A LCHF (low carbohydrate, high fat) diet reduces the amount of carbohydrates you eat and increases the amount of fat. The reason for this is based on nutritional biochemical science. This article will help you understand the reasons why the LCHF diet works.
When you eat carbohydrates, whether in the form of sugars or starch, they are broken down to glucose (a sugar) in your small intestine. In response, your pancreas releases insulin, which tells the cells in your body to take in the glucose and break it down. From there, it is either used as energy or stored as fat or glycogen.
What Role Does Insulin Play?
If you eat a high carbohydrate diet, the pancreas produces extra insulin, to handle the rise in blood sugar. The presence of insulin blocks fat burning and promotes fat storage instead.
If your diet is high in carbs over the long-term, your body is constantly producing extra insulin, and eventually your cells stop responding to it, creating insulin resistance. This leads to less glucose available to your cells for energy and more glucose circulating throughout your blood (high blood glucose). And ironically, even though the amount of glucose in your blood is high, because the amount of glucose in your cells is low, they think they are starving and send hormonal signals to your brain that you are hungry and need to eat more! High levels of glucose in the blood over time can lead to pre-diabetes (aka Insulin Resistance, aka Metabolic Syndrome), and eventually to Type 2 Diabetes.
How Does Eating a LCHF Diet Help?
Reducing your carbohydrate intake keeps the levels of glucose in your blood lower and more stable. This prevents a spike in insulin, and allows your body to better utilize the carbohydrates you do consume. Your cells use the small amount of carbohydrates you do eat for energy. Your cells store less excess glucose as fat. And without the constant presence of insulin, your body begins to burn more fat for energy. This results in better blood sugar control and weight loss—especially loss of fat.
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