Low Carbohydrate Diet

Those of you who have taken an interest in weight loss and diets over recent years cannot have avoided reading about low carbohydrate diets. Even a few decades ago there were some extreme diets such as a no carbohydrate diet, but such an extreme diet has now fallen by the wayside.

That is not to say that cutting down on carbohydrates has gone out of fashion. On the contrary, low carbohydrates have been very popular into the 21st century. three of the most popular diets recently have all been low carbohydrate diets. They are the Zone Diet, the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet.

However, even these less extreme low carbohydrate diets have been the subject of much criticism from various sources. This criticism of low carbohydrate diets has largely centred around their promotion of, or at least lack of restriction of, fatty foods. But it goes much further than that.

If you are considering a low carbohydrate diet for yourself, it makes sense to read as much as you can about the possible consequences of such a diet. Conventional medical wisdom points towards a much higher level of carbohydrates in a healthy diet, and less fat. A low carbohydrate diet pulls in the opposite direction.

I have included an article below which puts forward a contra view against low carbohydrate diets. This article is by John Mericle M.D.

Cancer

Coronary heart disease

Stroke

Osteoporosis

Major Depression from Brain Starvation

Headlines.

WASHINGTON, Jun 22, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- A coalition of nutrition, public health and consumer groups is calling on U.S. residents to beware of the dangers of low-carb diets.

The newly formed Partnership for Essential Nutrition said Tuesday that low-carb diets are unlikely to lead to sustained long term weight loss, and they can increase the risk for a number of life-threatening medical conditions.

"Low-carbohydrate diets conflict with decades of solid scientific research that clearly encourages us to reduce saturated fat and boost fruit, vegetable and fiber intake," said Barbara Moore, Ph.D., president and CEO of Shape Up America!, which founded the coalition.

The coalition said losing weight on these extreme low-carb diets can lead to such serious health problems as kidney stress, liver disorders and gout.

These diets also increase the risk for coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer, plus side effects: severe constipation, gastrointestinal problems, nausea, repeated headaches, difficulty in concentrating and the loss of energy.

Copyright 2004 by United Press International.

THE OBSERVER , LONDON Monday, Sep 22, 2003,Page 7 The first official warning about the dangers of the Atkins diet has been issued by the British Government amid concern about the rising number of people opting for the high-fat, high-protein regime.

The Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for all the Government's nutritional guidance, has published a statement alerting the public to the health risks of low-carbohydrate diets, including the Atkins diet, claiming that they are linked to heart disease, cancer and even obesity.

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- The American Heart Association has drafted an advisory paper warning the public about what it says are the dangers of high-protein diets.

"They put people at risk for heart disease and we're really concerned about that," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, senior author of the paper. "Long-term, the saturated fat and cholesterol content of the diet will raise the ... bad cholesterol and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attacks."

Discussion:

Eating excessive protein is not the way to reduce insulin!

One of the main goals of the so-called "low-carb" diets is to reduce the amount of insulin secreted into your bloodstream. This is a valid and noble goal. The only problem is that eating a lot of protein is not the answer. Excessive protein in the diet of a human causes all the above and more. If one studies the evolution of the human we can find out that the insulin/glucagon mechanism is a rather well engineered system for allowing the human to survive. As man evolved there would be rather long periods without food. In order to survive these periods man would call his insulin into action and have it store all the energy it could find available in his body. These periods could be as long as several days. Then when he needed to perform some work or forage for more food he would utilize his glucagon to utilize all the energy that the insulin had stored for him. This is evolutionary biochemistry at its best.

Man's biochemistry is still anachronistically Neanderthal.

As man and "civilization" has progressed to the "concept" of three squares and snacks everyday -man's biochemistry is still anachronistically Neanderthal. We have the biochemistry of the evolutionary man "mixed" with the age of fast convenience foods. We may not like the idea but man was "never" meant to eat three squares a day plus snacks. Man will do quite nicely on just one meal a day with no snacks. When you take some rather elegant evolutionary biochemistry like the insulin/glucagon system and abuse it by making it an "insulin only" system you are defying the biochemistry of the human. The "excessive insulin" is linked to many of our lifestyle diseases, especially those listed above. The answer is not to ingest protein to lower insulin -the answer is to ingest less food, reduce the number of daily feedings and make sure to ingest mother nature's balance. That is 75% complex carbohydrate, 15% protein and 10% fat.

The dangers of animal protein are well documented by the "China Study."

Probably the best and easily the longest nutritional study ever conducted is the China Study by T. Colin Campbell. This study demonstrates a linear relationship between animal protein ingestion and cancer, coronary artery disease and stroke. That meat causes osteoporosis is well documented in John Robbins "Diet for a New America." That the brain can only utilize glucose for energy has been well documented. Meat contains no carbohydrate and it is no wonder that so many Atkin's dieters are really depressed.

"In the next 10 to 15 years, one of the things you're bound to hear is that animal protein ... is one of the most toxic nutrients of all that can be considered . Risk for disease goes up dramatically when even a little animal protein is added to the diet." T. Colin Campbell Ph.D.

Conclusion:

Just say an emphatic NO to "low-carb."

The MericleDiet is the only diet to restrict simple sugars (what some diets loosely call carbohydrate) and yet keep the brain well supplied with glucose, from complex carbohydrates. The MericleDiet is based on Mother Nature's Balance: 75% Complex Carbohydrate, 15% Protein and 10% Fat. To visit the MericleDiet follow the link below:

http://www.DrMericle.com

Thanks for your attention.

Copyright John Mericle M.D. 2005 All Rights Reserved

http://www.DrMericle.com is devoted to achieving optimal health and peak performance through diet and lifestyle change. Dr. Mericle brings together a unique blend of formal medical education, 29 marathons, 3 Hawaii Ironman competitions and a lot of practical real life experience.