What happens when I restrict carbohydrates?

What happens when I restrict carbohydrates?

Andrea Giancoli (Registered Dietician ) gives expert video advice on: What is the 'Atkins Diet'?; What is the philosophy behind the Atkins Diet?; What happens when I restrict carbohydrates? and more...

Carbohydrates are your body's preferred fuel source. Glucose is a carbohydrate which our brain operates on. When we don't have any carbohydrates or we run out of carbohydrates, we start to convert protein to carbohydrates. That protein can come from the protein that we're getting from our diet. Our body has to mess around with that protein and take some parts of it off, so that it can convert it to glucose. If we're not getting enough protein from our diet, and if we're not getting enough calories, then we start to break down our body proteins to feed the brain with glucose. When we start to run out of that, and if we don't have enough calories, the body will start to slow down the breakdown of protein and the tissue will go into ketosis, which is the breaking down of fatty tissue, making ketone bodies that feed the brain.