Diet's Not Hard to Swallow

NewsDay ^ | October 14, 2003 | ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Wonder Warthog]

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - A new study offers intriguing evidence for the idea that people on low-carbohydrate diets can actually eat more than folks on standard low-fat plans and still lose weight.

Perhaps no idea is more controversial in the diet world than the contention, long espoused by the late Robert Atkins, that people on low-carb diets can consume more calories without gaining weight. Yet skeptics say these dieters simply must be eating less.

Now, a small but carefully controlled study offers a strong hint that Atkins was right: People on low-carb, high-fat diets actually can eat more. The study, directed by Penelope Greene of the Harvard School of Public Health and presented at a meeting here this week of the American Association for the Study of Obesity, found that people eating an extra 300 calories a day on a very low-carb regimen lost just as much weight during a 12-week study as those on a standard low-fat diet.

During the course of the study, they consumed an extra 25,000 calories. That should have added up to about 7 pounds. But for some reason, it didn't.

"There does indeed seem to be something about a low-carb diet that says you can eat more calories and lose a similar amount of weight," Greene said. Not even Greene says this settles the case, but some at the meeting found her report fascinating.

"A lot of our assumptions about a calorie-is-a-calorie are being challenged," said Marlene Schwartz of Yale. "As scientists, we need to be open-minded." Others, though, found the data hard to swallow. "It doesn't make sense, does it?" said Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University. "It violates the laws of thermodynamics. No one has ever found any miraculous metabolic effects."

[BADROTOFINGER]

"A lot of our assumptions about a calorie-is-a-calorie are being challenged," said Marlene Schwartz of Yale. "As scientists, we need to be open-minded." Others, though, found the data hard to swallow. "It doesn't make sense, does it?" said Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University. "It violates the laws of thermodynamics. No one has ever found any miraculous metabolic effects."

Classic. First, she must be open minded. Then it violates laws that she stakes her reputation on. Note to ya Marlene, try the 'open-minded' thing again...JFK

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[milan]

Are there any risks to this low carb diet? A calorie has bee a calorie for how long? Now apparently it isn't. I am certain this type of diet is safe for now. But do the low carb intakes cause problems later?

[Jemian]

Ping-a-ling!

[randita]

More Atkins news

[Jemian]

I can't answer your questions in the long-term, but I know that I've gone from a tight size 16 to a comfortable size 10. I began this diet about July 15 and IT IS WORKING!

Another point, you should plan on always counting carbs. Atkins doesn't say that you can never have carbs, but you must stay within your limits or you will regain what you've lost. The limits? They vary from person-to-person.

[jellybean]

Slowly, but surely...

[randita]

But do the low carb intakes cause problems later?

The Atkins approach has been around for 30 years and has been well tested.

Other than the first 2 week period, in which the diet is very stringent, you can have a balanced diet with plenty of meat, chicken, fish eggs and green, leafy vegetables.

You should limit your intake of high sugar fruits, opting instead for berries--limit your intake of dairy products and avoid entirely products containing sugar and white flour.

You can have a comparable caloric instake of low-carb choices to low-fat choices and your body will burn fat and you won't feel hungry.

The failure of low-fat diets for me and my husband was that we always felt ravenous. On Atkins, you don't. The high protein options stay with you. And we've been succesful in our weight loss.

Many claim that the South Beach diet is more balanced and healthier than Atkins. I don't know because I haven't explored that one.

We've been brainwashed into thinking low fat is the only way to go. ADM and other large grain based industries exert a big influence over the Dept. of Agriculture. I always read every negative article about low carb diets with that in mind.

[Mr. Mulliner]

ping for an Atkins article

[tioga]

Try reading the newest Atkins book or the South Beach Diet book to understand. Complex carbs are good -- sugar, breads, chips (and such) are bad. Eat meat, veggies and some limited fruit and weight will fall off and you will be healthier and thinner. No calorie counting whatsoever! I've lost tons of weight. Down 8 clothing sizes. Used to be sick all the time, I am now healthier!

[Molly Pitcher]

So many on this diet, I can't remember all anymore...

