Zeraph

What happens if our bodies don't get any sugar, and get very little carbs? Can it just burn more fat or do you go into a diabetic seizure or something.

I cut out sugar and almost all carbs the last few days but broke down and had some pasta yesterday night because I had been feeling really horrible. Always felt hungry, and my muscles had started to cramp. Basically all I'd been eating is chicken, eggs, and romaine salads.

Anyone know what's going on?

PS I was just trying to cleanse my system, not lose weight, I'm already skinny enough.

ngdawg

Someone with a bit more knowledge can probably expound on this, but the way I understand it is: Intestinal bacteria that are good for you feed off carbs-you can have too much sugar and the bacteria gets out of hand, but a normal diet, no problem. When the sugar and carbs are gone, the bacteria will do one of two things and neither are good for your health; they will either start to die off or feed off your own system.
If you do reduce your carbs that much, take acidiphilus tablets with pectin to keep your digestive system from running amok.

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Willravel

The human body can get enough energy from fats and protein, but you'll probably end up missing something you need that comes with the carbs. Fruits and vegetables both have varying amounts of carbohydrates, and I don't think it would be smart to stop eating them.

If you want to "cleanse" your system, try lean, (possibly organic) free range meats, organic fruits and veggies, raw nuts and plenty of water. You might want to concentrate on berries for antioxidants and meats and nuts high in essential oils. And don't forget to take your multivitamin. Carbs, along with proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, are your friend, so long as you take in the right kind of carbs.

snowy

You will start to feel stupid. The fact of the matter is that your brain needs carbs to function properly--the brain needs glucose to do its work, or else it will start limiting itself; there are several studies out there that demonstrate the brain's need for glucose to function at full capacity. One of these studies suggests that willpower is impacted when glucose is low. You can see the abstract here: PsycNET

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dlish

sounds like an off-shoot to the atkins diet.

if you body cannot get energy from carbs or fat stores it will utilise protien in muscles. the only problem is that you will lose weight from muscle shrinkage, which isnt at all healthy and isnt something you intend on doing.

why would you want to 'cleanse' your body of sugar? it doesnt make sense. its an essential part of every day activities.

try cutting out alcohol and fat, takeaway and control your calories instead

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Shaindra

The brain will function just fine on ketones. And low-carb diets have been proven to be *more* muscle-sparing than low-fat diets. If you're eating adequate protein, the impact on your lean body tissue is minimal.

Low-carb diets aren't for everyone. However, the first few days to a week can be a rough transition for somebody who is hooked on carbs. If you still feel like crap after that, then it's clear the diet isn't for you. If you don't need to lose weight, but just want to cleanse, I'd say cut out the sugar and include moderate amounts of carbs in the form of whole grains, vegetables and fruits.

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Zeraph

I already said I wasn't doing it to lose weight. It's temporary, I'm trying to starve out all the bad fungus and bacteria and then replace them with the good ones at the end. It's no diet I know of, just thought it up myself. I wouldn't recommend doing it long term. My plan was to do it for a week, but it doesn't look like that can happen.

Baraka_Guru

Low-carbohydrate diets are usually a bad idea. Enough was already said here to illustrate that.

If you want to cleanse some bad things from your system, try a one-day fruit fast, where you eat only a variety of fruits and drink water for a day. This gives your digestive system a break and allows your body to recuperate where it would otherwise be engaged in digesting more complex food.

Cutting sugar isn't a bad idea. However, your body's prime source of fuel is glucose, which is derived mainly from carbohydrates. If it can't find enough, it will get it elsewhere, usually from protein first and then (as mentioned above) it will go after fat and muscle, which can be a bad thing (this is considered a kind of starvation).

The conversion of protein into glucose taxes the liver, as it will need to deal with an increased nitrogen load, which is a byproduct of this process. If your body is after glucose in the first place, you should give it a better source (ideally, carbohydrates).

There is nothing wrong with carbohydrates, especially considering the right kind are loaded with fibre, which is a natural material for removing toxins from your system.

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Zeraph

Thanks BG, exactly what I was looking for.