Healthy Trucker
By Andrea Morley
Should I Try a Low Carb Diet?
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hese days, i t s eem s l i k e everyone and their dog is labelling their diet; paleo, keto, pescatarian, gluten-free, vegan, the list goes on. The nutrition world is filled with so much noise, with so many strong opinions, “quick fixes,” conflicting research, and products. WAR ON CARBS Lately, carbs have been labelled as the enemy, with low-carb and no-carb diets becoming incredibly popular. On the extreme end, the ketogenic diet limits carbohydrates so much (less than 20g per day) that the body turns to fat as its primary energy source. Sugar is being shunned too, but not just the processed kind found in junk food and sweets, the kind found in fruits and even some vegetables! Many have claimed that the sugar found in a chocolate bar is no different than the sugar found in an apple, so they should be treated equally (hint: not true, at all). Some diets encourage a low intake of carbs, and a high intake of protein or a high intake of fat. There are
several types of these diets, but today, I’ll focus on general low carb diets. RESTRICTION Any type of low carb diet forces you to cut out a large amount of foods. You’ll say no to the obvious sources like pasta, bread, and soda, as well as the healthier sources such as fruit, potatoes, oats, rice, quinoa, and more. Cutting these out not only restricts the amount of nutrition you can receive from them (potatoes are surprisingly nutritious and healthy), but you’re also restricting what you can eat. This type of restriction is usually difficult to maintain, making meal choices limited. This leads to an unhealthy relationship with food, as you may feel strong cravings for foods you miss, but feel as though you can never have them without gaining weight. HEALTH VS WEIGHT LOSS Instead of focusing only on the weight that you want to lose immediately, remember to think about how you want to feel in 10, 20, or even 30 years. These types of diets don’t necessarily
encourage good health, especially long-term health. For example, the ketogenic diet yields rapid weight loss results, but discourages eating almost all fruit, some of the most important foods on the planet. Social media has heavily promoted the ketogenic diet as being a pass to eat as much cheese, butter, and bacon as one would like – all foods that can cause a variety of health issues down the road. Of course, there are “healthier” ways to go about the keto diet, but even the healthiest form of the diet can still cause hormone shifts, liver, gallbladder, and kidney issues, and more. Some diets were designed for very specific health reasons, such as the gluten-free or dairy-free diet, where
people cannot properly digest these foods. In these instances, cutting out those foods is not only wise but is necessary, and can certainly lead to better health in many people. SUMMARY Before resorting to extreme and potentially unhealthy measures such as a low carb diet or the ketogenic diet, spend some time considering what other areas of your diet require cleaning up, such as eliminating processed foods, reducing portion sizes, or cutting out alcohol. Have reasonable expectations and understand that weight loss happens over time, not overnight. You can and will get the results that you want, as long as you take care of your health along the way.
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CORRECTION TO HUMBOLDT ARTICLE
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n Issue 188 of this publication an editorial appeared, entitled “Humboldt Tragedy.” The article attempted to explore the causes of the accident, and other considerations, which killed 16 of the 29 passengers on board. Many survivors suffered serious bodily injury. A reader who scrutinized the story brought to our attention several mistakes. These include: The truck was heading West at 80 kms per hour and not 100 kms per hour as stated. It was the bus that ran into the bridge axles of the lead trailer in the center of the highway, not the truck hitting the bus. The truck driver did not T-Bone the bus. At no time was the bus catapulted into the air onto a neighbouring field as stated in the article. Instead, both vehicles ended in the ditch next to the highway. Vocational Truck & Trailer apologizes for these errors and thanks the
reader for bringing these misstatements to our attention.
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