Cut down on 'carbs' to reduce body fat, study authors say (diabetes?)

The Endocrine Society ^ | June 5, 2011 | Unknown

[Yaelle]

“You will lose fat only if your caloric expenditure exceeds your caloric intake”

Nope. You can eat significantly MORE calories if you drop the grains. While your way does work, definitely (see “biggest loser”), the paleo way works also and is healthier. Should you exercise? Absolutely. But you will still lose fat by dropping grains and sugars (and fake sugars).

[Yaelle]

You are right. This is the basis of The paleo diet.

Atkins should get credit for doing something right. We definitely need to get the truth about eating to the public. Forget low fat. Go No Grain.

[goodnesswins]

What KIND of high cholesterol? LDL? HDL? VLDL? TOTAL? I now have what my doc called cholesterol RATIO’s to die for...meaning people would LOVE to have my ratio’s, even though my total level rose a little...how’d I do it? By eating mostly protein, fat, and veggies. (Kind of caveman diet/mediterranean diet mix) Oh, and I’m not hungry all the time anymore, either. I even changed one cholesterol level (LDL, I think) from “small, dense,” to “large, buoyant”...something a previous doc told me could not happen, because he said my level was “hereditary.” Oh, and be sure to eat organic or grassfed protein, eggs, etc. It DOES matter.

[goodnesswins]

MY doctor prescribed to ME the CAVEMAN diet...it is even more restrictive than ATKINS.....I’d suggest you quit making generalizations.....my doc happens to be a well known MD and ND....so don’t go there, either. Different people have different needs.

[doctor noe]

This is correct, Yaelle. Before going Paleo, I was consuming anywhere from 1800-2200 calories/day. I was eating real food (nothing processed), plus grains. When I went Paleo, I dropped the grains and upped my intake of healthy fats (pastured butter, coconut oil, plus whatever fats are in pastured chicken & grass-fed beef). My daily caloric intake went up to 3000 calories. Keep in mind, that I wasn’t trying to lose weight. Within 3 months, I dropped 25 lbs. For the next 6 months, I’ve eaten the same amount and maintained what is logically my optimum weight. My exercise level is the same as it was pre-Paleo. Bottom line... eliminate and/or minimize the neolithic agents of disease... added sugar/fructose/N6 oils/grains. I’m personally on a high-fat/moderate protein/low-carb diet, because I like the way it makes me feel. Otherwise, Paleo is not by definition a low-carb lifestyle.

[doctor noe]

Your previous doc was probably referring to hypercholesterolemia, which a small percentage of the population has. Most people absolutely have the ability to improve their cholesterol ratios, including manipulating the makeup of their LDL from “small/dense” to “large/puffy.” Raising HDL levels is pretty easy, too. As for lowering one’s triglycerides, it’s very easy to do via the right diet. Again, the trick is to eliminate/minimize the neolithic agents of disease... added sugar/fructose/N6 oils/grains. The rest... fat/protein/carb (from fruit/veggies) percentages... is all commentary, depending on the individual.

[PA Engineer]

Atkins should get credit for doing something right. We definitely need to get the truth about eating to the public. Forget low fat. Go No Grain.

I agree, however "politically correct" medicine has distorted much of health and diet. The TAG-HDL ratio has been studied extensively. This is not new science. A good study of 4963 healthy adults was done years ago. The study can be found here: Association of Triglyceride–to–HDL Cholesterol Ratio With Heart Rate Recovery. There are many others.

The problem that is frustrating is the next step has not been taken. This would be the dietary studies that reduce "all carbohydrates" and the logical next step in the TAG-HDL ratio risk consensus. Why? There are a few small studies, but nothing to the extent that defined this primary risk factor originally.

We know both the Paleo and Atkins diets reduce TAG-HDL ratios to a healthy level in a very short period and independent of weight loss. We know these diets safely reduce triglycerides and moderately increase HDL. This is all in the literature and yet what is obvious is ignored.

I don't know. I have built quite a library of studies. The ones that failed were always the ones that did not control carbohydrates. That is any carbohydrate. Millions of research dollars were wasted by ignoring this one dietary factor. Maybe it is politically correct. I suspect that is the primary reason including the mentality of the herd.

Too much has been vested by the politically correct groups (ex. PETA) and the agribusiness to reverse the inertia. I believe the changes are going to have to come from the bottom up. One saved life at a time.

[PA Engineer]

Thanks for your posts. I have stayed on Atkins because of the metabolic responses and major health improvements. I believe Atkins also had issues with the N6 oils in the diet. I'm starting to see that there does not appear to be much difference in the diets. I will check out the Paleo diet.

Thanks again for your posts. I think goodnesswins had HDL levels (genetic) that most of us would kill for. My Mother has the gene (family history of centurions) and my Father had low HDLs and the clotting factor (sudden death in their 30's).

[aruanan]

“You will lose fat only if your caloric expenditure exceeds your caloric intake”

Nope. You can eat significantly MORE calories if you drop the grains. While your way does work, definitely (see “biggest loser”), the paleo way works also and is healthier. Should you exercise? Absolutely. But you will still lose fat by dropping grains and sugars (and fake sugars).

The human body is a chemical machine. It runs on energy it gets through food. The three macro-nutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and protein (amino acids). Most of your body's energy comes from fat. Amino acids in excess of that needed for protein synthesis are burned either in the lipolytic or glycolytic pathways. Energy balance is energy intake/energy expenditure. If the quotient is greater than 1, there is weight gain in fat. If the quotient is less than 1, there is weight loss in both fat and lean body mass (especially in the context of a sedentary lifestyle).

