Question: What about “no-carb" diets?
Answer: "No-Carb Diet" is a misnomer – it is actually next to impossible to eat a diet with no carbohydrate, nor would you want to. It is true that there have been traditional diets, such as those of Inuit people, which were almost exclusively protein and fat (seal, whale, etc), at least for part of the year. However, there is a range of nutrients, including phytonutrients, which are important for good health and are very scarce in animal foods. Eating a variety of plant foods is important in our diets, and plant foods have at least some carbohydrate. Happily, some of the most nutrient-rich plant foods are also low in carbohydrate.
What people usually mean when they say “no carb” is a diet very low in carbohydrates, such as the initial “Induction” phase of the Atkins diet. This is not meant to be a long-term way of eating, and, in fact, Atkins Nutritionals is now saying that this phase is optional. Many low carb diets don't have a phase which is very low in carbs.
See also: Myths About Low Carb Diets
What people usually mean when they say “no carb” is a diet very low in carbohydrates, such as the initial “Induction” phase of the Atkins diet. This is not meant to be a long-term way of eating, and, in fact, Atkins Nutritionals is now saying that this phase is optional. Many low carb diets don't have a phase which is very low in carbs.
See also: Myths About Low Carb Diets
