Basic principles of nutrition

The traditional way of eating is to diversify your diet, including the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. We add carbohydrates at every meal, a moderate amount of protein and avoid excess fats, especially saturated fats.

By following this approach, with three daily meals and snacks in between, we're on the right track... aren't we?

For my part, my mother, an avid cook, always prepared balanced family meals, consisting of vegetables, fish or meat and complex carbohydrates such as pasta, rice and potatoes. Processed food products were rare, promoting a more or less healthy diet.

Over the years, I've kept to this same eating pattern. However, I felt the need to have snacks between meals, as I felt hungry every 3-4 hours, which could quickly affect my mood.

My diet was high in protein and very low in fat, believing this to be the key to fitness. But deep down, I knew this wasn't the best way to eat... there had to be another alternative.

One thing led to another and I explored a "new" approach (although some cultures have been practicing it for centuries) which, although controversial, seems to have a bright future. What makes me think so are the changes in FDA (Food and Drug Administration) guidelines in 2015, after nearly 40 years, which lifted limits on fat consumption, contradicting their alleged dangerousness.

More and more people, including renowned athletes such as Prof. Tim Noakes, Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Stephen Phinney, Dr. Phil Maffetone (to name but a few), have been advocating the benefits of the low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet for over 30 years.

They were initially dismissed for daring to assert that sugars, not fats, are the cause of obesity, rising diabetes rates and heart attacks that plague modern society. Times have changed, however, and it would appear that these forward-thinkers were right all along.

So what is the LCHF diet really all about? The central idea is that the carbohydrates we consume trigger the secretion of insulin, a hormone that promotes the storage of sugar and fat. This insulin also prevents us from accessing our fat reserves to use them as an energy source.

By choosing a diet consisting mainly of fats (75% of calorie intake), moderate proteins (20% of calorie intake, as these too can trigger insulin secretion), and low carbohydrate intake (around 5% or less, from 100g to 50g per day), insulin levels remain low.

In this way, our body can access and use our fat reserves as fuel, resulting in what is known as adaptation to fat metabolism. The aim is to switch from carbohydrate metabolism to fat metabolism.

As for the foods "accepted" in the LCHF, here are the main ones: vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, dairy products, as well as good fats such as olive oil, coconut oil and butter.

For my part, the adjustment wasn't easy. The first day was bearable, but by the second day I felt like a zombie, constantly hungry. However, after 4 or 5 days, I started to feel better: the hunger subsided, and I gained in energy. My digestion improved, with less bloating and a smoother bowel movement.

Overall, the experience was positive, and I chose to persevere.

This dietary transition marked a turning point in my life. I went from a traditional diet to a low-carb high-fat lifestyle, with notable benefits such as a decrease in frequent hunger pangs, increased energy stability, and improved concentration - basically, a totally boosted general well-being.

To learn more about the benefits of a LCHF diet and optimize your health, stay tuned for our upcoming posts. Share this article with your friends to inspire them towards a healthier lifestyle!