The body has the capacity to shift preferentially substrate usage between carbohydrates and fats. The reason for this is mainly self-protection based on storage capacity.

Storage capacity: there is no storage capacity for dietary proteins, there is only about 3 days storage capacity for glucose in the form of glycogen, aka, animal starch, there is relatively unlimited storage for dietary fats.

Proteins: the typical American diet is far in excess of an amount of proteins necessary for protein synthesis. Anything in excess is immediately metabolized in either of the two metabolic pathways.

Glucose (and other dietary sugars): there's a buffer for glucose, but it's quickly maximized. Since most metabolic activity is accounted for by fat oxidation and since high serum glucose is dangerous, the body can preferentially shift toward glucose oxidation and away from fat oxidation, burning the former while storing the latter.

Fats: In the context of a hypercaloric diet (one in which absorbed energy is greater than expended energy), most of the fat you accumulate comes from dietary fats. If the body is not able to accomodate excess serum glucose by shifting substrate oxidation, there is upregulation of human's relatively limited ability to synthesize fats.

The bottom line, though, is energy intake versus energy expenditure. The macronutrients you eat may have effects on your appetite, influencing how hungry you feel and how quickly you feel hunger and, consequently, how much you eat. But accumulation of body fat is due to imbalance between intake and expenditure.

This is not a mystery. Those who claim otherwise are either ignorant of 101 level nutritional physiology or are trying to sell you something.

[netmilsmom]

You know, I have no clue. I’ll have to ask my sister. Both my parents are gone.

[TheOldLady]

Bacon, baby, bacon.

Ha ha, just kidding, kinda...

There are plenty of things to eat on a low-carb diet. Entire websites are devoted to recipes that help you to avoid carbs while your diet remains tasty and nutritious.

You would be amazed at what you can do with egg whites and almond flour.

You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted my white-chocolate cheesecake with almond-flour crust and sour cream topping. It’s indistinguishable from the “real thing.”

And many more.

[nina0113]

Look what happen to the Atkins guy. He died because of it.

He died because he FELL and HIT HIS HEAD.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/atkinsdiet/a/dratkinsdeath.htm

[A42G-11]

Own your mistake.

[goodnesswins]

No...he wasn’t talking about hypercholesterolemia....but he is my FORMER doctor...GRIN. I laugh when people tell others to “check with their doctor”....most doctors are trained in drugs....not solutions...especially in things like cholesterol

[goodnesswins]

I believe people are DIFFERENT.....sure energy intake and expense is a factor....but, some people can exercise a LOT and still NOT see results....while cutting back on calories....it depends upon the TYPE of calories. I come from a family that leans Type2 Diabetic....no one really there, but borderline....we all are active....I’m the “skinniest/healthiest”...why? Less carbs/more protein...I believe DIFFERENT people PROCESS CARBS differently....101 level nutritional physiology aside. My husband is different...he can eat more carbs

[Yaelle]

Congrats, doctor! I like the way it makes me feel too. It’s made this the healthiest pregnancy I’ve had. My favorite thing about eating paleo is that there is nothing I eat that doesn’t make me full after a small quantity. Some of the grain foods that I used to eat made me crave more and more and never have a stopping point of them. There is nothing to do that to me any more.

[Marie]

Like I said before ask your Doctor if the Atkins diet is a good thing.

I know that I'm coming into this debate a day late, but I do have to say this:

Eleven years ago, it was my DOCTOR that introduced me to Atkins and put me on a ZERO carb diet for 6 straight months to treat PCOS and pre-diabetes.

After a couple of years on a moderate low-carb diet, I am currently back on a very low carb diet. I've lost 25 pounds and my blood work is perfection. I'm healthier than I've been in years. My current doctor is encouraging me to stick with is and gripes at me if I cheat.

MANY in the medical community are coming around to low carb diets. The proof of their benefits are hard to deny.

I'm sorry, but my personal experience with low-carb diets has been so phenomenal that I am one of the many who will never be convinced that they're bad for me.

[itsahoot]

This works every time

[aruanan]

I believe people are DIFFERENT.....sure energy intake and expense is a factor....but, some people can exercise a LOT and still NOT see results....while cutting back on calories....it depends upon the TYPE of calories. I come from a family that leans Type2 Diabetic....no one really there, but borderline....we all are active....I’m the “skinniest/healthiest”...why? Less carbs/more protein...I believe DIFFERENT people PROCESS CARBS differently....101 level nutritional physiology aside. My husband is different...he can eat more carbs

Well, this is an example of where your beliefs conflict with reality. The only way someone would have a different way of processing carbohydrates differently than anyone else would be some sort of genetic disease. Even then, though, you can only accumulate weight in fat by having an energy expenditure that is less than energy intake. Human metabolism is remarkably consistent throughout all races and both sexes. Can you think of the one measure of this rather constant level of metabolic activity? I'll give you a clue: 98.6F. If someone is hypothermic compared to someone else and gains fat or hyperthermic compared to someone else and loses fat, it's still nothing more than a measure of the difference between energy intake and energy expenditure.

[goodnesswins]

ME too.....eating more protein helps me get thru a morning exercise routine that I couldn’t do when I ate OATMEAL with some raisins/nuts/banana for breakfast....I’ve been kind of off of it this past 6 months, but am getting back on so I can take off some extra pounds.