Guest guest Posted June 15, 2003 Report Share Posted June 15, 2003 As everyone who knows me is aware, I am an advocate of low carb eating for EVERYONE, not just the obese, diabetic, or hypoglycemic! Carbs (especially BAD CARBS, which most of them are) are killing us, slowly but surely. I just found the following report on the Atkins program - what's good and bad about it -and the advice is terrific. Really wanted to pass this on to everyone who is wanting to learn more about controlling his or her health. Linda What Dr. Atkins Had Right (And Wrong)Health Alert 85Dear Subscriber:Can you lose weight on a diet of bacon, cheesecake and butter? You can.Paradoxically, some people lose weight dramatically on an Atkins-likehigh-fat diet. But, there are two very important points to know before youtry it for yourself. 1.. Atkins correctly diagnosed the cause of the modern epidemic of obesity. 2.. He prescribed the wrong solution.Today I want to show you where Dr. Atkins' radical appearing view actuallyturned out to be right and where his dietary solution went awry.* A Radical New Vision of Nutrition *Dr. Robert Atkins died this spring from an accidental fall, but not beforehe changed the world of nutrition. His radical low-carb diet dared toconfront conventional nutrition. His ensuing persecution exposed the medicalprofession's close-minded intolerance of new ideas. Now after his death,independent and accredited research has finally proved what Atkins knew fornearly his entire life. What did Dr. Atkins say that was so different? Since the 1960's, he has beenmaking two very contrarian claims. a.. One, Americans are fat not because they eat too much fat and caloriesbut because they eat too much carbohydrate. a.. Two, the best way to lose weight was not a low fat diet but a low carbdiet.Nutritionists have always presumed that weight equaled calories consumedminus calories burned and the type of calories didn't really matter.Nutritionists still have trouble accepting Atkins' theory but new researchhas prompted even the staunchest critics to take notice. Here are someexamples of evidence supporting Atkins' theory. a.. February 2003: A landmark study that compared the American HeartAssociation's low fat diet to the Atkins' diet. The Atkins' diet causedgreater weight loss and lowered cholesterol and triglycerides much moreeffectively than a low fat diet of equal calories. a.. In May 2003: The prestigious New England Journal of Medicine publisheda study that found the Atkins approach beat out the American HeartAssociation's low fat approach for both weight loss and blood fats improvement. a.. Nutrition Week 2003: National meetings recently reported preliminaryresults of a study performed by Heritage Medical Center on patients withMetabolic Syndrome. Participants ate a low-carb diet for 18 months. TheirLDL ("bad" cholesterol) reduced by an average of 82%. HDL ("good"cholesterol) scores increased by an average of 30%. Atkins was right about the problem. Excess starches like potatoes and breadsmade Americans fat - not too much dietary fat. But, here's where we part: Ido not agree with his dietary solution. It is true that fat is relatively inert at affecting the hormonal control ofyour metabolism. But I do not recommend you eat sausage, hot dogs, andspareribs for weight loss. Here's why:The unnatural living conditions of animals in the modern food industry. Thisproduces diseased animal fat. Modern farming techniques prevent the animalsfrom getting normal exercise and feed a diet of grains instead of grasses.This makes for an obese animal. Not only do these products of the modernslaughterhouse have inordinate quantities of fat but it is the wrong kind offat. It has an unnatural and unhealthy concentration of omega-6 fatty acidsthat cause heart disease. Additionally, all of the herbicides, pesticides,toxins and hormones that the animal has been exposed to collect in the fat. Beyond AtkinsManipulating macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates) did not makeDr. Atkins a quack as conventional medicine insisted for decades. In fact,it is a sophisticated approach. The right balance of increased protein,decreased carbohydrate with the right healthy fats can effectively controlaspects of your metabolism and weight. You can improve your energy andstrength at the same time you lose body fat. It is also much easier tofollow than the AHA' low-fat approach. Here are the easy rules for your newapproach: a.. Eat excess protein. Quality protein is the key to good nutrition.Protein promotes muscle growth and over all health. Eating more protein thanyou need for daily metabolism signals to your body that "the hunting isgood" and liberalizes the burning of carbs and fat for energy. Fish, leanmeats, eggs, dairy, beans and nuts are all good sources of protein. Eat asmuch of them as you like. b.. Limit processed carbs. Processed carbs make you fat and diseased.Starches in particular are the main cause of the American obesity epidemic.Limit consumption of anything made from grains or potatoes. Get your carbsfrom unprocessed vegetables that grow above ground. c.. Eat natural fats. Fat is neutral as a macronutrient but most modernfat is a health nightmare. Eat unprocessed vegetable fats like avocados,nuts and virgin olive oil. Avoid corn oil, all hydrogenated oils andmargarine. Get your animal fat from wild fish, free range or grass fedanimals. To Your Good Health,Al Sears, M.D. SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH?www.AyurvedicHerbsForHealth.