List of Low Carbohydrate Foods

Low-carbohydrate diets or low-carb diets are nutritional programs that control carbohydrate consumption typically for weight control and for the treatment of obesity. In this program foods high in digestible carbohydrates (e.g. breads, pasta) are controlled or replaced with foods including a top percentage of proteins and fats (e.g. meats, soy products) and often some other foods short in carbohydrates (e.g. green leafy vegetables). Not only for obesity, low-carbohydrate diets can often used as the treatments for some bad health conditions, most notably diabetes and epilepsy, although, other than epilepsy, these treatments still remain controversial and lack extensive support.

Selecting a low carbohydrate diet is one of the fine decisions you can make in your life. This will support in any weight loss activities. It is also a best way to attain a better nature if you have physical problems like heart disease or obesity. Low carbohydrate foods are also the prescribed diet for some of the popular lifestyles today.

It is definite that low carbohydrate foods supply certain merits to the body. Adopting this diet will maintain you away from the dangerous fats that can damage the heart. They are also mostly high in proteins and minerals. Apart from the health benefits, low carbohydrate foods can also be really nice to the palate. You do not have to be miserable with your taste buds just to be healthy. There are a number of choices for low carbohydrate foods.

Why do low carbohydrate foods help me lose weight?

When people consume fewer calories than their bodies use, they lose weight. People on a low carbohydrate diet program usually take in fewer calories, even if they are eating more protein and fats than normal. Low carbohydrate diets have been shown to help people who are overweight to lose weight. These diets can work better than low fat diets when people start dieting.

To lose weight, you have to chop down the number of calories you eat and start burning more calories each day. Calories can be explained as the amount of energy in the food you eat. Some foods contain more calories than other foods. For example, foods high in sugar and fat are also typically high in calories. If you consume more calories than your body uses, the additional calories will be stored as excess body fat.

A pound of fat contains about 3,500 calories. To lose one pound of fat in one week, you have to consume 3,500 less calories, or you want to "burn off" an additional 3,500 calories. You can achieve this by exercising or just by being highly active. If you reduce 250 calories from your diet each day and exercise enough to burn off 250 calories, that adds up to 500 fewer calories in one day. If you experience this for 7 days, you can drop 1 pound of fat in a week.

List of low carbohydrate foods

The following list explains the food items which are low in carbohydrate content and comprise more amounts of proteins and minerals essential for the normal body health. Some food items to avoid for getting better health is also included below.

Lean Meats: buffalo, elk, grass-fed beef, venison, goat, caribou, moose, bear and home made jerky
 
Poultry: duck, chicken, turkey, partridge, pheasant, ostrich, quail and emu.

Fish: salmon, halibut, pike, arctic char, mackerel, sardines, trout, pickerel, smelts, oolichan and herring.

Seafood: abalone, clams, lobster, mussels, crab, shrimp, scallops

Avoid: deli meats, canned meats, processed meats, bacon, beef ribs, chicken and turkey skin, legs, thighs, and wings, fatty beef and pork roasts, cuts, ground, chops, legs, ribs, sausage and steaks.

Leafy green Vegetables: cabbages, chard, kale, spinach, lettuce, watercress, dandelion greens and beet green.

Flowering Vegetables:  broccoli, artichokes, brussel sprouts and cauliflower.

Stem Vegetables: celery, asparagus, leeks and rhubarb.

Fruiting Vegetables: cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, summer squash and tomatoes.

Sea Vegetables: nori, wakame, hijiki, kombu, dulse and kelp.

Sprouts: onion, garlic, alfalfa and red clover.
 
Algae: chlorella, spirulina  etc.

Herbs: basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, cilantro and mint.

Wild Plants: nettle, fiddleheads, edible fungi etc.

Avoid: tubers, cassava root, manioc, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tapioca and yams.

Nuts and Seeds: walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, cashews, pistachio nuts, hazel nuts, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds and almonds.

Avoid: amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa

Eggs: chicken, duck and goose

Oils: olive, avocado, walnut, flaxseed, canola etc.

Fruits and Berries: apples, blueberries, cranberries, currants, raspberries, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, strawberries, oranges, bananas, figs, grapes, melons, rhubarb, pineapple, avocado, lemon and kiwi.

Avoid: fruit juices and dried fruits

Low carbohydrate meal plan

Meal Plan 1

Breakfast

• 3 eggs, any style
• 1 or 2 servings mixed vegetables to go with eggs in any way you want, for example Mediterranean Vegetables

Lunch

• Large salad with protein, for example Green Salad with Chicken and Strawberries and Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing.
• Snack
• 1/2 cup regular cottage cheese (can substitute ricotta for one more gram of carbonydrate)
• 1 medium wedge of cantaloupe
• 2 Tbls flax seed meal

Dinner

• 5 oz salmon, grilled, broiled, or baked (analysis was with wild salmon)
• 1 serving Garlic Green Beans with Pine Nuts
• 1 cup broccoli (can mix in with green beans)
• Optional dessert not counted in analysis

Low Carb Meal Plan 2

Breakfast

• 2 (or 3) eggs cooked as you like them
• 6 medium asparagus spears
• 1 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen

Lunch

2 cups Low Carb Cole Slaw mixed with

• 1 cup cooked chicken
• 1/3 cup chopped apple
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Snack (morning, afternoon, or evening)

• 1/2 cup plain, strained yogurt with cultures, flavored with sugar-free syrup such as Da Vinci’s
• 1 ½ Tablespoon flax seed meal

Dinner

• 4 oz lean beef such as London Broil
• 1 cup mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil
• Simply Scrumptious Spinach, or spinach salad made with 3 cups spinach and olive oil dressing or another cup of cole slaw.