Pros and Cons Of The Banting Diet

Pros and Cons Of The Banting Diet. Weight loss plans come and go but there’s one that seems to have made a lasting impression in South Africa and it’s called the Banting diet. The Banting diet operates much in the same way as many other low-carb, high-fat diets out there.

The Banting diet involves eating a greater amount of protein and eating low carbs. Green leafy vegetables are encouraged in the Banting. The diet has worked for many, but there are some people with reservations regarding banting.

Pros of Banting:

It’s Right On The Money About Sugar

Health professionals are all in agreement about one thing, refined and excess sugar has to go. Limiting our intake is guaranteed to help stabilise blood sugar levels, preventing or improving diabetes symptoms. If there could be one universal tip that includes every body shape, food tolerance and metabolism – this would be it. Health issues of any kind are aggravated by the damage of refined sugar, and enrolling in the Banting diet after a high sugar diet will show significant improvements from this angle alone.

Improves and Prevent Diabetes symptoms

Very low carb ketogenic diets have been a go-to recommendation for managing diabetes for decades, before the discovery of insulin. Carbohydrates are the nutrients with the largest impact on blood sugar, and for those with diabetes, consuming even small amounts can raise blood sugar to damaging levels. Cutting carbs therefore might be the only feasible solution for those with any degree of insulin resistance.

Lowers Your Risk of Heart Disease

Lowering your intake of carbohydrates and increasing your intake of healthy fats like coconut oil, avocados and nuts usually leads to a drop in triglycerides (too many triglycerides can cause heart disease) and a rise in healthy HDL cholesterol.

Your Veggie Intake Increases

The Banting diet’s emphasis on less starchy vegetables leads its followers to explore more vegetable varieties. While some could see this as a limitation, most Banting followers report an increase in experimentation with new cruciferous veggies, which arguably offer the highest nutritional reward coupled with a lower caloric profile.

Banting Cons:

It Can Promote Intolerance For High Carb Foods

Adapting your body to use fat as energy rather than carbs might earn great results, but it could also lower your tolerance of carbs. That means your blood sugar will rise higher after consuming high carb foods than it would if you had a moderate daily carb intake (a minimum of 150 grams). Whilst this process is reversible by reverting back to a moderate carb intake over time, it allows no wriggle room for the odd high carb meal while you are Banting.

Your Digestion Might Suffer

It’s not a given, but constipation and a toxic gut while on a Banting diet are fairly common occurrences. Removing carbs and the lack of fruits, legumes and starchy vegetables can often result in a sufficient lack of fibre. Make sure that your protein sources are not only red meat and poultry, as these take an extremely long time to digest. Fish, eggs and other non-meat proteins are quicker digesting and easier on the stomach.

Your LDL Cholesterol Could Increase

While your HDL cholesterol may be improving, in many cases – approximately 50% of the time – a low carb diet can raise your unhealthy LDL cholesterol levels. This may be the preferable fluffy, large particles (Pattern A) versus the smaller, dense and more dangerous kind (Pattern B), but it may also be a risk you’re not prepared to take