So, you've decided to embark upon a low carb way of eating, and now you are checking out low carb foods. The most obvious of these is meat: only the most processed of meats contain any appreciable amount of carbohydrate, so avoid cheap burgers and sausages which are stuffed with fillers such as breadcrumbs. Home-roasted or fried meat or chops are a great choice, but if you must have a processed meat, choose something like Polish Kabanos, or salami, as these are nearly all lean meat with a healthy - yes, healthy - amount of fat too.
Low carb foods will contain a good deal of protein, or fat, or both, if they are to be at all filling. Low carb vegetables such as salad greens or cabbage are great additions to the low carb diet, but nobody is suggesting you live on just these and pretend you are satisfied! For satiety (that feeling of fullness) you must have foods containing protein, and particularly fat.
So the best low carb foods are fish, meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs. Choose the oilier fish or the fatty meat on a low carb diet regimen, as the fat contributes to your feeling sated, it also enables your body to become a fat burning machine by changing your metabolism from one which burns carbs to one which burns fat - including body fat - for fuel. Protein is needed for building the body, sure, but don't choose low-fat, ultra-lean protein on this regime as proteins eventually turn to glucose in the body just as carbs do, it just takes longer. Also some experts theorize that excessive protein intake puts extra strain on the kidneys, but this is still contentious.
The only carbohydrate you should be having, especially in the early stages of a low carb diet (which tend to be stricter) is found naturally in fruit and vegetables. Fruit should be severely curtailed, particularly if you are diabetic and trying to get blood sugars under control, as fructose is a sugar found in fruit which produces high blood sugar levels quicker than anything else. Still, a few berries like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries are fine - a few, that is, not a bowlful, and not after every meal!
The most low carb foods among fruits and vegetables are those high in fibre. If the majority of the carbohydrate content of a food is in indigestible fibre, then that will not elevate your blood sugar or stimulate insulin to take that blood sugar and convert it to body fat. Therefore the most low carb of the vegetables are leaves, be they salad greens, or green veg such as cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. Generally, the sweeter a veg, the more carb-laden it will be, so carrots are to be avoided.
When you get to the later stages of most low carb diets, a larger variety of low carb foods are available to you, such as low carb potato substitutes, notably creamed cauliflower or celeriac. You can also make breads - yes, breads - using faux flours made usually from nuts and seeds instead of grains, like ground flaxseed, ground almonds or hazelnuts, or pumpkin seeds. There is no limit to the ingenuity of the low-carber when finding low carb foods, and all these things are generally much more palatable than dry, low-fat alternatives.
Low carb foods will contain a good deal of protein, or fat, or both, if they are to be at all filling. Low carb vegetables such as salad greens or cabbage are great additions to the low carb diet, but nobody is suggesting you live on just these and pretend you are satisfied! For satiety (that feeling of fullness) you must have foods containing protein, and particularly fat.
So the best low carb foods are fish, meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs. Choose the oilier fish or the fatty meat on a low carb diet regimen, as the fat contributes to your feeling sated, it also enables your body to become a fat burning machine by changing your metabolism from one which burns carbs to one which burns fat - including body fat - for fuel. Protein is needed for building the body, sure, but don't choose low-fat, ultra-lean protein on this regime as proteins eventually turn to glucose in the body just as carbs do, it just takes longer. Also some experts theorize that excessive protein intake puts extra strain on the kidneys, but this is still contentious.
The only carbohydrate you should be having, especially in the early stages of a low carb diet (which tend to be stricter) is found naturally in fruit and vegetables. Fruit should be severely curtailed, particularly if you are diabetic and trying to get blood sugars under control, as fructose is a sugar found in fruit which produces high blood sugar levels quicker than anything else. Still, a few berries like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries are fine - a few, that is, not a bowlful, and not after every meal!
The most low carb foods among fruits and vegetables are those high in fibre. If the majority of the carbohydrate content of a food is in indigestible fibre, then that will not elevate your blood sugar or stimulate insulin to take that blood sugar and convert it to body fat. Therefore the most low carb of the vegetables are leaves, be they salad greens, or green veg such as cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. Generally, the sweeter a veg, the more carb-laden it will be, so carrots are to be avoided.
When you get to the later stages of most low carb diets, a larger variety of low carb foods are available to you, such as low carb potato substitutes, notably creamed cauliflower or celeriac. You can also make breads - yes, breads - using faux flours made usually from nuts and seeds instead of grains, like ground flaxseed, ground almonds or hazelnuts, or pumpkin seeds. There is no limit to the ingenuity of the low-carber when finding low carb foods, and all these things are generally much more palatable than dry, low-fat alternatives.
