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Low Carb Diets: Are They Safe?

Summary & Participants

So-called low carb diets are becoming more and more popular in the quest to fight the battle of the bulge. But how effective are these diets, and more importantly, how safe?

Medically Reviewed On: July 22, 2008

Webcast Transcript

CHERYL WILLS: I'm Cheryl Wills. Welcome to our webcast. Many people try low carb diets to try to beat the battle of the bulge, but how effective are these popular diets, and more importantly, how safe? During this webcast we'll go over some of the pros and cons of this controversial weight loss method.

Joining me to discuss this issue is Samantha Heller. She's a registered dietitian and a Senior Clinical Nutritionist at New York University Medical Center. Thanks for joining us Samantha.

SAMANTHA HELLER: I'm happy to be here.

CHERYL WILLS: Also here, Martha McKittrick. She's a registered dietitian at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Martha, thank you.

MARTHA MCKITTRICK, RD, CDE: Thank you Cheryl.

CHERYL WILLS: You know, we hear the word carbohydrate a lot. It's on the back of most foods. A lot of people, I fear, do not know exactly what a carbohydrate is and what it means for your body. So, let's define it. What is a carbohydrate?

SAMANTHA HELLER: A carbohydrate is one of the major nutrients that our bodies use to provide energy. We know of carbohydrates. Generally, we think of them as starches like potatoes, and bread and past. But, carbohydrates are also vegetables, fruits, legumes, and we want them to be a greater percentage of our diet because that's the major fuel that our body uses to function.

CHERYL WILLS: And it breaks down.

SAMANTHA HELLER: Carbohydrates break down in your body. Finally, after they go through all their breakdown, they wind up as sugar, known as glucose, in your blood. That's the very basic unit of which a carbohydrate is made.

CHERYL WILLS: Sure. Martha, we have two different types, simple and complex. Define simple for me. What is a simple carbohydrate?

MARTHA MCKITTRICK, RD, CDE: A simple carbohydrate is basically something that's found in a sweet food. It would be found in regular soda, jam, jelly, table sugar. Basically, when you eat something that has simple carbohydrate in it, it breaks down rapidly into sugar. Your blood sugar is elevated quite quickly after eating the food.

CHERYL WILLS: Define complex. What is that?

MARTHA MCKITTRICK, RD, CDE: The basic difference between a complex and a simple is that a complex carbohydrate is a whole bunch of simples hooked together in a chain. When you eat something, which is a complex carbohydrate, which would be found in rice, bread, past, potatoes, it will break down to sugar, but it takes longer than the simple.

CHERYL WILLS: That would be refined. Is that correct?

MARTHA MCKITTRICK, RD, CDE: Right. Now, there are two different kinds of complex. There is refined, and there is unrefined.

CHERYL WILLS: Please define refined?

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