DASH Diet Includes Personalized Fats & Carbs

There is a longstanding debate about the best way to lose weight, so before you rush to any conclusions, accept the fact that long-term weight loss success requires a personalized approach for sustainable results. Following a diet that combines a low-carbohydrate menu plan that combines a low-fat regimen, like the DASH diet or Mediterranean diet, is the healthiest approach to eliminating stored fat. A weight loss specialist can help you choose an eating style that you can sustain, since it fits your food preferences, weight loss goals and lifestyle. Since healthy fats help your body absorb and utilize the fat-soluble vitamins, consuming too little fat can lead to nutritional deficiencies. If you develop a vitamin A deficiency, you may have dry skin, slow bone growth and night blindness. However, results vary by the individual, so some of us may do better or worse because of our makeup.

Types of Dietary Carbohydrates

Often maligned with today’s fad diets, carbohydrates are a macronutrient and one of the basic food groups that have been identified as important to a healthy diet. Listed below are the three primary types of carbohydrates, which are used by the body for energy and other bodily functions, including:

• Sugars - Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that is usually referred to as a simple carb or fast burning carbohydrate. Simple sugars include table sugar (glucose), fruit sugar (fructose) and milk sugar (lactose) and provide a quick source of energy.
• Starches - A starch is a type of carbohydrate that is made up of long chains of glucose. Your body produces digestive enzymes to break down all types of starches. Basically, plants make starch to store glucose as fuel for your body’s cells.
• Fiber - Fiber comes from plant-based foods. There is no fiber in animal products, such as milk, meat, poultry, fish, or eggs. Fiber is the non-digestible part of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes that passes through the digestive tract but is not digested.

Fructose is special. It is the sweetest carbohydrate, since plants make a lot of fructose as a way of attracting insects and animals, which help plants to reproduce as animals poop out the seeds from the fruits they eat.

Healthy Fats Help the Body Access Fat Deposits

With obesity rates soaring, there are surprisingly few overweight dieters who understand the metabolic process required to lose weight. The lungs are the primary excretory organ for weight loss with excess water excreted as urine, tears, sweat, breath or feces. When you consume carbohydrates and fats, digestion converts the majority of either into carbon dioxide or water. A small portion of protein is excreted as urine, but only undigested food and dietary fiber is passed through the colon. Adipose tissue stores energy for your body to use in protecting numerous organs. However, overweight adults with more body fat may experience leptin resistance, which makes the body less sensitive to leptin hormone making weight control more difficult with a reduced satiety signal. Although carbohydrates are a main source of fuel when exercising, dietary fat is needed to help access fat stores and produces glycogen as a usable form of energy.