Can you live without carbs?

Your body needs carbs. Its a bad idea to totally eliminate any food group/mineral/vitamin from your diet. They are all necessary. Just pay attention to what kind of carb you're eating. Try to stick with whole grains rather than processed white flour/sugar.

Vegetables and fruits have carbs in them too. I need to loose weight and people have told me many times to go on the atkins diet but its all meat and cheese and dairy I believe. My grandmother did the diet and I asked her about vegetables and she said that you're limited on veggies.....for the reason being that veggies and fruits have carbs.

Look, carbohydrates are the fuel your body runs on. A carbohydrate is just something your body can convert to glucose eventuallly, so you keep ticking. Your veggies contain both fiber and carbohydrates, which is a good thing. What you want to avoid is not carbohydrates, but simple sugars and empty calories- like the stuff in the sugar bowl and soda. A well balanced vegetarian diet will provide all you need to stay healthy, although it can be tricky the more vegan you are. Even then it can be done. If you include dairy products in your diet, those should be low or no fat, and you should go easy on the cheese and cream. But you need carbohydrates. Just like your car needs gas to run. You may want to run it on water, but the engine would have complaints. So will yours if you limit the carbs too much. That's called starvation.

No, humans don't need carbs. However it is unlikely you will be able to eat a completely carb free diet. The answer rated as best answer here is "old science" at best. There are some serious people who believe sugar produced by carbs is a toxin to the human body when combined with a modern diet... So if you want to be healthy drop as many sugar producing foods as you can.

YES, you CAN live without carbohydrates. Do me a favor next time, and don't ask complicated questions on Yahoo! Answers that people who have LITTLE or NO knowledge on nutrition are not qualified to answer, such as the people above. Carbohydrates are the one and ONLY macronutrient your body does NOT need. People say the body needs carbohydrates for several reasons:

a) The brain and body will not function without carbohydrates, our body's first and primary source of energy

----> INCORRECT, the body is perfectly capable of synthesizing glucose on its own, which is what all carbohydrates break down into

b) Carbohydrates are your primary source of energy

----> True, but the body can make glucose on its own AND use protein + fats for more sustained energy

THE MOM: You are a nurse, not a nutritionist, so you should be aware that you have NOT been thoroughly trained in nutrition. Don't give advice on nutrition using your source as "nurse" as if that backs up your claims AT ALL. Whatever petty tid bits you know about nutrition do not qualify you to answer questions regarding it unless you are absolutely sure, and you are wrong in this case.

Final Note:

The human body was NOT designed to consume the amount of carbohydrates we do today. The reason our ancestors did not suffer from diabetes mellitus is because they consumed far less carbohydrates than us. That being said, the asker of the question is free to decide who to believe. This would be much easier if so many UNeducated people did not answer.

Edit:

Lol at the thumbs downs. People can give me all the thumbs downs they want, but that doesn't change the fact that they are wrong and not knowledgeable. They will realize this some day, or perhaps never, and this will fail them. I used to be a Top Contributor for Diet and Fitness on my past 6 accounts which were banned, and now I've given up on answering questions here. The people on Yahoo! will never learn, accept anything that goes against their beliefs, and the questions are all redundant.

No, you need carbohydrates. You just want to stay away from bad carbs-or eat them in moderation, anyway. Stuff with bad carbs are things that are refined and highly processed-things like white bread, white flour, candies, soda, etc. The good carbohydrates are nutritious and supply you with energy. Stuff with good carbs are whole grain products, nuts, fruits and vegetables.

You absolutely need carbs. An apple has (is) carbs. A cup of brown rice is a form of carbs. If you don't eat carbs, you get ketones in your urine, and you don't want that. Folks on low-carb diets develop bad breath and have no energy.

Check out Michael Greger's "Carbophobia" for more information on just how hazardous low-carb diets, Fatkins in particular, are.

You need a minimum of 20 carbs a day... you can live with 20 grams of carbs a day for 1 year... after that you need to upgrade your carb intake...

Vegetarians can go on Atkins! That myth about Atkins being all meat is old old propaganda. Go to the library, take out "The New Atkins for a New You", and look at page 266 and the following pages for example daily menus.

NO! This is essential for regulating your cholesterol and cutting down can cause permanent damage to your arteries. Aim for 3 servings a day

What's wrong with carbohydrates?