Download How do diets that limit your carbohydrate consumption cause weight

How do diets that limit your
carbohydrate consumption cause
weight loss? by Allison Klein
How do diets that limit your carbohydrate consumption, like the Atkins
diet, cause weight loss?
P1
When your body is not given fuel in the form of carbohydrates, it uses fuel in other ways. So, let's say you've
just started following the Atkins plan and are consuming a modest 20 grams of carbohydrates or less. Here is what's
happening inside your body:

The liver stores glucose by converting it to glycogen. It holds perhaps a 12-hour supply of glucose in its
glycogen. Once you finish digesting all of the carbohydrates that you last ate, the liver starts converting its stored
glycogen back into glucose and releases it to maintain glucose in the blood. Lipolysis also starts breaking down
fat in the fat cells and releasing fatty acids into the bloodstream. Tissues that do not need to use glucose for
energy (for example, muscle cells) start burning the fatty acids. This reduces the glucose demand so that nerve
cells get the glucose.

Once the liver runs out of glycogen, the liver converts to a process called gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenesis
turns amino acids into glucose.

The liver then begins producing ketone bodies from fatty acids being made available in the blood by lipolysis.
Brain and nerve cells convert from being pure consumers of glucose to partial consumers of ketone bodies for
energy. This process is called ketosis -- which is why the Atkins plan is also known as a ketogenic diet.
P2
So, what does this mean in simple terms? In theory, the Atkins diet enables your body to switch from a
machine that uses carbohydrates for fuel to one that uses fat for fuel. Therefore, a diet with little or no carbs forces
the body's storage of fat to become its main energy source.
P3
To understand the way your body loses weight on the Atkins diet, you must consider the way the body uses
sugar as fuel. To turn sugars into fuel, your body uses the hormone insulin. Insulin enables our cells to turn
carbohydrates into glucose by controlling the amount of sugar in our blood. The body secretes insulin to keep blood
sugar from getting too high. Insulin is a storage hormone, meaning that it causes sugar we don't use for fuel to be
stored as fat. It also keeps the body from burning stored fat. The Atkins diet suggests that it is this "insulin response"
that continues to add fat to our bodies. This function is an asset when food is scarce, but an abundance of sugar-filled
and high-carbohydrate foods will promote the accumulation of body fat.
P4
On the contrary, a low-carbohydrate diet allows your body to release less insulin. According to the Atkins
plan, when insulin levels are normal, your body will begin to burn its own fat as fuel -- thereby resulting in weight loss.
By keeping insulin levels stable, not only does your body burn fat, but it may also lead to less hunger and fewer
cravings. Simply put, according to the Atkins folks, their diet attempts to control insulin levels by controlling the
amount of carbohydrates you eat.
From http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/weight-loss/question731.htm/printable
525 words ÷ _______ (time) = WPM ________
Flesch Reading Ease 58.1
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 9.4
Part A – Summaries: Complete the summaries.
1. First the liver c_______________ glucose into glycogen, but then changes it back to glucose when all
the body’s carbohydrates are used up and puts it in the blood.
2. A low carb diet forces the body to use fat for f__________.
3. Our bodies use insulin to change carbohydrates to sugar. If we have too much sugar in our
bloodstream, the h_______________ insulin stores the sugar as fat in our bodies.
Part B - Do not use a dictionary. Use the context of the words to guess the meaning. Be
prepared to explain how you were able to guess. What do the words mean in the context of the
sentence? What part of speech are they?
P1 carbohydrate (
P1 modest (
) __________________________________________________________________
) ______________________________________________________________________
P1 converting (
) ____________________________________________________________________
P1 Tissues (
) ______________________________________________________________________
P1 Gluconeogenesis (
P2 enables (
) _______________________________________________________________
) ______________________________________________________________________
P2 switch (
) _______________________________________________________________________
P3 hormone (
) _____________________________________________________________________
P3 secrete (
)_______________________________________________________________________
P3 storage (
) ______________________________________________________________________
P3 asset (
) ________________________________________________________________________
P3 abundance (
) ____________________________________________________________________
P3 promote (
) ______________________________________________________________________
P4 cravings (
) ______________________________________________________________________
In 70 words or less, summarize the article.
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________