promise that you'll lose all the weight you want for good, using diets that eliminate fat or carbs or those that tout superfoods or special supplements.

With so many conflicting options, how do you know which approach might work for you? Here are some suggestions for choosing a weight-loss program.

Before you start a weight-loss program, talk to your doctor. Your doctor can review your medical issues and medications that might affect your weight and provide guidance on a program for you. And you can discuss how to exercise safely, especially if you have physical or medical challenges, or pain with daily tasks.

Tell your doctor about your previous efforts to lose weight. Be open about fad diets that interest you. Your doctor might be able to direct you to weight-loss support groups or refer you to a registered dietitian.

There's no one diet or weight-loss plan for everyone. But if you consider your preferences, lifestyle and weight-loss goals, you'll likely find a plan you can tailor to your needs.

Before starting a weight-loss program, think about:

It's tempting to buy into promises of rapid and dramatic weight loss, but a slow and steady approach is easier to maintain and usually beats fast weight loss for the long term. A weight loss of 0.5 to 2 pounds (0.2 to 0.9 kilograms) a week is the typical recommendation.

In some situations, faster weight loss can be safe if it's done right such as a very low-calorie diet with medical supervision, or a brief quick-start phase of a healthy-eating plan.

Successful weight loss requires a long-term commitment to making healthy lifestyle changes in eating, exercise and behavior. Behavior modification is vital, and could have the greatest impact on your long-term weight-loss efforts.

Be sure to pick a plan you can live with. Look for these features:

The table below lists some of the more common diets. There's overlap, but most plans can be grouped into a few major categories.

Studies comparing different weight-loss programs have found that most programs result in weight loss in the short term compared with no program. Weight-loss differences between diets are generally small.

Before you dive into a weight-loss plan, take time to learn as much about it as you can. Just because a diet is popular or your friends are doing it doesn't mean it's right for you. Ask these questions first:

Successful weight loss requires long-term changes to your eating habits and physical activity. This means you need to find a weight-loss approach you can embrace for life. You're not likely to maintain whatever weight loss a diet helps you achieve if you then go off the diet and revert to old habits.

Diets that leave you feeling deprived or hungry can cause you to give up. And because many weight-loss diets don't encourage permanent healthy lifestyle changes, even if you do lose weight, the pounds can quickly return once you stop dieting.

You'll likely always have to remain vigilant about your weight. But combining a healthier diet with more activity is the best way to lose weight, keep it off for the long term and improve your health.

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Weight loss: Choosing a diet that's right for you - Mayo ...

Crystal is a 32 year old lady who came to my clinic for help while trying to conceive. She had...

You probably dont associate celiac disease with heart problems, but research has shown that people with celiac disease are at significantly higher risk of suffering a heart attack.This latest research was presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session. Researchers analysed the health records of patients from 13 different healthcare centers between January 1999 and September 2013.From a total of almost 22.4 million patients, 24,530 had celiac disease. Patients with celiac disease were found to have significantly higher rates of coronary artery disease than non-celiacs. The rates were 9.5 percent for patients with celiac disease, compared to 5.6 percent for the rest.

Your skin is actually your largest organ and it has an important role in elimination. We sweat when we become too hot and it is an effective way to lower our body temperature. Sweating has another important function though; it helps your body to eliminate toxins.You probably know some people who sweat excessively, or who have particularly offensive smelling perspiration; their body is desperately trying to eliminate wastes.

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Liver Supplements For Sale | Liver Cleansing Diet | Liver ...

Some information about the Atkins diet - please note that this is the Adkins website - but may as well share:

The Atkins diet, officially called the Atkins Nutritional Approach, is a low-carbohydrate diet created by Robert Atkins from a research paper he read in the Journal of the American Medical Association published by Gordon Azar and Walter Lyons Bloom. Atkins stated that he used the study to resolve his own overweight condition. He later popularized it in a series of books, starting with Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972. In his second book, Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, he modified parts of the diet but did not alter the original concepts.

