Banting or Low Carb Diets: Miracle Fix or Risky Fad

The Banting Diet (low-carb-high-fat, LCHF, ketogenic) has been a huge (and controvertial) craze since 2014 when Prof Tim Noakes, a reknowned and respected South African sports scientist, announced that he'd been wrong about much of his nutrition advice all along. Noakes founded the Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA) with former Springbok Morne du Plessis and has lead some groundbreaking research in sports performance. SSISA is a regular stop for rugby players wanting to up their game using the latest scientific research.

The Banting Diet became an instant 'miracle fix' and a lot of people thought that it worked wonders for them - but there were others who had a very different opinion.

The Banting diet categorised by the following:

• Very low carbohydrate content, including the restriction of beans and other starchy vegetables
• Hi fat content, including both unsaturated fats and saturated fats
• Higher protein intake
• Removal of all sugars and fruit

Thinking about Banting? Here are some of the pros and cons you should consider:

Pros:

• It’s right about sugar:

Health professionals are all in agreement about one thing – refined and excess sugar has to go. Limiting our intake is guaranteed to help stabilise blood sugar levels. If there could be one universal tip that includes every body shape, food tolerance and metabolism – this would be it. Cutting out those sweet snacks will do more good for your body than anything else. 

• It can improve and prevent the symptoms of diabetes and heart disease:

Very low carb ketogenic diets have been a recommendation for managing diabetes for decades, before the discovery of insulin. Carbohydrates are the nutrients with the largest impact on blood sugar. Cutting carbs therefore might be the only feasible solution for those with any degree of insulin resistance. Heart disease might not be a worry for you in your 20's, but life catches up with you fast so it's good to start developing life-long healthy habits now.

Cons:

• You could develop an intolerance for high carb foods:

Adapting your body to use fat as energy rather than carbs might earn great results, but it could also lower your tolerance of carbs. While this process is reversible by reverting back to a moderate carb intake over time, it allows no wriggle room for the odd high carb meal while you are Banting. So those 'little' cheat meals can reverse all the hard work and discipline you've put in for the rest of the week. And that includes th odd beer. Sorry.

• Your digestion may begin to suffer:

It’s not a given, but constipation and a toxic gut while on a Banting diet are fairly common occurrences. Removing carbs and the lack of fruits, legumes and starchy vegetables can often result in a sufficient lack of fibre. Make sure that your protein sources are not only red meat and poultry, as these take an extremely long time to digest. Fish, eggs and other non-meat proteins are quicker digesting and easier on the stomach.

• It can become expensive:

There's a reason why fast foods are usally served on or with bread, potatoes, pasta and rice - they are cheap and fill you up (for a short period of time). Switching to a Banting diet means you'll be spending a lot more money on proteins like beef, chicken and lamb as well as speciality flours and other carb-free ingredients if you're looking to still enjoy baked treats.

As with any diet, if you have any pre-existinig medical conditions, it's always advisable to check with your doctor before you make the switch. While LCHF can be a fast way to drop those excess kgs, it's important to know that it's not a good option if you struggle with sticking to a diet - or you can end up worse off than before.

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