Low-Carb, High Protein Diets--Do They Really Make Sense?

[Guest guest]

Low-Carb, High Protein Diets--Do They Really Make Sense?

 

 

The Atkins, Zone, and Sugar Busters diets all promise fast weight

loss through their revolutionary theories on carbohydrates, protein,

insulin, and high and low glycemic foods. Indeed, many people who

adopt these diets enthusiastically report initial weight loss.

 

However, despite the popularity of these diets, a few important

questions emerge. First, are these programs the best route toward

lasting weight loss?

 

And secondly, do they support optimal health?

 

To get a fresh perspective on the recent slew of low-carbohydrate,

high protein diets, we interviewed Mary Flynn, Ph.D., co-author

of " Low-Fat Lies, High-Fat Frauds " (Washington, DC: Lifeline Press,

1999), Dr. Flynn is on the faculty at Brown University, where she

teaches nutrition and maintains an active clinical nutrition

practice.

 

Natural Medicine Review:

What is the rationale behind low-carbohydrate, high protein diets?

 

Mary Flynn, Ph. D.:

Carbohydrates in the bloodstream trigger insulin secretion. Insulin

activates the enzyme lipoprotein lipase, which allows fat to get

into the fat cell.

 

Insulin is seen as " bad " .

By not eating carbohydrates, you shut down insulin secretion and

stop storing fat, according to these diets.

 

In reality, insulin is secreted when either glucose or amino acids

are present in the bloodstream.

Insulin is not " bad " ; it is actually vital! Insulin allows the body

to store glucose and fat.

 

The point of eating is to obtain nutrients the body needs to

function, and to store some for later use. The reason these diets

result in weight loss is because they eliminate

an entire source of nutrients – carbohydrates.

 

Carbohydrates typically make up about 50 percent of the calories in

the diet. It is difficult, almost impossible, to make up these

calories with only fat and protein foods.

 

The bottom line is, a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet provides

fewer calories, and thereby results in weight loss.

 

NMR: What are the health implications of prolonged, excessive

protein intake?

MF: The human body needs proteins for a number of vital functions,

such as manufacturing muscles, connective tissue, cell receptors for

hormones, immunity, blood transport proteins, enzymes, fluid, and pH

balance.The need for protein, like many nutrients, increases during

periods of growth.

As for specific sources of protein, a high-protein diet is usually a

high-meat diet.

Many meats are also high sources of fat (especially ground meat).

Meat consumption may explain the long-held belief that high fat

diets lead to heart disease and cancer.

 

High-fat diets, as a general statement, are not related to heart

disease and cancer.

If the source of the fat is olive oil, a high-

fat diet is actually related to lower risk of heart disease and

cancer.

However, if the source of fat is meat, especially if the meat is

seared and non-organic, you run a higher risk of breast cancer and

colon cancer! Meat is rich in saturated fat, which raises LDL (bad)

cholesterol. High levels of LDL are related to a higher risk of

coronary heart disease. " Ketones in the bloodstream lead to a

general malaise, lethargy, and irritability. "

 

NMR: What are the health implications of low carbohydrate intake?

 

MF: There are two main concerns with not eating enough

carbohydrates.

First, glucose is the energy source that most cells prefer. Glucose,

(i.e., blood sugar) is derived from dietary carbohydrates.

The body will defend a certain level of glucose. When the diet is

low in carbohydrates, certain amino acids

(from protein) can be used to make glucose.

 

As we do not store protein, this means the amino acids will come

from the parts of the body made from protein, such as organs and

muscles.

 

Although the body is capable of doing this, it is NEVER a good

thing! In fact, one of the functions of carbohydrates is to " spare

protein " . In

other words, if you eat enough carbohydrates, you will not need to

convert protein to carbohydrates.

That allows enough protein to take care of the vital functions that

ONLY Protein can fulfill.

 

Secondly, it has been know for at least twenty years that

people/populations who eat a large amount of fruits and vegetables

have lower rates of coronary heart disease and certain cancers.

 

However, the protection from fruits and vegetables cannot be

explained solely by the FIBER, vitamin, or mineral content of these

foods. It is possible that the phytochemical content in fruits,

vegetables and grains are the key health-promoting compounds.

 

Phytochemicals were shown to participate in a number of reactions

that protect against heart disease and cancer.

 

NMR: What is your opinion of Dr. Robert Atkins theory of ketosis?