1984 expanded and renamed his private practice to The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine.

1985 received the National Health Federation Man of the Year Award.

1987 co-founded the Foundation for the Advancement of Innovative Medicine.

1989 established Complementary Formulations, Inc., a mail-order distributor of food and vitamin products, renamed in 1998 to Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

1990 received the World Organization of Alternative Medicine Recognition of Achievement Award.

1998 published Dr. Atkins Vita-Nutrient Solution: Natures Answer to Drugs.

1999 established the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation.

1999 named one of People magazines 25 Most-Intriguing People.

1999 featured in Time magazine cover story on controlled carbohydrate nutrition.

2001 received Doctor of Humane Letters from Fairleigh Dickinson University for lifetime achievement in integrating alternative and conventional therapies.

2002 is chosen as one of the People Who Mattered 2002 in Time magazine.

2003 released Atkins for Life, designed to help people who didnt necessarily want to lose weight, to live a healthy lifestyle.

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the Adkins website

Eating a healthy, balanced dietis an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best.

This means eatinga wide varietyof foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.

This page covers healthy eating advice for people who dont have specific dietary requirements as a result of having a condition like diabetes.

The Eatwell Guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:

If you're having foods and drinks that are high in fat, salt and sugar, have these less often and in small amounts.

Try to choose a variety of different foods from the 5 main food groups.

Mostpeople in the UKeat and drink too many calories, too much fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit, vegetables, oily fishor fibre.

Read more about understanding calories and cutting down on calories.

The Eatwell Guide does not apply to children under the age of 2 because they have different nutritional needs.

Between the ages of 2 and 5, children should gradually move to eating the same foods as the rest of the family in the proportions shown in the Eatwell Guide.

Fruit and vegetables area vital source of vitamins and minerals, and should make up just over a third of the food you eat each day.

It's recommended that you eat at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. They can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried or juiced.

There's evidence that people whoeat at least5 portions a day have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers.

Eating5 portions is not as hard as it sounds. Just 1 apple, banana, pear or similar-sized fruit is 1 portion (80g) each.

A slice of pineapple or melon is 1 portion. Three heaped tablespoons of vegetables is another portion.

Having a sliced bananawith your morning cereal is an easy way to get 1 portion.Swap your mid-morning biscuit for a tangerine, and add a side salad to your lunch.

Have a portion of vegetableswith dinner, and snack on fresh fruitwith natural plain yoghurt in the eveningto reach your 5 A Day.

Read more about what counts towards your 5 A Day.

Starchy foods should make upjust overa third of everything you eat. This means your meals should be based on these foods.

Potatoes with the skins onarea great source of fibre and vitamins. For example, when having boiled potatoes or a jacket potato, eat the skin too.

Choose wholegrain or wholemeal varieties of starchy foods, such as brown rice, wholewheat pasta and brown, wholemeal or higher fibre whitebread.

They contain more fibre, and usually more vitamins and minerals, than white varieties.

Read more aboutstarchy foods.

Milk and dairy foods such as cheese and yoghurt are good sources of protein.Theyalso contain calcium, which helps keep your bones healthy.

To enjoy the health benefits of dairy without eating too much fat, use semi-skimmed, 1% fat or skimmedmilk, as well as lower-fat hard cheeses or cottage cheese, and lower-fat, lower-sugar yoghurt.

Unsweetened calcium-fortified dairy alternatives like soya milks, soya yoghurts and soya cheeses also count as part of this food group and can make good alternatives to dairy products.

Read more aboutmilk and dairy foods.

These foods are all good sources of protein, which is essential for the body to grow and repair itself. They're also good sources of a range of vitamins and minerals.

Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, including iron, zinc and Bvitamins. It's also one of the main sources of vitamin B12.

Try to eat lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry whenever possible to cut down on fat. Always cook meat thoroughly.

Read more about meat.

