Brief History of the Low-Carbohydrate Diet Free Essay Example, 2500 words

Anthropologists believe that early humans were hunter-gatherers thereby consuming diets that are high in both protein and fat but were mostly low in nutritive carbohydrates. In fact, until now, there are certain isolated societies which continue to consume these types of diet. However, the advent of agriculture brought about the rise of civilization and the gradual increase in the inclusion of carbohydrate in all human diets. More specifically, the modern age has seen a particularly steep rise in refined carbohydrate levels amongst societies in the Western Hemisphere (Wexler, 2006 and Zahensky, 2007). It was in 1863 when William Banting, an obese English undertaker and coffin maker published his Letter on Corpulence Addressed to the Public wherein he described a diet for weight control (Allen and Lutz, 2000). According to him, it is only through the giving up of bread, butter, milk, sugar, beer and potatoes that a person would be able to successfully control his or her weight. In 1 967, the so-called Stillman Diet became popular which eventually highlighted the need to shift to a high-protein, low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet in order to guarantee one s weight loss. We will write a custom essay sample on Brief History of the Low-Carbohydrate Diet or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Dr Atkins was basically one of the most popular advocates of the low-carbohydrate diet because he believes that obesity was caused by the consumption of refined carbohydrates such as sugar, flour, and high-fructose corn syrups.