RE: Look! Up in the Sky!

February 5, 2004

Here is the HIS Baltimore take on that diet " study. " She tells what they

actually ate.

Note what the study authors called " low carb. "

Judith Alta

Look! Up in the Sky!

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

February 5, 2004

**************************************************************

Dear Reader,

I've got a good one for you today. This would be troubling, if

it weren't just out and out hilarious.

You may have heard about a new study - published last week in

the prestigious Archives of Internal Medicine - which concludes

with the surprising information that you can eat a high

carbohydrate diet and lose weight without exercising.

And I can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

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

All you can eat

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

Researchers at the University of Arkansas recruited 34 subjects

with an average age of 66 years. All the subjects had impaired

glucose intolerance. The 34 were divided into three groups and

supplied with meals for 12 weeks. Two of the groups received a

low-fat, high complex-carbohydrate diet, and the control group

received a comparatively high-fat, low-carb diet (although carbs

made up 45 percent of the food intake - obviously the word " low "

is defined differently in this study than anywhere else in the

world). All of the subjects in one of the high-carb groups

participated in 45 minutes of aerobic exercise, four times each

week.

The meal food portions were large; designed to supply about 150

percent of estimated energy needs. Subjects were told to eat as

much as they pleased. Because all uneaten food was returned, the

researchers were able to determine that there was no significant

difference in total food intake among the groups.

At the end of 12 weeks, the Arkansas team found that the group

that exercised lost 11 pounds on average. The non-exercising

high-carb group lost 7 pounds on average. And the so-called

low-carb group didn't lose any weight at all.

Conclusion: Forget your low-carb diets. Eat all the bagels you

want and you'll lose weight - even if you don't exercise.

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

Reality check

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

This study has three glaring problems: 1) A 12-week dietary

study can't begin to predict the long-range effects of a diet,

2) The low-carb diet wasn't low in carbs at all, and 3) There's

no way on earth that you can eat your fill of carbs, get no

exercise, and lose weight. As one eating disorder expert told

the Associated Press: It " flies in the face of 100 years of

data. " He predicted that recommending such a diet, combined with

no exercise, would be " a public health disaster. " And this comes

from someone who describes himself as an advocate of low-fat,

high-carbs!

Nevertheless, the media had a " told you so " field day. And the

smirking headline from Reuters Health said it all: " Revenge of

the high-carb diet - ha! It works, too. "

The really amazing thing is that this study appeared in the

Archives of Internal Medicine, instead of the Archives of Inept

Research. A casual look at the details reveals that the study

was obviously designed to stack the deck so that the supposed

low-carb diet would be the loser.

The high-carb diet included lots of fruits and vegetables (much

more than the low-carb diet), as well as high-fiber cereal and

vegetarian chili. But the menu for the low-carb group included

macaroni and cheese and French fries! And on an all-you-can-eat

basis!

Let's see, which way will I lose more weight over just 12 weeks?

With fruits, vegetables and high-fiber, or macaroni and cheese

with supersized orders of French fries?

This is a textbook example of a junk study.

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

Fantasy land

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

The most misguided report about this research came from CBS

News. In an article titled " Fighting Diabetes With Carbs, " CBS

implies that the high-carb diet used in the study is a good

choice for people who are pre-diabetic. Well, it's a slightly

better choice than macaroni and cheese and French fries, I'll

give it that.

The CBS report describes the high-carb diet as " Lots of bagels,

lots of fruit and vegetables. " For the most part, the fruits and

veggies are no problem. But bagels? It's a rare bagel that's not

a refined carbohydrate, which means it creates a blood sugar

spike, which, over time, contributes to insulin resistance,

which leads to type 2 diabetes. And if your veggies include

potatoes, then those starches are converted to sugar, which

creates a blood sugar spike, etc., etc.

Fighting diabetes with these types of carbs is like fighting a

house fire with a flame-thrower.

Dr. J. , the lead author of the Arkansas study,

told Reuters Health, " If you simply reduce fat in the diet, and

allow people to eat as much carbohydrates as they want, they

lose weight. "

One headline called this high-carb plan the " Anti-Atkins. " You

could more accurately call it Anti-Science.

**************************************************************

To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit:

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopy.html

Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to

receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert.

**************************************************************

... and another thing

In the e-Alert " Warm in the Tropics " (1/26/04), I told you how

vitamin D may be an effective tool in the prevention and

treatment of multiple sclerosis. But if you're coping with

symptoms of MS, then you should know that vitamin D is just one

of the nutrients that will help you manage the disease without

using steroids or other drugs.

In the March 2002 issue of Real Health Breakthroughs,

s, M.D., wrote about a New York doctor - Reuven

Sandyk, M.D., M.Sc. - who believes that problems associated with

MS are associated with calcification of the pineal gland, which

contains the brain's highest concentration of serotonin, the

neurotransmitter that helps regulate our sense of well-being.

Dr. Sandyk theorizes that the pineal calcification may

contribute to MS symptoms such as depression, sleep disorders,

carbohydrate craving, heat sensitivity, and fatigue.

Of course, many M.D.s wouldn't hesitate to write a prescription

for a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor drug such as

Prozac. But Dr. Sandyk recommends these natural ways to prompt

the body to produce more serotonin:

* Try to spend a few minutes in the sun each day. Even

twenty minutes may make a big difference.

* Increase your intake of food sources of L-tryptophan, an

essential amino acid that is a precursor of serotonin.

These foods include raw milk, sunflower seeds, bananas,

turkey, nuts, and corn.

* Supplements that may promote the production of serotonin

include biotin and magnesium, as well as vitamins B-1, B-

3, B-6 and B-12.

For a comprehensive overview of natural ways to treat MS, HSI

has prepared a special report titled Underground Cures: What

Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Multiple Sclerosis. Compiled

with the invaluable input of experts on the HSI Advisory Panel,

this report offers details on alternative treatments that have

provided answers for many MS patients. You can use this link for

more information about this special report.

http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/610SMSRP/W600E202/home.cfm

Find out how scores of people have managed to control MS

symptoms without further complicating their conditions with the

side effects of expensive drugs.

To Your Good Health,

Health Sciences Institute

**************************************************************

February 5, 2004

Here is the HIS Baltimore take on that diet " study. " tells what they