 

MF: Ketosis results from the " incomplete " breakdown of fat.

Ketones are acid and can make the blood more acidic! Cells would

prefer to use glucose as a source of energy. However, they can

switch over to ketones if there's not enough glucose and ketones are

being produced in abundance.

 

Ketones in the bloodstream lead to a general malaise, lethargy, and

irritability. Ketones in the bloodsteream also suppress the appetite

through some mechanism in the brain, so the dieter is not feeling

hungry, but he or she is not feeling too good, either!

As the energy intake is low, weight loss will result. But weight

loss would also result from a balanced, lower calorie diet.

 

NMR: What do you think of Barry Sear's theory about insulin

resistance and obesity?

 

MF: Barry Sears has the theory backwards. It is obesity that leads

to insulin resistance, not insulin resistance that leads to obesity!

In cases of obesity, the cell apparently changes in some way, so

that the insulin receptor no longer recognizes the insulin in the

bloodstream. As a result, the insulin does not attach to the

receptor, and the glucose does not get into the cell!

 

The evidence that obesity leads to insulin resistance, and not the

other way around, is that a small amount of weight loss (often as

low as five percent of the baseline obese weight) will rectify the

insulin resistance.

 

NMR: What do you think of the theory of high-and low-glycemic foods

that's presented in " Sugar Busters " ?

 

MF: The glycemic index lists foods according to the level of blood

glucose that results from eating that food. Foods are rated as low,

medium, or high. The problem with using the glycemic index is that

the foods were tested in isolation, not as a mixed diet!!

 

One study tested diets that contained only low-or high-glycemic

foods. For the first three days, the blood glucose levels indicated

that the diets may in fact follow the low- or high-glycemic

prediction. However, after thirty days, there was no difference in

the blood glucose. This shows that the body will adjust to varying

levels of glucose, and the glycemic index does not predict glucose

levels.

 

NMR: Describe the ideal, weight-controlling, health-promoting diet.

 

MF: The best diet contains a variety of foods at an energy/caloric

level to maintain a healthy weight.

A variety of foods is important to make sure all the necessary

nutrients are consumed.

While a variety of plant foods should be eaten, the preference is

for ones with deep color, such as apricots, cantaloupe, peaches,

grapes, broccoli, spinach, kale and pumpkin.

These deep-colored plant foods contain carotenoids which have many

health benefits!

 

Fat is eaten at each meal to provide satiety and –especially with

certain plant foods – to ensure the absorption of the carotenoids.

 

Based on the literature, one of the best sources of fat is extra

virgin olive oil. Countries consuming olive oil, even in high

amounts, have lower rates of chronic diseases such as heart disease,

certain cancers, osteoporosis, cataracts, arthritis, gallbladder

disease, Hypertension and strokes.

 

Protein should be mainly derived from legumes, which contain both

phytochemicals and FIBER. The ideal diet could contain organic or

free range meat, but

infrequently and in moderate quantities.

Seafoods could be eaten more often, especially the fatty fishes,

such as salmon, for their omega-3 fatty acids.

 

This diet could also contain moderate amounts of red wine.

 

Moderate wine consumption has been shown in many studies to reduce

rates of heart disease, although the exact mechanism has not yet

been determined. Red Wine contains the alcohol and also the

flavonoids of the grape skin.

In short, the ideal diet is the traditional diet of the

Mediterranean – a diet that is not a fad, but has a long, unbroken

association with health and longevity!

 

Taken from: Natural Medicine Review

October/November issue

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Does Excess Protein Turn to Fat? An Anatomy Lesson

By Maia Appleby

---

--

Everyone knows that overeating leads to excess weight. This concept

comes in many flavors these days, though. Some people think that

carbohydrates are the culprit. Others think it's sugar. Some people

think that eating lots of protein couldn't possibly make them gain

weight. Hmmm...

 

The only way to determine the answer to this enigma is to go inside

the human body and take a look at how fat gets there in the first

place. Let's follow a bite of pizza and see what happens to its

sugar, fat and protein.

 

The food enters your mouth:

Saliva contains enzymes that break any starch in the food down to

sugar.

This, along with any fat and water in the food, travel to the

stomach, which churns them up.

 

Pepsin (an enzyme that digests protein) and hydrochloric acid

further break down the food, turning it into a substance called

chyme.

