The Low-Carb Diet: A Brief Overview
The phrase "low-carb" didn't appear until the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared in 1992 that six to eleven servings of grains and starches per day were part of the model food pyramid in the United States. A pamphlet titled Letter on Corpulence, issued by William Banting in 1864, is as near as one might get to the first commercial low-carb diet; nonetheless, the practice of low-carb dieting predates the popular Atkins diet by over a century.
Because of his excessive weight, or "corpulent," Banting experienced a number of crippling health problems. His weight problem, which many doctors at the time saw as an inevitable consequence of aging, persisted despite his best efforts to find a solution. Even after cutting back on calories, he was still gaining weight and experiencing a host of health issues. The connection between his weight problem and the tiny portions of food he was eating remained a mystery to him:
My fifty-year business career, from which I had retired, was characterized by a constitutional anxiety for regularity, precision, and order. Consequently, my corpulence and subsequent obesity were not caused by a lack of necessary physical activity, excessive eating, or self-indulgence. The only thing that contributed to my weight gain was eating the simple foods like bread, milk, butter, beer, sugar, and potatoes more freely than my age dictated...
The former unhealthy daily diet of Banting may be familiar to many modern Americans on the move:
Dinner used to consist of meat, beer, a lot of bread (which I've always loved), and pastry. In the morning, it would be bread and milk or a pint of tea with lots of milk, sugar, and buttered toast. In the afternoon, it would be tea again, or a fruit tart. In the evening, it would be bread and milk. Neither did I have a good night's rest.
You can easily understand how Banting's diet mirrored that of the modern, fast-paced American by just replacing breakfast foods like Pop tarts, doughnuts, or muffins with coffee, cream, and sugar. Lunch would consist of fast food burgers and fries with an extra-large soft drink. Dinner would consist of frozen pot pie or pizza followed by dessert.
Within a year of his doctor adding these products to a "forbidden foods list," Banting dropped fifty pounds and thirteen inches. He managed to keep it off and enjoyed a long and healthy life.
The following is an inventory of the meat-heavy meals that made up his new diet plan:
I have five to six ounces of beef mutton, kidneys, broiled fish, bacon, or cold meat (any type except pork or veal) for breakfast at nine in the morning. With that, I have a big cup of tea or coffee (no milk or sugar), a little biscuit, or one ounce of dry toast. I mix six ounces of solid with nine ounces of liquid.
Starting about 2:00 PM, for supper, The following items are allowed: five or six ounces of any fish other than salmon, herrings, or eels; any meat other than pork or veal; any vegetable other than potatoes, parsnips, beetroots, turnips, or carrots; one ounce of dry toast; fruit from a pudding that is not sweetened; any type of poultry or game; and two or three glasses of good claret, sherry, or Madeira—Champagne, port, or beer are prohibited; ten to twelve ounces solid and ten liquid.
Two or three ounces of cooked fruit, a rusk or two, and a cup of unsweetened tea—two to four ounces solid, nine liquid—are the ingredients for tea at six o'clock in the afternoon.
We will have dinner at 9:00 p.m. Enjoy a dinner-sized serving of meat or fish—three or four ounces—with a couple of glasses of claret or sherry and water—four solid ounces and seven liquid ounces.
If you're looking for something to sip before bed, try a glass or two of claret or sherry, or a tumbler of sugar-free gin, whisky, or brandy.
His friends and acquaintances started to take note of the dramatic improvement in his health and attractiveness, and they still wonder what diet he follows today. Above all else, Banting was able to personally perceive and experience a change.
I feel restored in health, "bodily and mentally," appear to have more muscular power and vigor, eat and drink with a good appetite, and sleep well. Everyone who knows me says that my personal appearance greatly improved and that I seem to bear the stamp of good health. This could be just a friendly comment or subjective perception, but I can honestly say that it's true. My once-permanent acidity, indigestion, and heartburn symptoms have completely disappeared. Now that I can stoop with ease and freedom, I no longer need the boot-hooks and other similar aids, which were crucial before. My infrequent episodes of fainting have gone, and what a relief it is to finally be able to stop wearing the umbilical truss and knee bandages, both of which I had to wear for a long time.
A lot of people loved his diet book, so much so that it was translated into other languages. But eventually, nobody bothered with it anymore.
In his Letter on Corpulence, Banting pointed out that he did not experience a prevalent health paradox in his day. This was the conundrum of poverty and fat, which was generally perceived as an excess problem. Poor people in the 1800s couldn't afford the processed, sugary foods that make people fat. However, modern-day impoverished individuals certainly may.
"Health Paradox: Obesity Attacks Poor" is a recent Associated Press piece that pointed out how many low-income families are buying unhealthy processed and refined meals to stretch their food budget. In the case of a particular family, Barbassa documented
Because there aren't many jobs available in the winter, Caballero has to get creative with the food she buys for her family—potatoes, bread, tortillas, etc.—to keep them fed. The poor are bearing the brunt of the epidemic of obesity and diabetes caused by the decline in the cost of healthy meals like fruits and vegetables and the rise of processed foods that are heavy in sugar and fat.
These inexpensive necessities are harmful to the Caballero family's health, unfortunately. Although fresh meat, low-starch fruits, and vegetables have a shorter shelf life and may be more expensive, the benefits in terms of greater health and reduced medical bills more than make up for it.
As the term "calories" gained popularity, dietary supplements began to incorporate several methods of counting them. How often and what kinds of foods should be eaten were among the many other topics covered.
Although Banting's diet was out of style for a while, low-carb eating plans did make a comeback in the twentieth century. The Atkins and Scarsdale diets, which gained traction in the '70s, are the best known of these. The Atkins diet allowed for unlimited calorie consumption as long as those calories came from protein, fat, and vegetables and carbs were kept low, in contrast to Scarsdale's predefined 14-day meal plan, which severely restricts calories.
The 1980s were a bad time for Atkins and Scarsdale because the USDA food pyramid promoted eating wheat and grain products.
It wasn't until the 1990s that low-carb diets started making a comeback, and this time they appear to be here to stay. No, it's a way of life! The number of low-carb diets and companies offering specialized low-carb items is growing as more and more individuals become aware of the weight loss and health benefits associated with low-carb eating.
To sum up, the primary argument of most low-carb diets is that the body stores too much fat when it consumes an excessive amount of simple, refined carbs. The abdominal fat is most noticeable in that area.
Excess insulin production has detrimental consequences on human systems, according to all of the various diets, which vary to varying degrees.