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 I just want to say that I totally agree with Dr Al Sears - Atkins was right and he was wrong. The British and American Govts have been telling us fior years to eat high carb, low fat diets and they are wrong on both counts. Not all fats were created equal...olive oil, nuts, seeds, fish, contain fats that can neutralise free radicals and protect you. (Witness the French diet - highest consumers of fat in Europe and lowest rates of cancer and heart problems). Excess Carbs will always be stored as Fat - also fat stores toxins and hormones that should have been excreted from the body - an over weight person gives a new meaning to toxic waist!! Chris Woollams www.iconmag.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 Personal To Dr Al Sears... .......if you let me have your address I'll send you a copy of my new book - The Tree of Life - which agrees with everything you say. I went into the biochemistry of food and cancer. Chris Woollams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2003 Report Share Posted June 16, 2003 i read your high protein article with great interest. the one thing i don't understand, even though most of it makes perfect sense is that a LOT of meat protein causes excess acidity in the body and a high level of toxins also. meat does take an awful lot longer to digest and uses more energy in doing so. if we follow this diet will we all be hobling about with gout and sour stomachs and upset tummies? perhaps even cancer of the colon, as there is so much more intestinal plaque produced from meat. i have no axe to grind as i am just a person, not a professional anything, just curious. by the way,i am a total omnivore and will eat mostly anything with a pulse. look forward to reading your reply. big kiss lulu xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 18, 2003 Report Share Posted June 18, 2003 High meat protein diets are not sensible for a whole host of reasons. For example the fat carries the animals' hormones and toxins fronm the fields; the sulphur in meat leaves acid residue in intestines and cells.(the immune system and cells need to be slightly alkaline to work at their best) : high meat diets (saturated fat) are linked with higher heart and cancer risk etc etc. As I've said in part before and Dr Al Sears also said in part, whole complete grains with a low glycaemic index are good for you (fibre, vits, minerals). Atkins 'gets away' with his diet because the truth is everywhere you go the food provided is refined: which is no fibre, no vitamin and mineral, high glycaemic, empty calories - and you shouldn't eat it. The alternative is not to go heavy on the animal protein though - it is to eat fish, poultry, lean game, whole grains, nuts, seeds, mono-unsaturated fats ( eg olive), plus lots of veg and fruit . Cut sodium foods considerably and eat potassium and magnesium foods (eg Pulses, jacket potato, nuts, apples, carrots, bananas, green leaf veg). Not all fats were created equal and nuts, fish, seeds, olive oil protect you. Lycopene in tomatoes protects you too with saturated fats. I'm sorry to be controversial but obviously Atkins dieters will lose weight because they stop eating empty calories. Pasta and Pizza are the same as coca cola in this respect. Dr Mercola is almost as simplistic with his 'no grain' diet. Bush people all over the world survived and thrived on whole grain diets with little or no animal protein. Little grain or no grain diets are not the same as a good health diet although I'm sure they sell books - especially in a nation with 26% obesity and 8% diabetes. Calorie consumption per se is linked to longevity. Rats on calorie restricted diets live to the eqivalent of 140 years,; Okinawans with rice, veg and a little fish have the longest life expectancies (82.3 years) and, in the war Norwegians who had little food so ate vegetables and fish saw their health problems decline 35%. Whole, complete, natural, fresh, local, organic - these are better guides for healthy diets than words about eating lots of, or no, fat or grain. Chris Woollams www.iconmag.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 ha, i thought so, thanks for that mail, i feel a lot clearer now. lulu xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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