BANTING
- managing a medical condition
- losing weight
-maintaining overall health and wellbeing
Banting is about healing the body and promoting good health through the food you eat and the
lifestyle you lead. It’s important to constantly be aware that everything you consume, induces a
response from the body’s organs and systems.
Banting is an investment on your health and a method through which you can nurture and
strengthen your body’s resilience through food, and through a healthier lifestyle.
WAYS OF MAINTAINING A LOW CARB BANTING LIFESTYLE
1. Reduce / eliminate refined sugars
2. Reduce / eliminate refined carbohydrates
3. Increase fat consumption
4. Increase the amount of green leafy vegetables
5. Drink water
6. Preparation is key
7. Be active
ELIMINATING REFINED SUGAR
Refined sugars serve only to clog your digestive system with junk that adds unhealthy toxins to the
body. Recalibrating a sweet tooth to a more savoury palate will give untold health benefits. There
are mainly two categories of sugars that are of major concern: monosaccharides and disaccharides.
ELIMINATING REFINED CARBOHYDRATES
Although carbohydrates provide some cells in the body with their primary source of energy, eating
too many carbohydrates leads to the excess quickly being stored as fat. Eliminate all grains, which
includes wheat, oats, barley, rye, amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat to name a few.
Another major source of carbohydrates is starches like pasta, noodles, rice, millet, sorghum, bread
and bread products, donuts, cakes and cookies, pastries and pies, crackers and cracker breads.
Also avoid “bread-coated” foods like schnitzels, nuggets and coated fish.
INCREASE THE AMOUNTS OF FATS
Overwhelming research indicates that our bodies actually need fat to nourish our organs and
maintain good health. Triglycerides, cholesterol and other essential fatty acids (i.e. fats that you
body can’t make on its own), serve to conserve energy, insulate us and protect our vital organs.
Fat acts as a messenger that helps protein to do its job properly and they also start a chemical
reaction to help immune function, reproduction and other aspects of our metabolism.
Increasing fats in your diet should coincide with the reduction of carbohydrates and sugars. Your
body will always either, use carbohydrates or fats as a fuel source, and the presence of both in your
system at the same time, results in the body choosing one over the other and the excess is then
safely tucked away as stored excess body fat, resulting in weight gain.
When you reduce the amount of carbs in your diet, you effectively instruct your body to use fat as a
fuel source.
INCREASE GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES
Not all vegetables are created equal. Starchy vegetables – typically roots, bulbs or kernels such as
potatoes, parsnips, peas, corn, carrots - have a very high carbohydrate content, especially compared
to their leafy counterparts such as lettuce, kale, cabbage, spinach and broccoli.
Not only do green leafy vegetables contain essential minerals such as calcium for bone health, anti-
oxidants, fibre, and disease-fighting phytochemicals, they also help to lower cholesterol and blood
pressure, as well as contribute to the repair of the body’s tissues.
DRINK MORE WATER
70% of the body is water. We need a certain amount of water a day in order to survive, and lack of
water results in dehydration, which in its severe form can be life threatening. Water not only
hydrates you, but also offers benefits such as clearing skin, aiding bowel function by flushing waste
through your system, aiding circulation of nutrients in your body and relieving fatigue. A great trick
to increase the feeling of satiation or “fullness” with every meal, is to drink a tall glass of water
before you start eating, and drink another one immediately after you finish eating.
MEAL PLANNING
Plan meals in advance. Meal planning is a great tool that will set you up for success and make it easy
for to respond to temptations as you go through the day.
Weekly meal planning involves taking some time to write out the meals you plan to eat in the
coming week, writing up a grocery list in accordance with that, then stocking your fridge and pantry
appropriately, as well as cooking and storing what you can, ahead of time.
BE MORE ACTIVE
Regular moderate exercise has been found to increase energy and stamina, control weight, reduce
the risk of cardiovascular diseases, strengthen bones and muscles, as well as increase your chances
of living longer.
ATKINS DIET
The Atkins diet is a low carb diet, usually recommended for weight loss.
The Atkins diet is split into 4 different phases:
• Phase 1 (induction): Under 20 grams of carbs per day for 2 weeks. Eat high-fat, high-protein,
with low carb vegetables like leafy greens. This kick-starts the weight loss.
• Phase 2 (balancing): Slowly add more nuts, low-carb vegetables, and small amounts of fruit
back to your diet.
• Phase 3 (fine-tuning): When you’re very close to your goal weight, add more carbs to your
diet until weight loss slows down.
• Phase 4 (maintenance): Here you can eat as many healthy carbs as your body can tolerate
without regaining weight.
TYPES OF ATKINS DIET
1. BASIC LOW CARB DIET
A low carb diet basically means daily consumption of carbohydrates are between 50g -100g.
2. CARB CYCLING
Carbohydrate cycling if defined as a person alternates low carbs with high carbs.
3. DUKAN DIET
Consumption of high protein foods with addition of vegetables followed by introduction of
carbohydrate comprising food such as fruits, whole grains.
4. KETO/ KETOGENIC DIET
5. LOW CARB AND HIGH FAT DIET
One eats a high amount of carbs and low amount of fats
6. LOW CARB MEDITERRENEAN DIET
This diet exchanges saturated fats for unsaturated fats
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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