Fishis another important source of protein, and contains many vitamins and minerals. Oily fish is particularly rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Aim to eat at least 2 portions of fish a week, including1 portion of oily fish.

You can choose from fresh, frozen or canned, but remember that cannedand smoked fish can oftenbe high in salt.

Eggs and pulses(including beans, nuts and seeds) are also great sources of protein.

Nuts are high in fibre and agood alternative to snacks high in saturated fat, but they do still contain high levels of fat, so eat them in moderation.

Read more abouteggs and pulses and beans.

Some fat in the diet is essential, but should be limited to small amounts.

It's important to get most of your fat from unsaturated oils and spreads. Swapping to unsaturated fats can help lower cholesterol.

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease. Regularly consuming foods and drinks high in sugar increases your risk of obesity and tooth decay.

Read more about why you need to cut down on saturated fat and sugarin your diet, which foodsthey occur in,and how to make healthier choicesin 8 tips for healthy eating.

Most adults in England are overweight or obese. Check whether you're a healthy weight using the BMI calculator.

If you need to lose weight, you can use the NHS weight loss plan. It's a free 12-week diet and exercise plan to help you lose weight and develop healthier habits.

The plan, which has been downloaded more than 2 million times, is designed to help you lose weight safely and keep it off.

Page last reviewed: 11/02/2019Next review due: 11/02/2022

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Eat well - NHS

Its news to literally no one that diets dont work.

We know that food restriction is correlated with a panoply of negative outcomes: anxiety, body dissatisfaction, inability to focus, and, yes, chronic hunger. I would argue that anyone who has been on a diet could tell you that they dont work, but weve long willfully ignored the results (both as individuals and as a culture) because why exactly? There are a few answers to this question, but Id like to focus on the fact that diets serve other purposes less tangible than a radically different body, and more emotional and social. Id like to share four roles that dieting serves for people who are dieting, with a focus on how it interacts with feminine gender socialization:

Dieting is very good at getting our every waking thought/breath/impulse to focus completely on it. When youre restricting you are deep in the mindset that every bite, every step, every decision you make is either making or breaking you. A cookie or carrot is what stands between you and having a terrible day. When your fate is tied up in every single bite of food, how can you not become utterly consumed? You are being utterly consumed, girl!

Disassociation is something women have learned how to do really well as weve spent hundreds of years navigating our systematic dehumanization. I grew up watching the women in my family disassociate like pros from their dissatisfying marriages, from disrespectful children, from the fact that they had maybe never had an orgasm. Dieting is a socially sanctioned method of mentally high-tailing out of whatever is going on and keeping you entirely in your head, laser-focused on your next bite, your scale, your plate.

Women have been taught that we can talk about how much we hate our body as a way of bonding with other women. Think of that scene in Mean Girls where the popular girls come home from school, stand in front of a mirror and begin a chorus of criticism. Not to be that feminist, but its pretty clearly an example of patriarchal sabotage.

Women are socialized into communicating in a very limited way with other women. Were allowed to talk about a few safe topics that keep us stuck in a sense that we are alone (not the real topics that women face and that unite us like: sexual assault, sadness, sexual frustration, trauma, abortion). In recollecting what women-strangers talk to me about, I would say it boils down to the following: the weather, children (if she has some), maybe housework or our favorite new coffee beverage, maybe where we got our outfit, and dieting. Of all that is available, talking about dieting is actually quite intimate in comparison to, say, discussing the weather. I do honestly believe that when women start talking to me about how food is evil or how bad they look, theyre trying to communicate to me that they want to be friends. Of course, undercutting yourself is not the best basis for intimacy building, but we work with what were socialized to work with unless were introduced to different methods!

