What is a Zero Carb Diet?

Maybe by now you've heard of the term Zero Carb. There are a dozen variations, such as: Low carb, high protein, no carb, Cave Man diet, Eskimo or Inuit diet, carnivorism, ketogenic diet and even the Atkins diet (induction).

Many of these terms are not very helpful at best and dangerous at worst. For instance, a Zero Carb diet is NOT a high protein diet. All you're doing, essentially, is switching out the carbohydrates for fat. Too much protein, however, will kill you. Keep it at about 30%.

Therefore, it is much more accurate to say high-FAT diet. The Inuit eat only seal, caribou and fish (we're talking about the pre-westernized Eskimos), with only a smattering of berries.

Have you ever seen a seal? They are one of the fattiest animals on earth. Contrary to popular belief (the I've seen it on TV so it must be true crowd), the Inuit never ate the innards except for select portions which they considered delicacies. The rest they fed to the dogs.

You no doubt are raising your hand right now, screaming at your monitor, ready to tell me all about how "everyone" knows eating too much fat will kill you or make you fat or...

Please put your hand down. Those arguements are old and have no basis in reality. After all, weren't we told just a few hundred years ago that the Sun revolved around the Earth? Yes, we were, and many great men were persecuted for thinking differently. Those men knew something that the others could not (or were too afraid) to see.

Do you see where I'm headed with this? There are many things that you have been told (by well-meaning and some not-so-well-meaning people), that are simply not true. Some you may know about, some you have yet to learn.

Zero Carb is one you are about to learn.

To be brutally technical, there is no such thing as a "zero" carb diet. Even meat and eggs have trace amounts of glucose (carbs) in them. However, the amount is insignificant, and, for the sake of discussion, are zero carb.

OK, I'll let you ask that question that's burning deep inside of you now.

"Don't you need carbs to survive, my teacher said..."

You can stop right there. Let's take a look a little closer at the terms.

When you think of carbs (carbohydrates), you probably think of mama's bread or ice cream or pasta. Your body looks at the whole equation from a completely different perspective, that of one of survival.

Your body needs glucose. Glucose CAN come from carbs, but it doesn't HAVE to. Protein is converted into glucose by your body very effectively. Only a few parts of the body need it; some parts of the brain, and parts of the nervous system. All the glucose the body needs can very easily be obtained from animal protein and fat.

"How can that be? My Science teacher..."

Was wrong.

Don't believe me? Ask Vilhjalmur Stefansson, an early 20th century explorer who lived with the Inuits and ate their food.

He and his men lived on nothing but fish and meat for several years. Upon returning to the mainland, he extolled his findings to the scientific and medical communities, who, just like teachers, doctors and nutritionists today, did not believe him.

So, they devised an experiment, to be carried out at the Belleview hospital, where he and another explorer, under the endorsement of the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), set up rigorous tests to verify his claim that a man can not only survive a year without carbs, but lose weight and be healthy.

To make sure that they were, indeed, following the strict diet, the two men were confined to the hospital for several weeks before being allowed to leave. They were thereafter closely monitored for a year.

When the final tests came back, the men had not only endured, but thrived. Steffanson himself claimed that of his men that had stayed on the diet for longer than six months, even if they strayed from it for a while, invariably came back to it.

I'm sure that if you asked your doctor or nutritionist or science teacher, or whomever you look up to, about these findings, they would no doubt tell you about this study or that study or what have you. What they won't tell you is that research has been very scant on the effects of fat and meat WITHOUT carbs.

What it all comes down to, then, is that they are just making things up to cover the fact that they know it must be true because someone told them.

So, to sum up what Zero Carb is, you have to know what it's not. Zero Carb is NOT anything that contains more than a minute amount of carbs. It's really that simple. Fish, poultry, dark-meat chicken (legs, thighs, wings), beef, eggs, 100% butter, are all examples of Zero Carb. Shellfish has a bit too many carbs and are rarely on the menu.

For some, black coffee or with heavy cream is OK, as long as it doesn't cause problems. Same with some cheeses. Check the label to make sure there are no hidden carbs, though.

Water is the preferred beverage choice among Zero-Carb'ers.

Many brave souls have tossed their bread and crumpets and have taken the first steps onto the path of health and happiness and many of them are documenting their journey along the way.

We look back at those who believed the Earth was the center of the Universe and laugh. How will future generations look back at those who believe carbs are as necessary to life as air?

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Other articles of mine that you may enjoy:

Zero Carb: A Letter to Those Concerned

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