Some Side Effects of Low Carb Diets

More and more people are turning to low carb diets despite side effects that accompany them. If you are thinking about trying a low carb diet, take a look at some of the common side effects before you start so that you know what changes to expect. Hopefully, with a little extra preparation for these effects, your low carb diet will come off as a big success.

Low carb diets help your body to lose weight by making you access your stored body fat for energy because there is no (or little) available energy in the form of glucose, meaning that low carb diets have the effect of weight loss. Now that’s an effect that everyone can live with! Unfortunately, there are also some side effects.

Side Effects Worth Considering

Some common side effects of low carb diets are bad breath, constipation, headache, hair loss and leg cramps. Fortunately, not everyone is affected by all of the side effects and some people do not experience any of these side effects. Let’s take a closer look at the cause of each of these side effects so that you can head each one off at the pass when beginning your low carb diet.

Bad breath can be caused by differences in what’s in your stomach for breaking down. Bad breath is not caused in the mouth, as most believe, but in the stomach. The best way to help bad breath is to eat more parsley, basil, and leafy dark green vegetables. In addition, drinking lots of water (herbal tea is a great choice) can help deter this side effect of low carb diets.

Constipation is caused by reduced amounts of fiber because of fewer carbohydrates. The best way to combat this is, again, water, but beans can also help.

Headache is also caused by dehydration, as well as caffeine withdrawal. If you experience this side effect of low carb diets, try drinking lots of water; in extreme cases, try green tea.

Hair loss is a signal that you are missing some nutrients in your diet. Try taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement with your low carb diet.

Leg cramps are caused by deficiencies in magnesium, calcium and potassium; make sure that your multi-vitamin contains adequate amounts of these in order to combat leg cramps.

Most of these side effects will clear up in a week or two as your body adjusts to the low carb diet so don’t get discouraged!