Carbohydrate-Free Foods: What Are They?

Increasingly more frequently, we catch wind of the ketogenic diet, an eating routine that utilizes food varieties without carbs. In this article, we carefully describe the situation and see what carbs are and why the ketogenic diet incorporates food varieties with nothing (or nearly) starches.

What Are Carbohydrates

Carbs are a class of natural mixtures composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and address one of the essential energy hotspots for the human body. They can be separated into four classes given their construction:

1. Monosaccharides: these are the purported essential sugars, which incorporate glucose, fructose and ribose. Definitely because of their design, they can’t be hydrolyzed into more modest saccharides, and their absorption is elemental and prompt, addressing a quickly accessible energy source.
2. Disaccharides are carbohydrates composed of two monosaccharides, including sucrose (made up of glucose and fructose), lactose ( made up of glucose and galactose) and maltose (made up of two glucose molecules).
3. Oligosaccharides: they are mind-boggling sugars composed of a couple of monosaccharide units. An illustration of an oligosaccharide is inulin, which can be found in food varieties, including onions, garlic, artichokes, bananas, leeks, asparagus, rye and wheat.
4. Polysaccharides: they are likewise called complex sugars and are long chains of monosaccharides associated. Starch is a polysaccharide found in grains, tubers, vegetables and some organic products like chestnuts.

Sugars are a promptly accessible wellspring of energy for the body. During processing, complex sugars are separated into straightforward sugars, for example, glucose, utilized as an energy hotspot for digestion.

Do Carbohydrates Make You Fat?

Carbs carry out numerous helpful roles essential for the correct working of our body, yet in unnecessary amounts, they are hurtful. While food sources containing sugars (straightforward or complex) are presented, the pancreatic cells are invigorated to deliver insulin. Subsequently, the more starches are shown, the more insulin levels increase. 

The expansion in insulin makes the body amass glycogen in the liver and muscles. Nonetheless, when assets are unreasonable, they transform into fat tissue. Moreover, concerning essential sugar, this makes a kind of habit, and this is shown by a logical examination distributed in Science Advance in which the way of behaving natural product flies given rehashed portions of sugar was contemplated.

From this review, it arose that sugar enacts a class of neurons liable for the impression of flavor, prompting the flies to taste less sugar as the last option portions were expanded. This component works the same way in the human body since the actuated protein complex (called prc21) is likewise present in men. From this, it follows that sugar is equipped for making compulsion, driving the individuals who consume it to believe more should keep a consistent degree of joy and impression of flavor.

Protein-Based Diet Without Carbohydrates

The no-carb diet is called ketogenic. This is a dietary approach that is based on significantly reducing carbohydrate intake, limiting it to around 25-50 grams per day. At the same time, you increase your fat and protein intake. The main goal is to allow the body to produce energy using fat metabolism instead of sugar metabolism. As anticipated in the previous paragraphs, when sugar is in excess, that which is not immediately used is stored as a fat reserve for future energy needs. 

With the ketogenic diet, through the exclusive consumption of carbohydrate-free foods, the intake is so low that the body does not have enough glucose to produce energy.  As a result, it starts using fats as its primary energy source. This process, called ketosis, leads to the production of ketone bodies (hence the name of the diet). Once ketosis has been established, the body adapts to burning fat for energy. 

The ketogenic diet helps lose weight, but it should be noted that the medical community has conflicting opinions regarding the safety of this diet. The risks you can face are considerable as the body undergoes significant changes in metabolism. If you decide to undertake this diet, it is best to consult a dietician or nutritionist who can carry out careful monitoring to guarantee an adequate intake of all the essential nutrients. 

A few days are required for the body to produce ketone bodies; in fact, the diet should be maintained for at least three weeks to see results. In any case, it should be continued for at most one month.

Low Carbohydrate Foods

There are many foods without carbohydrates or, in any case, where the content is so low as to be negligible. Below is a list of grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams of food. It is also helpful in providing valid alternatives to carbohydrates.