The mixture enters the duodenum, (the place where the gall bladder

secretes its bile).

This bile dissolves the fat in water, thinning it out and making it

easier to absorb.

 

Enzymes from the pancreas enter the duodenum and further break down

the sugar, fat and protein.

 

Now everything is dissolved and is in fluid form, so it is absorbed

through the lining of the small bowel. Fat, sugar and protein wave

good-bye to each other and go their separate ways.

 

What happens to the sugar:

It also goes directly into the blood stream, and several different

organs take the sugar they need as it passes by.

Some is stored in the liver as glycogen. Whatever is left is

converted to fat and stored in fat cells with the excess fat above.

 

What happens to the fat:

First, it goes into the blood stream and travels to the liver.

 

The liver burns some of the fat, converts some to other substances

(one is cholesterol) and sends the rest to fat cells, where they

wait until they are needed.

 

What happens to the protein:

It is broken down into building blocks

known as peptides.

Then, it is further broken down and it becomes amino acids.

 

The amino acids are absorbed through the small intestine's lining

and enter the blood stream.

From here, some of the amino acids build the body's protein stores.

Excess amino acids are converted to fats and sugars and follow the

paths described above.

 

This is such a simple concept, but many people still believe that

consuming lots and lots of protein will put muscle on their bones.

Don't be fooled Even excess protein turns to fat.

 

Here is a picturesque illustration of the real cause of weight gain.

Eating too much food Dietary fat is obviously the substance most

often stored as fat in the ends, but no matter what you eat, your

body takes whatever it can't use

and sends it to fat cells.

If you don't burn it off or expel it,

it hangs around in your fat

cells, no matter what it consists of.

 

Maia Appleby is a certified personal trainer and weight loss

consultant at a fitness center in south Florida. For more of her

articles, along with weight loss and fitness tips, news and

resources, visit her websites: Shape Up Shop -

 

http://www.shapeupshop.com and Inch-Aweigh -

http://www.inch-aweigh.com.

 

1stholistic.com/Nutrition/hol_nutr_does-excess-protein-turn-to-

fat.htm

 

--------------------------------

 

There seems to be a lot of discussion now about how much protein we

should be eating. I know The Zone and Dr. Atkins' diet push a much

higher percentage of protein in our daily intake than you do. What's

wrong with eating a lot of protein?

---

Proteins are large, complex, nitrogenous compounds built of chains

of amino acids. Protein forms the building blocks of muscles, blood,

skin, hair, nails and internal tissues. Enzymes are proteins that

orchestrate all biological reactions in the cells. Protein is great.

But we get plenty of protein in a normal Western diet.

 

As little of two ounces (60 grams) of a protein-rich food is enough

for most of us. Most people in the Western world eat at least four

ounces at every meal.

 

But biochemical researcher Barry Sears, who wrote " The Zone, " thinks

Americans are protein deficient. He recommends 30 percent protein in

every meal as part of a program that professes to help you lose

weight permanently, achieve your best athletically, prevent disease

and pump up your mental capabilities.

 

The reason these kinds of high-protein diets work -- at least

temporarily --

 

is because all that protein is forcing the kidneys to get rid of

urea,

a toxic breakdown product of protein metabolism, and pump lots of

water from the body into the urinary tract.

 

So much of the weight loss is simply water loss.

 

While this is going on, however, you're also losing minerals from

your body, including calcium from your bones.

 

If you're eating more protein than your body needs to repair tissue,

it's burned as a fuel.

 

Unfortunately, protein is both an inefficient

fuel and a dirty fuel.

It's inefficient because you have to expend more energy to take

protein molecules apart than to break down carbohydrates and fats,

because

they're more complicated in structure.

 

It's dirty because protein contains nitrogen.

 

Instead of just producing carbon dioxide and water, burning protein

produces nitrogenous residues--

that not only are irritating to the immune system and toxic to the

liver, but also put a big workload on the kidneys.

 

High-protein diets may cause fatigue, digestive strain and

aggravation of allergies and autoimmune diseases.

 

I've never seen anyone in the United States develop protein

deficiency, even on very low protein diets.

You would know if you were protein deficient because your hair and

nails would stop growing and wounds would not heal. Unless you're

recovering from a serious illness or injury, or are a nursing mother

or a young child, you don't need extra protein.

www.drweil.com

 

JoAnn Guest

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DietaryTipsForHBP

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