Re: WHY low-carb DIETS AREN'T THE ANSWER

[Guest guest]

An article like this kind of confuses me because although I do not have a

really tight and exacting diet I have been doing a lot of reading and the

books do restrict the carbs to 45 to 60 grams a day. I know I do not always

do it but if I do the meter gives me lower numbers. As long as I feel good

otherwise I feel like I am at least trying to control it.

WHY low-carb DIETS AREN'T THE ANSWER

> WHY low-carb DIETS AREN'T THE ANSWER

>

> Many low-carb diets have turned out to be less effective, and

> less healthy than originally , claimed.

>

> What raises blood sugar? The simple answer is car­bohydrates. So why not

> just yank them out of your diet like weeds in your garden? Why not quash

> blood sugar by swearing off bread, pasta, rice, and cereal? Been there,

> done

> that. The low-carb craze is on the

> downswing, and that's a good thing because over the long haul, very low

> carb

> diets simply aren't good for you, as you'll discover in this chapter. That

> doesn't mean it's not smart to cut back on carbs-but don't go crazy.

>

> When low-carb diets first became popular, they seemed to be a breath of

> fresh air after the low-fat (and high-carb) diets that preceded them.

> Remember low-fat cookies, low­ fat snack cakes, and low-fat everything

> else?

> With low-carb diets, suddenly people could load up on bacon and still lose

> weight as long as they were willing to eat hamburgers without buns and

> pretty much give up sand­ wiches and spaghetti. People were amazed at how

> effective these diets could be. Weight loss could happen very quickly,

> sometimes within days. And amaz­ ingly, it often seemed to come with added

> health benefits, including lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and

> triglycerides (blood fats linked to heart attacks.)

> The most extreme kind of low-carb diet was pioneered by the late

> Atkins, M.D., whose first book, Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution, came out in

> 1972. It promised quick and long-lasting weight loss and prevention of

> chronic disease, all while allowing high-fat steak and ice cream. Since

> then, other, more moderate low-carb diets have allowed small amounts of

> carbohydrate­ rich foods, but they still cut out most grains as well as

> starchy vegetables and even fruit.

>

> The Downsides of These Diets

> The Atkins diet and the many other low-carb diets that followed in its

> footsteps have turned out to be less effective, and less healthy, than

> originally claimed. Often, the weight returned, and as it did, problems

> such

> as high cholesterol and high blood pressure came back, too. Also, in the

> end, many people decided they didn't want to go through life without ever

> eating pasta again.

>

> Let's look at what would happen if you fol­ lowed one of the more extreme

> low-carb diets.

>

> You'll Feel Terrible

> Low-carb diets usually begin with an " induction " phase that eliminates

> nearly every source of carbohydrate. Often, you'll consume as few as

> 20 grams of carbohydrate a day. That's less than 100 calories' worth-about

> what's in a small dinner roll. On a 1,200-calorie diet, that's only about

> 8

> percent of your daily calories. By contrast, health experts recommend that

> we get between 45 and 65 percent of our calories from carbs.

>

> When carbohydrate consumption falls below 100 grams, the body usually

> responds by burning muscle tissue for the glycogen (stored glucose) it

> contains. When those glycogen stores start to run out, the body resorts to

> burning body fat. But that's a very inefficient, complicated way to

> produce

> blood sugar. The body tries to do it only when it absolutely has to (such

> as

> when it's starving)-and for good reason.

>

> Turning fat into blood sugar comes at a price in the form of by-products

> called ketones. They make your breath smell funny. They can also make you

> tired, lightheaded, headachy, and nau­ seated. Feeling lousy is certainly

> one way to dampen the appetite, but not one that most people would choose.

>

> With virtually no carbs in your system, you may even have trouble

> concentrating. According to the Institute of Medicine of the National

> Academy of Sciences, the human brain requires the equivalent of 130 grams

> of

> carbohydrate a day to function optimally-and that's a minimum.

>

> Your Health May Suffer

> If you're overweight or obese, and you have insulin resistance-and

> especially if you have prediabetes or diabetes-cutting way back on

> carbohydrates can have immediate health bene­ fits. Your blood sugar and

> insulin levels will go down, your triglycerides and blood pressure may

> fall,

> and your levels of " good " HDL cholesterol may rise.

>

> But the low-carb diet will also wreak some havoc. When your body breaks

> down

> lean body mass-muscle-for energy, your metabolism slows because muscle

> tissue burns up a lot of calories. This may be one reason that the weight

> often comes back after you've been shunning carbs for a while.

>

> The effects on your heart are also questionable.

> Especially if you switch to a high-saturated-fat diet, as people do when

> they start eating their fill of steak and bacon, your " bad " LDL

> cholesterol

> will go up. Levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that increases the risk

> of

> heart disease, may also rise if you eat a lot of meat and too few veg­

> etables. And to get rid of the ketones produced when your body burns fat

> for

> energy, your kid­ neys need to work overtime, which raises your risk of

> kidney stones.

>

> Ironically, low-carb diets may even interfere with insulin sensitivity; a

> certain amount of car­ bohydrate in your diet may be needed in order for

> the

> pancreas, which produces the insulin that keeps blood sugar in check, to

> work well.

>

> It's not just that you'll feel deprived because you've had to give up

> bread,

> fruit, and all the rest. Your body will also be deprived of foods and

> nutrients that are essential for good health, including the following.

>

> Whole grains. These protect against meta­ bolic syndrome, diabetes, heart

> disease, stroke, and cancer.

