On some plans such as Schwarzbein, whole grains are used because the point behind her plan is hormonal balance. She posits that once you are healthy, weight loss will occur naturally.

On Atkins, grains are avoided in the initial stages because they create a rise in insulin leading to fat storage which is what you are trying to avoid.

Then there is Protein Power, which is a little more moderate but still low on the grains.

Many people have developed an intolerance from the overuse of grains, especially wheat which they don't find out about until they stop using them.

An interesting thing to look at is the Glycemic Index.

This is from the introduction...

What is the Glycemic Index (GI)?
The glycemic index ranks foods on how they affect our blood sugar levels. This index measures how much your blood sugar increases in the two or three hours after eating.

The glycemic index is about foods high in carbohydrates. Foods high in fat or protein don't cause your blood sugar level to rise much.

A lot of people still think that it is plain table sugar that people with diabetes need to avoid. The experts used to say that, but the glycemic index shows that even complex carbohydrates, like baked potatoes, can be even worse.

Reading over the page will give you a good overview and you will find out that grain products have an even higher glycemic index than sugar.

The problem is that the studies are done by eating a certain food with nothing else - such as protein and fat - and that is rarely done. So, the other things that you eat with high glycemic foods will probably lessen the impact, but not enough to make it "safe" for many low-carbers. As with everything low-carb, it's always a "your mileage may vary" thing and a learning curve.

You may want to ask your question about carb-loading in the CKD forum. I can't even pretend to know or fake the answer!

Karen