Dieting is pretty much universally socially acceptable in our culture. Dieting is considered part of self-improvement and discipline, two of the most important things in our culture. Our culture loves it when we take complete ownership of our fate and pretend that all problems are individual problems that can be solved by individual efforts (not collective change). Dieting is an individual behavior that is supposed to solve a cultural problem - fatphobia. It is hard to stand out - some people dont get to choose whether they stand out or not (like Im a fat brown lady who lives in an affluent white coastal city. I dont get to choose if I stand out.), but some people undertake dieting as a way to fit in.

There are plenty of social rewards to be had by just jumping on the restriction bandwagon. Others verbally encourage people on diets, offering compliments for skipped meals or salad consumption. If youre a fat person, you get accolades for trying to fix your body. These rewards are also internal and psychological. There can be both the negative emotions that come with dieting as well as the positive emotions that come with being able to separate oneself from non-compliant fat people (e.g. Well, yes, Im fat but at least Im trying!). This is a manifestation of internalized self-loathing that is then projected outward.

Its important to understand the multiple dimensions of why people adopt dieting behavior. Its also important to keep talking about and enacting fat activist and fat positive methods as an intervention. Keep feministing!

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Take The Cake: Diets Don't Work (But They Do Give People ...

Mark Twain once said a little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors.

There may be something to Twains belief, as we increasingly hear that skipping meals or even fasting is good for us.

Celebrities like Hugh Jackman, Beyonc and Benedict Cumberbatch swear by fasting diets, while BBC science presenter Dr Michael Mosley created a sensation in 2012 when he devised his 5:2 diet.

Fasting diets come in various forms.

The 5:2 diet allows you to eat normally five days a week and restrict calorie intake to a quarter (500 to 600 calories) on two days.

Alternate-day fasting is one day of fasting, one day normal eating.

Theres also time-restricted fasting, or eating only during certain hours of the day, like the so-called Warrior Diet, which involves minimal calorie intake for 20 hours a day, and eating normally only between 6pm and 10pm.

Weight loss seems to be the main one.

A 2018 study by the UKs University of Surrey found that one group doing time-restricted fasting lost on average more than twice as much body fat as those in a control group that ate meals as normal.

The American Heart Association also stated in 2017 that there was evidence that both alternate-day fasting and periodic fasting may be effective for weight loss, although there are no data that indicate whether the weight loss can be sustained long term.

Dr Mosley argues that not only does fasting lead to weight loss, but also cellular repair and improved brain function.

Accredited practising dietitian Kate Gudorf says fasting appears to produce weight loss as does any form of calorie restriction.

Some studies have found that fasting can reduce fasting glucose levels, HDL (bad) cholesterol, body-mass index, triglycerides (fats in blood) and some inflammatory markers, she says.

The question is, are these outcomes a testament to fasting diets, or because weight loss is produced, which feeds into these other benefits? At the moment we lack good data on fasting diets, says Ms Gudorf, of the Dietitians Association of Australia.

She recommends instead simply eating a healthier diet, with more vegetables and fruit, meaning both fewer calories and meeting nutritional needs.

Weight loss is not always a good indication of diet quality its much easier to eat fewer calories if you simply eat a healthy diet, and nutritionally you would be meeting all your needs.

Basically Australians are not eating very well and getting about a third of their energy from junk food.

Source: The 5:2 Diet Book, by Kate Harrison

Written by Mike Bruce

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Do fasting diets work?

Are low carb diets safe to follow? There is a lot of conflicting information, so lets examine some of available research to answer this question.

Walk into any supermarket, not just Whole Foods, and youll see in the racks at the checkout aisle more than a couple of low-carb-geared magazines. These range from from Paleo publications to other natural health titles.

More and more people are starting to realize that fat isnt the enemy. Dietary fat is not why heart disease and strokes and obesity and diabetes rates continue to rise. Nope. The macronutrient culprit responsible for many diseases is carbohydrates, especially high-glycemic carbohydrates.

High glycemic carbohydrates quickly convert into sugar. They do so almost immediately upon making contact with saliva. Even a piece of wheat bread gets broken down into simple sugar quite quickly. How this metabolic process is responsible for a wide range of inflammatory-rooted diseases is a topic for another article. But heres a brief primer.

