Thread: Should teens avoid carbs?

Should teenagers be on low carb diets or not? Is it safe? Could it stunt growth or other development?

no!!!! carbohydrates give you energy!!!! you need it to be healthy and to do good in school which is vital for all teens!

That question really does depend on the health/weight of the teenager that you're talking about. In general - carbs aren't the enemy - but they should be carbs found in nature and not human made.

Also, the average human consumes 300 grams per day. That amount is too much and definitely not necessary.

You do need carbs to run your body - but you don't need that many of them. I used a low carb diet to lose 100 pounds. It is safe as long as you do it right. As a lot of people will say - consult a doctor.

Teenagers don't have to avoid carbohydrates, but neither is a low-carbohydrate diet inherently unsafe any more than a vegetarian or vegan diet.

A person can get all his vital nutrition from a low-carbohydrate diet the same as a high-carbohydrate diet. For example, everyone cites bananas as the absolute best way to get potassium, but did you know that half an avocado has almost as much as a small banana? Brussel sprouts, pumpkin, mushrooms, and asparagus are also rich sources of potassium. Dark-meat turkey and ground beef have ample potassium, too!

How about Vitamin C? Apparently, we need citrus to get enough, but you can get Vitamin C from red peppers, bell peppers, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, romaine lettuce - basically, many vegetables low in carbohydrates.

Calcium? We're told to drink milk every day for our much-needed calcium, but one little Babybel cheese has more calcium than a glass of milk without the sugar.

Antioxidants? You know all those great red and purple fruits with antioxidants? Red and purple veggies have them, too, like red cabbage, for example.

The idea that you can't be healthy on a low-carbohydrate diet is simply untrue. As for whether anyone could have enough "energy," you actually have a lot more energy and lot fewer energy lulls when your body stops using glucose as the main source of energy. Your brain functions very well on ketone bodies, contrary to popular belief.

So, am I telling teenagers to go on this diet? No, there may be no need. Do I think it's bad or dangerous? Absolutely not. A low-carbohydrate diet can be perfectly safe and healthy. For teenagers who need to lose weight or have insulin resistance, it could also be the most effective.

No, teenagers are still growing and developing so the need a lot of nutrients and carbs give you nutrients, and carbs are your body's fuel so you need it to keep your muscles and organs fed and working well. What teens need to do is cut back on junk food and chip-type snack foods and candy/sweets (cookies, cake, etc.). Those things should be only for "special" treats since they have more calories and fat then healthy nutrients. And teens should try to eat less processed foods--choose whole grain carbs rather than the highly processed (otherwise known as "white" carbs such as in white bread, light pasta, white rice, white potatoes, etc) so the carbs they take in are high in fiber and more of the healthy nutrients haven't been processed out of them. And less processed food usually has less preservatives, less artificial flavoring/coloring/etc., less of those chemicals you can't even pronounce added to them. Some of those chemicals are not even food products, yet they are used for food and we eat them. Read the labels on the things you buy and ask yourself if you really want to eat all that stuff, try to eat more natural foods, substitute a fruit or cheese or vegetable for snacks, eat a lot of vegetables in your meals so you fill up on vegs (which are good for you) rather than the carbs. And you need protein so eating meat (if you aren't vegan) is perfectly fine, just try to have it cooked with as little fat as possible, try to keep your saturated fats as low as possible.