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Many
women are enthused these days about the fast, easy
weight loss promised by the
current crop of high protein, low carbohydrate diets.
Breakfasting on bacon and eggs and lunching on bunless
cheeseburgers, we rejoice
at the prospect of pounds melting like the butter
in our omelet pan.
At
the same time, many of us who embrace these diets
do so with noticeable unease. Replacing pasta with
pork chops goes against everything we've learned about
good nutrition. How smart is it to turn established
nutritional wisdom on its head by eating mainly meats,
eggs, butter, cream, oil and nuts while restricting
foods like whole grains, pasta, fruits, beans, corn,
potatoes and carrots? And how safe?
Carbs
As Culprits
Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and other anti-carbohydrate
diet books assert that eating carbohydrates makes
you fat. Carbohydrates cause blood glucose to rise,
which stimulates the release of insulin, a hormone
that transfers sugar from the bloodstream to the body’s
cells for energy. Since excess sugars are stored as
fat, the reasoning goes, restricting carbohydrates
reduces insulin production and at the same time prompts
the body to burn stored fat for energy.
Variations
on this theme can be found in Sugar
Busters and The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet, both of which echo the claim that
carbs cause obesity. Granted it’s easy to get hooked
on candy, soft drinks, pastries and snack foods, but
what about vegetables, fruits and whole grains? They’re
carbohydrates — and whole populations of very slim
people have been “addicted” to rice for centuries.
How
They Work
Almost all diets produce weight loss the same way,
by cutting calories. Although Dr. Atkins, The
Zone and Protein
Power all claim that low carbohydrate diets lead
to more weight loss than high-carbohydrate diets,
they have no research to support their claims, whereas
numerous studies indicate that no matter where you
cut calories —fats, protein or carbohydrates — if
you cut them, you lose weight.
Besides
cutting calories and drastically limiting food choices,
low carbohydrate diets tend to suppress appetite by
producing a condition called ketosis.
Any diet that limits carbohydrates causes the body
to rely on fat or muscle for energy. When your body
breaks down stored fat to supply energy, byproducts
called ketones
are formed. Ketones suppress appetite, but they also
cause fatigue, nausea, and potentially dangerous fluid
loss. In addition, ketosis increases blood levels
of uric acid, a risk factor for gout and kidney stones
in susceptible people.
Serious
Risks
Besides causing ketosis, high protein, low carbohydrate
diets are:
-
High
in saturated fats, which raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
— and not just from butter and cheese. About half
the calories in piece of lean beef or pork come
from saturated fats.
-
Low
in fiber. Fiber aids digestion, helps prevent
constipation and promotes weight loss by making
you feel full.
-
Low
in calcium, which can lead to decreased bone density
and osteoporosis.
-
Low
in antioxidants and protective phytochemicals
found only in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
What
About Insulin Resistance?
Most anti-carbohydrate diet books rely on the research
of Gerald Reaven (Syndrome
X: Overcoming the Silent Killer that Can Give You
a Heart Attack, Simon & Schuster, 2000), professor
of medicine at Stanford University. According to Reaven,
they all misinterpret his findings. With insulin resistance,
which occurs in up to 30 percent of the U.S. population,
insulin is less able to dispose of glucose (blood
sugar) by moving it into muscle and fat cells, so
insulin levels rise along with tryglycerides (as fatty
acids are released for energy). But Reaven denies
that insulin resistance causes obesity. If anything,
he says, it should lead to the opposite — weight loss.
Reaven recommends that people who are insulin resistant
limit carbohydrates to about 45 percent of their daily
calorie intake and make up the difference by increasing
unsaturated fats.
The
Bottom Line
The April, 2000, issue of the University of California, Berkeley, Wellness Letter (www.berkelywellness.com)
contains a lengthy evaluation of the Atkins diet.
Their bottom line:
If
you follow the Atkins diet, you will lose weight—but
it could be dangerous beyond a few weeks. All fad
diets get you to cut down on calories, usually by
limiting the kinds of food you can eat, so of course
you lose weight. Most, like the Atkins diet, deny
that “calories count,” but nonetheless trick you into
cutting way down on calories by distracting you with
strange rules and psychological/biochemical babble.
As with all crash diets, keeping the weight off is
the hard part. Virtually all crash dieters eventually
gain the weight back unless they learn the basics
of healthy eating, which crash diets do not teach.
What
Are the Basics of Healthy Eating?
The May, 2000, issue of Nutrition
Action Health Letter, published by the Center
for Science in the Public Interest (www.cspinet.org),
offers these rules for healthy weight-loss:
-
Low
in saturated and trans fat to cut risk of heart
disease and possibly colon and prostate cancers.
-
Rich
in vegetables and fruit to cut risk of cancer,
heart disease and stroke.
-
Low
in largely empty-calorie foods (soft drinks, sweets).
With
the balance of calories coming primarily from one
of the following:
-
Healthy
(complex) carbohydrates like whole grains (if
you can stay away from sweets and products made
with white flour).
-
Larger
servings of seafood and lean poultry (if you have
a sweet tooth).
-
Larger
servings of nuts, avocados, olive and canola oils,
(if you have high triglycerides and low HDL (“good”)
cholesterol).
Good
Diet Books
For more than a quick fix, check out these weight
management programs:
The
Pritikin Principle by Robert Pritikin
Choose
to Lose by Dr. Ron Goor and Nancy Goor
Dieting
with the Duchess by Sarah, Duchess of York, and
Weight Watchers
Volumetrics
by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D. and Robert A. Barnett
Eat
More, Weigh Less by Dearn Ornish, M.D.
Thin
for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have
Lost Weight and Kept It Off
by Anne M. Fletcher and Jane Brody
Thin
for Life Daybook: A Journal of Personal Progress-Inspiration
& Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost
Weight & Kept It Off
by Anne M. Fletcher
This
article is for information purposes only and is not
intended as a substitute for medical advice. Your
health and lifestyle may make the outcomes different
for you. You should consult with a physician or other
health-care professional familiar with nutrition,
prevention, and related health issues.
