Are Unprocessed Foods Good To Eat while on Atkins Diet?
Now-a-days, markets are filled with low carbohydrate products and people who are on Atkins program may be tempted to buy them. The packaged items include a variety of low carbonate manufactured product like low-carb snacks, low-carb baking products, low-carb substitutes like pasta or bread. Though you may fill your shopping cart with all of these stuff, it is advisable not to use them frequently as it may cause more harm. You have to plan your diet and take care of your health accordingly.
Atkins diets main focus is on raw, unprocessed foods which is one of the key factors for remembrance. Atkins diet consists of food pyramid
a) Fresh vegetables and fresh meats are the centre of pyramid and
b) natural cheese, a selection of fruits and whole unprocessed food grains are added into the mix for a healthy diet.
c) Packaged meats, canned vegetables or instant food are not included.
Atkins food pyramid includes only raw food and there is a reason behind it. When food is processed to minimum it results in great health benefits. Raw, whole foods can retain more vitamins and nutrients than foods that are processed through chemical and industrial processing. Processed foods can cause health hazards as they are tainted with chemical additives due to the manufacturing process.
The best basis for a healthy diet is to consume raw and fresh food ingredients. Many dieters depend on foods that are not good for health though allowed technically on the plan. To illustrate this, Bacon is a fine example, wherein many Atkins dieters consume bacon as their daily part of in taking protein foods. But bacon as a high amount of ingredient termed as sodium nitrite which can cause cancer. People who eat more bacon are prone to expose themselves to these chemical and other hazards.
The best procedure to maintain health is recommended in the Atkins pyramid and the Atkins diet books. They suggest taking unprocessed, unrefined and non-manufactured food for healthy reason. These recommendations, if followed will not help in losing weight but also experience transformation of health. You can supply nutrients to your body by eating fresh and natural foods and balance an optimal health.
Now, looking back to the low carbohydrate processed and packaged foods, they are technically in the part of low carbohydrate program. However, they can be used moderately as a substitute for carbohydrate heavy foods. You can use low-carbohydrate bread and baked goods to satisfy your cravings. They can be included as an additional variety to your Atkins diet plan. But how these items are chemically processed and packed can be seen from the labels of the packets.
The recommendation is that these low-carbohydrate packaged items can be used occasionally. This may cause carbohydrate cravings for some individuals and make their diet difficult. But again there is a word of caution. When you realize eating low carbohydrate processed foods makes the desire to indulge in carbohydrate heavy foods, then the best way is not to eat these products. Without your realization, these products may have hidden carbohydrate counts which will increase your carbohydrate level in your system.
While checking periodically, if you do not find any change in your weight loss on the Atkins plan, please reassess yourself and go for unprocessed and unrefined foods again. Probably you are eating more than required by taking too many low-carbohydrate processed foods and thereby consuming more hidden carbohydrates. Refocus your diet on Atkins diet pyramid and concentrate on unprocessed and unrefined food again. Instead of entering the store and tempted to buy packaged foods, try and spend time outside the rim of the store wherein you may get fresh and un processed foods.
In our busy lives, one need to rely on packaged meats, vegetables and fruits from time to time. We may need to use some canned soup, bacon or canned vegetables but an effort to focus on health by eating wide variety of fresh unprocessed foods are advisable to maintain a healthy life.