Your cells receive sugar via the hormone, insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas. When the cells are full of sugar, and cannot accept any more, the excess sugar gets stored as body fat. Excess body fat can cause inflammatory disorders.

Its easy to see why low carb diets have become more popular. All it takes is the initial consciousness about the danger of eating excess high-glycemic carbohydrates, some willpower, as well as satisfying recipes.

So are low carb diets safe to follow? That really shouldnt be the question . The question should be is it safe NOT to follow a low carb diet?

There are a lot of misconceptions about low carb diets. But consider that a search on the U.S. National Library of Medicine (under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health) website, aka Pubmed.com for low carbohydrate diets yields over 6000 studies.

Before reviewing what a few of those studies say about the safety of low carb diets. Lets get back to the question: Is it safe to follow a low carb diet? To answer, we need to get a few thingsout of the way first.

Low carb diets can indeed be unhealthy. But so can any diet. A low carb diet can be unhealthy if the fats and proteins eaten in the carbohydrates place are toxic. Eating unspoiled, all-natural fats and lean, high-quality protein is essential to eating a safe low-carb diet.

That means that you cant eat anything with trans fats. That means no packaged pastries that have hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils. These are used to extend the shelf-life of cakes, cookies, pastries and the like. Trans fats can lead to heart disease. Other examples of spoiled fats include cooking with seed- and vegetable oil, such as corn, most Canola oils, sunflower, cottonseed, soybean, etc. These fats are highly inflammatory and can easily spoil once exposed to cooking heat.

Eating a lot of factory-farmed meat is another example of not eating a safe low-carb diet. Factory farmed meat can also cause a smorgasbord of inflammatory diseases. The pork industry still has a long way to go until most pork products can be deemed safe to eat for a low-carb diet. Opt for wild-caught fish, grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken and eggs and wild game and organ meats.

And now, lets talk about carbs.

One may argue when looking at the question, Are low carb diets safe? is that it depends on the amount of restriction on carbohydrates. Is it safe to follow a low carb diet if you eat just a tiny bit of pasta, a portion of rice, a sliver of cake, a shot glass worth of orange juice, a kernel of corn, and a handful of chips?

No. Even if the examples of carbs, above, totalled just 50 grams of carbs, which is towards the low-end of a low-carb diet, the type of carbs matters very much. The healthiest carbs to eat on a low-carb diet are the same type of carbs everyone should be eating. And those are low-starch vegetables and a small amount of fruit. Think spinach, broccoli, kale, chard and other nutrient-dense veggies. Limit fruit intake to a handful of organic berries and one whole piece of other low-sugar fruit such as a green apple.

But lets now take a look at some of those studies proving that low-carb diets are beneficial for health.

A study published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology concluded that a variation of a low-carb diet (a specific type of ketone diet) improved physical performance and cognitive function in rats, and its energy-sparing properties suggest that it may help to treat a range of human conditions with metabolic abnormalities.

This study, published in Nutrients concluded A diet that is reduced in carbohydrates may optimize improvements in other type 2 diabetes risk factors, including insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. The researchers also said, However, these findings are in contrast to current guidelines for the prevention of type 2 diabetes in adults which recommends a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.

Does the research answer the question, Are low carb diets safe?

One might say that the above study was several years old, before the recent surge in popularity of low-carb diets began in earnest. However, this study was published in August of 2016.

Another study, this one published in Digestion, concluded, Diets low in carbohydrates favor a healthy gut microbiome and improve glucose tolerance, in people with type 2 diabetes.

So not only are low-carb diets good for your external belly, theyre also good for your gut.

These are just a few of the hundreds of studies proving that low-carb diets are safe. Perhaps one day, federal government guidelines will encourage low-carbohydrate diets as a way to defeat the ever-rising obesity and diabetes epidemic.

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