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

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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