Low Carb Foods

The reason most people attempt to inculcate a diet rich in low carb foods is because of the multitude of health benefits they provide. Some of the most important benefits include weight loss, reduction in total cholesterol levels in the body, controlled blood pressure and improved triglycerides. It is common to find people who are into a low carb diet enjoying increased vigor and energy, improved mental status and mood, better control over blood-glucose and better dental hygiene and sensitivity towards insulin. Reports say that the daily consumption of carbohydrates should be 20 - 50 grams. This makes for an ideal low carb diet.

List of Foods Low in Carbohydrate

Nuts which make for an ideal low carb diet include:

• Alfalfa seeds
• Almonds
• Brazil nuts
• Dried coconut
• Dry peanuts
• Dry pistachio nuts
• Dry roasted cashew
• Hazel nuts
• Macadamia
• Pecan
• Pine
• Pumpkin seeds
• Raw coconut
• Sesame seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Walnuts
• Water chestnuts

Here are some fruits which score low when it comes to carbs:

• Apple
• Apricot
• Avocado
• Banana
• Blackberries
• Blackcurrant
• Cherry
• Clementine
• Currants
• Damson
• Dates
• Gooseberries
• Grapes
• Lemon
• Lychees
• Mango
• Nectarines
• Passion Fruit
• Prunes
• Raisins
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb
• Strawberries
• Sultanas
• Tangerine

Here are a few good examples of vegetables categorized low in carbs.

• Bamboo shoots
• Beansprouts mung, raw
• Beetroot, raw
• Green broccoli, boiled
• Purple broccoli
• Green broccoli, raw
• Purple broccoli, raw
• Brussels Sprouts, boiled
• Cabbage spring, boiled
• Chinese cabbage, raw
• Red cabbage, raw
• Cabbage Savoy, raw
• White cabbage, raw
• Green capsicum pepper, raw
• Red capsicum pepper, raw
• Boiled carrots, old
• Boiled carrots, young
• Steamed cassava
• Boiled cauliflower
• Celeriac, raw
• Celery, raw
• Boiled corn
• Courgette (Zucchini)
• Curly Kale, raw
• Cucumber, raw
• Chicory, raw
• Eggplant (aubergine)
• Endive (Escarole)
• Fennel, raw
• Leeks, raw
• Lettuce leaf, raw
• Marrow, boiled
• Mushrooms, raw
• Potatoes, boiled
• Okra, raw
• Onions, raw
• Pumpkin, raw
• Red radish, raw
• Raw spinach
• Squash, baked
• Tomatoes, canned
• Tomatoes cherry
• Water chestnuts, canned
• Watercress, raw

So this was about vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts which can be included in a low carb diet. But what about meat and fish products. Although, meat and fish products are low in carbs, they must for a small part of a diet and eaten limitedly. For instance, one can include fish such as bluefish, carp, catfish, caviar red/black, cod, eel, flounder, haddock, halibut, sea bass, mackerel, pike, pollack, pompano, mahi mahi, grouper monkfish, mullet, ocean perch and herring. The diet also allows addition of beef, deer, goose, ham venison, goat's liver (also, heart, pancreas and bone marrow), pheasant duck, pork, lamb, veal and rabbit.

Apart from keeping oneself abreast with all such foods, it also helps to know about foods that are high in carbs. The diet plan can be made more effective when such foods are included in various recipes. Do not go for the same recipe everyday. This is one of the reasons why many people cannot keep up with following their low carb diet religiously.