Compile Your Low Carb Foods List
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

There are a few key elements to consider when analyzing which foods belong on a low carb foods list. The main thing is the difference between processed/ refined foods and natural foods. Processing food removes much of the nutritional
value, utilizes a high amount of salt, or sodium, and many other chemicals.

Obviously artificial chemicals have no food value and are in fact indigestible. Some are actually bad for your health. We need salt for a source of iodine, but too much sodium can cause water retention and bloating, Too much salt can raise the blood pressure and can actually contribute to hazardous and even fatal consequences when ingested in excess over a lifetime.

This is also important in a diet, because when you are limiting yourself to a low calorie and/or low carb foods list, you must still derive a sufficient amount of nutrition from your diet, so that your health will not be compromised. Natural foods have greater nutritional value, so it is easier to eat a small amount of them in order to consume an adequate diet.

The difference between processed and natural foods can also be categorized in two groups of carbohydrate types, simple and complex. On your low carb foods list, you will want to start by dividing the foods into simple or complex carbohydrate groups. This is so that when planning a meal, you will include the complex group more often.

All foods except meat and fat have carbohydrates. So obviously these would be included on your low carb foods list. However, beware of any diet loss plan that relies too heavily on either of these two elements to the exclusion of all others. When eaten in excess, both may be harmful to your health.

Both groups, simple and complex, are necessary. There is no clear line, and some foods that are considered to be in the complex group, may also be processed. That is why you have to determine if the foods are processed or natural. As well, you must know whether the foods themselves have crucial nutritional value, and therefore cannot be omitted entirely.

I will provide an example on both simple and complex carbs that may be on your low carb foods list. Simple carbs are principally categorized as such because, for one thing they contain forms of sugar. In this group are milk, which has lactose; when the low fat variety is used, there is no harm in drinking milk. Fruit has fructose, and is very healthful, so we would want to include some in our diet. However, refined white sugar, sucrose, has little nutritional value and should be avoided.

Bakery items have the double whammy of including sucrose AND processed flours. This is probably why there is no weight loss diet that allows them to any degree. There is no way they would find a place on your list of low carb foods!

An example of desirable and undesirable complex carbohydrates would be bread which would not be considered low carb in any case. However, 'white bread' is highly processed and has little nutritional value; while whole grain bread, which may be just as high in carbohydrates numerically, is made from natural, unprocessed grain, and is very healthful.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.