>

> Fruits and vegetables. Produce helps prevent heart disease, stroke, and

> some

> cancers. Most fruits and vegetables are very filling while pro­ viding few

> calories, so they can help you cut calories without deprivation. Indeed,

> the

> more fruits and vegetables people eat, studies show, the thinner they tend

> to be.

>

> Beans. Rich in protein, complex carbohy­ drates, and B vitamins, beans

> have

> no saturated fat and lots of soluble fiber. They also contain plant

> chemicals that protect against heart dis­ ease and cancer.

>

> Low-fat dairy foods. Sure, you can have butter and cream on a

> carb-restricted diet, but you won't get much calcium or protein from them.

> Fat-free and low-fat versions of milk and yogurt are excellent sources of

> those nutrients.

>

> Fiber. Getting fiber from these foods (except dairy) helps reduce the risk

> of heart disease and diabetes. Beans and many fruits and vegetables are

> particularly rich in soluble fiber, which helps lower blood sugar, curbs

> hunger, and lowers LDL cholesterol.

> Vitamins, minerals, and health-protective plant chemicals. Whole grains,

> for

> example, are rich in components such as lignans, which may protect against

> diabetes independently of their effects on blood sugar. And without fruits

> and vegetables, you'd be awfully hard-pressed to get enough vitamin C or

> other disease-fighting antioxidants.

>

> You'll Eat Too Much " Bad Fat "

> The original Atkins diet became popular largely because it allowed people

> to

> eat foods forbidden on most other diets, such as cheeseburgers (without

> buns). More recently, the diet has been revised to include sources of

> healthier fats, such as fish and olive oil, and other low-carb diets have

> shied away from saturated fats as well. But in practice, once you stop

> eating bread, fruit, and beans, it's all too easy to eat too many fatty

> animal foods. After all, how many foods can you take out of your diet?

>

> If you load up on saturated fats-the original Atkins diet got as much as

> 26

> percent of its calo­ ries from saturated fat versus the 10 percent or less

> that experts recommend-it's bad for your health. Saturated fats are still

> the major culprits behind elevated LDL cholesterol. The latest revi­ sions

> to the diet, to be fair, do emphasize lean poultry and seafood, but in

> practice, many people are attracted to this diet for the bacon and butter.

>

> What's more, saturated fats also directly impair the body's ability to

> react

> to insulin, so following a low-carb, high-saturated-fat diet may help you

> lose weight in the short term, but it may also speed the development of

> insulin resistance. Eventually, that can lead to metabolic syndrome,

> diabetes, and heart disease.

>

> The weight Will Come Back

> Two major studies of low-carb diets, published in the New England Journal

> of

> Medicine, looked at obese men and women who stuck with either a low-carb,

> high-fat diet or a low-fat, high-carb diet. Both diets were low in

> calories.

>

> In one study, which lasted six months, the low­ carb diet seemed to win

> hands down. The people on it lost nearly 13 pounds (6 kg); the low-fat

> dieters shed just 4 pounds (2 kg). But the second study lasted six months

> longer, revealing a truth about low-carb diets: The results don't last.

> This

> study too found that the low-carb dieters lost more weight in the first

> six

> months, but in the second half of the year, the weight came roaring back.

> By

> the end of a year, there was no significant difference in weight loss

> between the two groups. This weight " snap­ back " may be one reason that

> extremely low carb diets have fallen out of favor.

>

> Take the Good, Leave the Bad

> The good news? Many of the weight-loss advan­tages of low-carb diets may

> have nothing at all to do with restricting carbohydrates. The main benefit

> may be due to the extra protein-and you can add protein to your diet even

> if

> you don't drastically cut carbs. As you discovered in Chapter 2,

> protein-rich foods can really help with weight control. One reason may be

> that protein stimulates the body to burn slightly more calories than

> carbohydrates or fats do.

> The main reason, though, is that protein foods curb hunger better. When

> people eat protein­ rich foods, they feel fuller longer, and when they

> diet,

> they consume fewer calories and lose more weight when they eat a lot of

> protein.

>

> One recent study puts it in perspective.

> Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle

> gave volunteers a diet that got 50 percent of its calories from

> carbohydrates. That's certainly not a low-carb diet, though it's not a

> high-carb diet either. It's actually a good goal, on par with what we

> suggest in this book.

>

> To start, the volunteers got only 15 percent of their calories from

> protein

> and 35 percent from fat. That's about what most people get. Then they

> switched: Carbs stayed the same, but fat was decreased to 20 percent of

> calories, and pro­ tein was doubled to 30 percent. The participants were

> allowed to eat as much as they wanted­ but they ate less.

>

> Over 14 weeks, they lost an average of 11 pounds (5 kg), including 8

> pounds

> (3.5 kg) of body fat, thanks to the

> extra protein.

>

> More Proteinl and Carbohydrates in Moderation

> No matter how you slice it, we eat too many car­ bohydrates. We consume

> many

> more calories than we used to, and most of those extra calories come from

> extra carbs (so many chips and cockiest). Thus, it makes sense to cut back

> some on carbs. It also makes sense to choose lower-GL carbohy­ drate foods

> instead of " fast -acting " carbs that send your blood sugar soaring. These

> strategies are a big part of the Magic Foods approach to eating.

> That approach, which we spell out in the next chapter, provides the

> benefits

> of a drastically low carb diet with none of the hazards. You'll get the

> blood sugar advantages, including lower insulin levels. By eating plenty

> of

> lean protein, you'll feel satisfied and less hungry. And by choosing

> " good "

> fats and limiting " bad " ones, you'll keep LDL cholesterol from rising and

> pro­ tect your heart in the process. You'll also discover a way of eating

> that you can enjoy-rather than endure-for the rest of your life.

>

>

>

> Reader's Digest Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar

>

>

>

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