For many people, carbohydrate restriction is an excessive dietary technique. After all, we’ve been told that carbs have several advantages, such as fueling the brain and body.
On the other hand, the ketogenic diet restricts carbs to 50 g or fewer per day to induce ketosis – a metabolic state in which ketone levels rise. This manner of eating may prompt the question, “Do you need carbs in your diet, or are they even necessary for survival?”
If you’re wondering about carbs and considering the keto diet, this guide delves into carbs and their purpose, whether you need them, research papers on low carb diets, expert perspectives, and more.
What are Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates (or carbohydrates) are a macronutrient (or macronutrient), along with protein and fat. Sugars are simple carbs, and starches and fiber, which are complex carbohydrates, are two categories.
Sugar and carbohydrates are transformed into glucose during digestion. If your body does not consume glucose, it can be stored as glycogen in your liver and muscles. Otherwise, excess carbohydrates — or unused carbs, like when you consume more calories than you burn — are stored as fat (1).
Meanwhile, fiber is not digested by your body. According to research, this “indigestible carbohydrate” boosts the diversity and richness of the gut microbiota (2).
Carbohydrates are found in vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, dairy, and particularly harmful sources such as soda, packaged snacks, sweets, and other processed meals.
The Role of Carbohydrates in Our Body
Carbohydrates serve as fuel because they convert to glucose, which produces energy. However, this only applies to people who acquire the majority of their calories from carbohydrates — between 45% and 65% of total calories, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (3).
However, with a low carb diet, your body can use ketones instead of glucose as an alternate fuel source. You may deliberately restrict carbohydrates and induce nutritional ketosis to gain health and weight loss advantages (4, 5).
Do We Need Carbohydrates in Our Diet?
Cutting carbs from your diet has long been considered risky and unsustainable. Despite widespread assumptions, there is enough evidence that your brain and body do not require carbohydrates to operate and flourish. Later in this post, we’ll research low carb and keto diets and their effects on health.
In the meantime, here are some arguments on why carbohydrates aren’t necessary:
Carbs Have No Established Minimum Requirement
Carbohydrates are the only macronutrients with no minimum requirement (6). Indeed, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences in the United States declared (7):
“The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.”
Early Evidence of Stamina While In Ketosis
The Schwatka 1878-80 expedition provided some of the earliest documented evidence of physical stamina in ketosis. Lt. Frederick Schwatka, the expedition’s leader, wrote in his journal (8):
“When first placed entirely on a diet of reindeer meat, it appears insufficient to properly nourish the system, and there is an obvious weakness and inability to perform severe exertive fatiguing journeys.” This, however, fades away in two or three weeks.”
Meeting Your Micronutrient Needs
Focusing on a diverse range of low carb foods helps provide your body with adequate micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). These are vital in energy generation, muscular contraction, and fluid and electrolyte balance.
You won’t miss out on vital micronutrients just because you eliminate carbohydrates.
Glucose Synthesis from Non-Carbohydrate Sources
Is it required to consume carbohydrates to manufacture glucose for energy?
Before addressing this question, it’s vital to remember that specific cells rely solely on glucose since they lack mitochondria (which make ATP). Your mature red blood cells and lens fibers are included (9, 10).
On the other hand, fast-twitch muscle fibers (Type IIX or IIB), which are engaged in forceful activities such as sprinting, leaping, and powerlifting, contain minimal mitochondria. They also become tired faster (11).
Fortunately, your body can still generate glucose without food, a process known as gluconeogenesis.
In reality, gluconeogenesis occurs all the time. Still, it accelerates during extended fasting (such as during a low carb state) to produce glucose from non-carb substrates such as lactate and pyruvate, amino acids from muscle breakdown and dietary protein, and glycerol from fat metabolism (12, 13).
So, does the body require carbohydrates to produce glucose? No, it does not.
Regardless of whether people are aware of this knowledge, some continue to include carbohydrates for personal reasons:
- To diversify their diet, particularly if they have high-carb “non-negotiables” or favorite meals.
- Some carbohydrates are considered comfort foods because they taste delicious (for example, ice cream, pizza, chocolate, and so on).
- Carbohydrates are used in bodybuilding to make muscles appear “fuller” because they hold water in muscles.
- They discover that increasing their carbohydrate intake gives them more energy to power through brutal activities such as sprinting, leaping, weightlifting, and high-intensity cycling.
What Happens When We Don’t Eat Carbs?
Short-term symptoms include headaches, weariness, muscular cramps, gastrointestinal issues (constipation or diarrhea), and a unique foul breath (also known as keto breath) (14).
These symptoms reflect the keto flu as a whole. This is your body’s natural reaction when you stop eating carbohydrates. It will occur within a few days of carbohydrate restriction and may extend from one week to one month, depending on your adaptability (15).