Milk And Dairy Products

1. Hard and semi-hard cheese: 0 g
2. Soft cheese: 0 g
3. Melted cheese: 0 g
4. Parmesan: 0 g
5. Gorgonzola: 0.2 g
6. Butter: 0.7 g
7. Feta (sheep or goat’s milk): 1.5 g
8. Ricotta: 2.4 g
9. Cooking cream: 3.4 g
10. Buttermilk: 4 g
11. Lean quark: 4.2 g
12. Goat’s milk: 4.2 g
13. Natural yogurt: 4.5 g
14. Cow’s milk: 4.7 g
15. Sheep’s milk: 4.7g

Cereals And Cereal-Based Products

1. Organic chia flour: < 1 g
2. Organic almond flour: 7 g
3. Organic coconut flour: 20.5 g
4. Organic sweetbread flour: 39 g
5. Vegetables and legumes
6. Cantharellus mushrooms: 0.2 g
7. Porcini mushrooms: 0.5 g
8. Chicory: 0.7 g
9. Tofu: 0.7 g
10. Spinach: 0.8 g
11. Champignon mushrooms: 1.1 g
12. Chinese cabbage: 1.2 g
13. Lettuce: 1.4 g
14. Celery: 1.5 g
15. Sauerkraut in vinegar 1.7 g
16. Courgettes: 2 g
17. Cucumber: 2 g
18. Scorzonera: 2.1 g
19. Radish: 2.1 g
20. Cauliflower: 2.3 g
21. Celeriac: 2.4 g
22. Broccoli: 2.4 g
23. Green pepper: 2.6 g
24. Radish: 2.6 g
25. Chard: 2.7 g
26. Savoy cabbage: 2.9 g
27. Eggplant: 3.1 g
28. Tomato: 3.2 g
29. Asparagus: 3.3 g
30. Brussels sprouts: 3.5 g
31. Green beans: 3.6 g
32. Leeks: 3.7 g
33. Kohlrabi: 3.7 g
34. Pumpkin: 4.5 g
35. Soybeans: 4.7 g

Fruit

1. Avocado: 0.8 g
2. Rhubarb: 1 g
3. Lemon: 2.9 g
4. Olives, black: 3 g
5. Redcurrants: 5 g

Fish And Seafood

1. Raw fish: 0 g
2. Raw shellfish: 1 g
3. Raw squid: 2.3 g
4. Raw mussels: 3.4 g

Meat, Sausages And Eggs

1. Raw pork: 0 g
2. Raw beef: 0 g
3. Raw lamb: 0 g
4. Raw chicken: 0 g
5. Basic game: 0 g
6. Whole chicken eggs: 0.3 g
7. Raw ham: 0.3 g
8. Ham shoulder: 0.4 g
9. Boiled smoked sausage: 0.4 g
10. Mortadella: 0.8 g
11. Smoked salami: 0.9 g
12. White link: 0.9 g
13. Liver (beef, pork, etc.) raw: 2.8 g
14. Tongue (veal and beef) basic: 2.8 g

Alcohol-Free Drinks

1. Natural water: 0 g
2. Tea, unsweetened: 0 g
3. Unsweetened espresso coffee: 0.3 g
4. Sugar-free natural soy drink: 0.8 g
5. Coffee with unsweetened milk: 1.2 g
6. Unsweetened Latte Macchiato: 1.6 g
7. Unsweetened cappuccino: 2.6 g

Other Food Products

1. Organic coconut oil: 0 g
2. Salt: 0 g
3. Brown sugar spirit: 0 g
4. White wine 12.5 vol%: 0.1 g
5. Cereal brandy: 0.1 g
6. Red wine 13.5 vol%: 0.2 g
7. Mayonnaise: 0.5 g
8. Vinegar: 0.7 g
9. Sparkling wine: 1.5 g
10. White wine 11 vol%: 2 g
11. Lager beer 4.8 vol%: 2.5 g
12. Almonds: 4 g
13. Pumpkin seeds: 4.9 g

Read Also: Diet Candidiasis, The Foods That Help And Those To Avoid