[doc30]

"It doesn't make sense, does it?" said Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University. "It violates the laws of thermodynamics. No one has ever found any miraculous metabolic effects."

Obviously this person doesn't understand what's going on. Calories in food are not the same. Our bodies metabolize some substances differently than others. A gram of cellulose and a gram of starch have about the same number of calories. The former is indigestible, the latter is highly digsetible. And this person does not take into consideration the glycemic index of foods. That right there shows that different foods raise blood sugar to different levels. Therefore, diffeent foods are metabolized differently.

Personally, I think much of the "standard" FDA (i.e. government) nutrition guides are based on supporting grain farmers and not on the healthiness of the crops grown.

[Darnright]

>Are there any risks to this low carb diet? A calorie has bee a calorie for how long? Now apparently it isn't. I am certain this type of diet is safe for now. But do the low carb intakes cause problems later?

Atkins recommends an induction period, on which the dieter limits his intake to below 20 gms of carbohydrate a day, for 2 weeks.
As the diet progresses, the dieter can add more gms, slowly, until he reaches his goal weight. Usually, people maintaining their weight can have reasonable portions of complex carbohydrates.

Human beings have been around far longer than have processed flour and sugar. Not only that, many diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, showed up in humans after they began to consume processed flours and sugars.

[maica]

Some visual images to help understand to carb vs protein/fat argument

Cattle are grain-fed and they bulk up considerably and quickly.

Pioneers, hunter/trappers, eskimos, and others lived on a virtually carbohydrate-free diet. They survived without obesity while eating huge amounts of meat and fat.

I don't think they lived to today's old age, though, as the liver and kidney have to work harder to convert non-carb calories to energy.

Bottom line - moderation! What a revelation.

[maica]

Oops!

to carb = the carb

[carlo3b]

How long has the Diet been around, 30 years, 20 million books sold, and successfully serving millions of folks all that time. Now the establishment has finally been dragged kicking and screaming to admit this diet works.. give me a break..

The doctors, dietitians and nutritionist, that had defamed the man Dr. Atkins, and his breakthrough weight lose program, for the past decades should be sued for Malpractice, Defamation, Slander, and/or Breach of Promise! How many people have lived with guilt and obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, or even worse, many have DIED, because of these losers.. JUST DAMN! Join us on our LowCarb threads, and get started!

[Bluntpoint]

Been on this diet for 9 months. Lost 50#. Never feel hungry.

[RipSawyer]

"I don't think they lived to today's old age, though, as the liver and kidney have to work harder to convert non-carb calories to energy."

The pioneers and others to whom you refer had a lot of things limiting their lifespan besides their diet. Life was far more dangerous in many ways.

[Wonder Warthog]

"Are there any risks to this low carb diet? A calorie has bee a calorie for how long? Now apparently it isn't. I am certain this type of diet is safe for now. But do the low carb intakes cause problems later?"

That is the question. Thus far, I haven't found any real science to say that there is. Most of the physicians and dietitians deriding the Atkins diet offer little or no evidence of any.

The main theme seems to be "...well, we know adding large amounts of red meat/fats to the diet contributes to heart disease and (maybe) cancer...". But as Dr. Atkins correctly points out, all of these studies ADD the red meats/fats ON TOP OF a diet that is already excessively high in carbs.

Atkins says that his evidence shows that adding the meat and fats while drastically DECREASING carbs simultaneously has no such effects, and he has records for hundreds (thousands??) of patients over thirty years, and that a true "double-blind" study of such a low-carb diet has not been done. There ARE a few VERY RECENT studies that support Atkins contentions.

I'm just getting started with Atkins and am in the "boning up on facts" stage, having just finished reading his 1973 and 2003 diet books.

[jellybean]

Those who feel the low carb diets are too restrictive or damaging to your health might be more comfortable trying Dr. Peter Gott's no sugar, no flour diet. It's very easy to follow and you don't have to count calories or carbs.

[stanz]

That sounds sensible. It's a good diet even when you're not trying to lose weight.

[carlo3b]

Geeeze #50 is wonderful.. Standing ovation!!