Make Low-Carb Healthier with This Switch
Here's what worked with the low-carb Atkins diet: Lots of people lost loads of pounds. And here's what didn't work: It gave cardiologists the shivers.
But new research suggests you can peel off pounds and improve your heart health on an Atkins-esque diet . . . you just have to get your protein from plants instead of animals.
Powerful Plant Proteins
Overweight adults with high cholesterol who followed two different types of vegetarian diets for a month experienced quite different results. Those on a low-carb, high protein diet emphasizing fruit, veggies, nuts, and soy foods and less starchy fare like bread or rice not only lost weight but also experienced significant drops in blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. The other group followed a higher-carb diet that was low in fat, and although they lost weight, too, they didn't experience such dramatic heart-health improvements. Researchers credit the veggie-based proteins for the low-carb dieters' extra successes. Check out this article for a complete picture of fad diets that do and don’t work.
Make Over Your Meats
Want to start making your meals more veggie-protein-friendly? Try some of these tasty and easy recipes from EatingWell:
- Instead of chili dogs, have these: Black Bean-Smothered Sweet Potatoes.
- Trade ho-hum stir-fry for this: Savory Orange-Roasted Tofu & Asparagus.
- Skip the fatty beef burgers and make these: Lentil & Almond Burgers.
Do you know your heart's favorite foods? Here are six of the best things you can feed it.