Furthermore, you should notice a decrease in water weight. In the first week of carb restriction, this dramatic weight loss occurs when your body depletes glycogen (the water-bound storage form of carbohydrates) and begins to tap into fat (16).
Your liver creates ketones as a byproduct of fat metabolism, which you may detect more precisely using a ketone meter or ketone testing strip.
Sticking to a very low carb diet (also known as the keto diet) for an extended period helps your body become used to running on ketones for fuel. During this period, keto flu symptoms will go. Furthermore, keto dieters report increased energy, less hunger, prolonged fat reduction, enhanced mental clarity, and lower cholesterol (17).
What Research Says About Low Carb and Keto Diets
Many individuals believe that there is insufficient research on low carb and keto diets. So, here’s a list of research that may help you better understand the influence of this diet on your health, fitness, and performance:
Research on Type 2 Diabetes
While type 2 diabetes is usually handled with a low-fat diet and anti-diabetic drugs (which encourage weight gain), research including 238 people had outstanding outcomes. Participants experienced better blood glucose control, lost weight, and were able to reduce their medication use after ten weeks of a personalized program that included nutritional ketosis (18).
Research on Obesity
In a one-year controlled experiment, 63 obese men and women were randomly allocated to either a low carb, high-protein, high-fat diet or a low-calorie, high-carb, low-fat diet. It should be noted that none of these participants were pregnant, nursing, or on any drugs that may alter their weight. Within the first six months, the results showed that a low carb diet resulted in a four percent (19) weight decrease.
Research on Cardiovascular Disease Risk
A meta-analysis published in 2020 looked into the link between low carb diets and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Data from 12 randomized studies were obtained. Following a low carb diet was found to be significantly linked with weight loss, decreased diastolic blood pressure, plasma lipids, and fasting blood sugar levels. There was also an increase in HDL “good cholesterol” levels (20).
Research on Exercise Endurance
Five male cyclists with endurance training volunteered for this study. Despite having less muscle glycogen at the start of moderate intensity exercise, they felt less exhausted on a high-fat meal. The findings imply that delayed weariness is connected to the body’s improved ability to burn fat for fuel (or fat oxidation) (21).
Research on the Preservation of Muscle Mass
While it is commonly assumed that very low carb diets cause considerable muscle loss, Volek and his colleagues investigated the impact of a 6-week very low carb diet (VLCARB) in healthy males. They changed their typical diet to one that had only 8% carbs. Fruits, fruit juices, most dairy items, bread, cereals, and sweets were avoided or minimized. They concentrated on consuming steak, poultry, fish, oils, eggs, protein powder, and low carb diet beverages at the same time. The results revealed a considerable reduction in body fat while increasing lean body mass (22).
Research on Brain Health
Ketones produced by a very low carb diet aid in alleviating the energy crisis seen in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s when brain glucose metabolism is impaired. Furthermore, clinical investigations demonstrate that ketone bodies are neuroprotective, with cognitive improvements shown in people with Alzheimer’s disease or at risk of developing the condition (23).
Research on Weight Loss Maintenance
A randomized clinical experiment conducted in 2012 discovered that patients on a very low carb diet (10% carbs, 60% fat, and 30% protein) had the most incredible resting metabolism. On the other hand, those who maintained a low-fat diet had the lowest resting metabolism (24). This indicates that a very low carb diet can help you maintain your weight loss once you’ve lost it.
Other Experts’ Opinions About Dietary Carbohydrates
Some specialists are against low carb diets or do not advocate them for various reasons, including saturated fat being unhealthy for the heart (since fat becomes your alternate fuel instead of carbohydrates). There is no evidence lowering saturated fat decreases the incidence of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, substituting fat with a high-carbohydrate diet may raise one’s chance of mortality (25).
Another popular misconception among non-low-carb professionals is that nutritional ketosis reduces energy and workout performance. Following the keto diet correctly, such as maintaining enough electrolyte and fat intake and allowing for keto adaptation, will enhance the body’s energy demands.
So, Can We Survive Without Carbs?
Does your body require carbohydrates to acquire energy, generate glucose for tissues that rely only on this fuel, fulfill nutritional requirements, and maintain muscular mass? No, we don’t require carbohydrates to survive and operate optimally.
Restricting carbohydrates while eating enough protein and fat offers several benefits, from blood sugar regulation to weight loss maintenance.
However, what you consume is ultimately a personal choice. Despite the existing evidence on low carb and keto diets, some people find carbohydrate restriction to be excessively restrictive. Long-term commitment becomes difficult — but not impossible — at this point.
At Eat Healthy is Good, we’ve supported people on their keto diet journey, allowing them to attain life-changing results. Feel free to check out their success stories and get started today.
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