Low Carb to loose weight, strengthen your muscle and to feel better an healthier!
Bread, pasta, rice, and so on are forbidden – everything that we are used to eating every day and that we mostly had growing up as well.
Most of us are pre-programmed to buy a sandwich real quick if we are hungry for lunch and don’t have too much time for eating. The bread basket at dinner is a given and always the first thing to be empty.
However, these simple carbs burden the body and intestine more as they are useful to us. The question is: What kind of better low carb alternatives are there?
An excellent source for low carb foods are our green vegetables and leafy greens such as: asparagus, kale, cucumber, zucchini, Swiss chard, spinach, cabbage, fennel, broccoli, etc.
Green vegetables protect, heal, and vitalize and are an important source of iron. Leafy greens contain, for example, bittering agents or spicy agents. They supply chlorophyll and thus, all advantages that are attributed to the green plant pigment.
What’s the deal with chlorophyll?
Chlorophyll supports the creation of new blood cells tremendously and is also called “green blood.” The green plant pigment is extremely similar to our own body’s red blood pigment, hemoglobin. Both substances are built almost identically. It assists our body in detoxing and protects from cancer causing substances, as well as supports the regeneration from heavy metal pollution and radiation damage. Additionally, chlorophyll encourages the healing of wounds, regular bowel movement, and creates a pleasant body odor. It also remedies iron and magnesium deficiencies.
The 10 most important reasons to go green:
– Improvement of immune functions
– Tumor prevention
– Improvement of blood circulation
– Blood cleansing and stimulation of blood formation
– Folic acid, iron, and magnesium supply
– Depression relief
– Strengthening of gut flora
– Improvement of liver, kidney, and gall bladder functions
– Reduction of oxidative stress
– Inflammation relief and prevention
Besides our green friends there are many other important sources for a conscious low carb nutrition:
– Pumpkin
– Tomato
– Carrots
– Eggplant
– Artichoke
– Cep mushrooms, Chanterelles, and Champignons
– Eggs
– Fish and Seafood
– Just like fish, meat is also generally free of carbs; no matter what kind. Exception: Liver with 1-4g of carbohydrates per 100 grams.
– And of course deli meats, which are enriched with starch, sugar, etc. in order to provide more flavor – so rather keep away from those!
– Avocado, nuts, nut and grain milk, flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, as well as amaranth and quinoa are also excellent sources of protein.
A grain free pasta substitute is also shirataki pasta. This “pasta” is not made of drum wheat semolina but from the flour of the Chinese konjac root. Also, algae pastas such as kelp pasta are well suited.
Opinions differ regarding fruit – there are fruit varieties that you can consume without worrying, as their fruit sugar is quite low. Berries, in particular, have high anti-oxidative powers along with low carbs, and so do apricots and papayas.
Fruits contain many vitamins and minerals, that’s why they can’t be excluded from any meal plan. Low carb does not mean no carb, and a low carb nutrition always includes healthy fruits with many dietary fibers.
But some fruit varieties and fruit products (such as ALL canned fruits) contain so much sugar that they should be banned from your menu:
– Bananas 21 g KH per 100 g
– Dates 27 g KH per 100 g
– Canned pineapples 21 g KH per 100 g
– Apple sauce 23 g KH per 100 g
– Canned cranberries 42 g KH per 100 g
– Dried fruits (banana, cranberry, figs etc.) 50-80 g KH per 100 g
I hope I have succeeded again in giving you some valuable recommendations – you have certainly realized how versatile your menu planning can be when you step out of your comfort zone and brave a new approach to your nutrition. Well, it certainly is going to get colorful, and how does the saying go: You eat with your eyes as well
In my next blog I will extend this article with some nice low carb receipts – so don’t miss it!
