Low Carb Diets
Low-carbohydrate diets have as their goal the elimination of nearly all carbohydrates from the diet, replacing them with protein and fat. This diet does seem, in many people, to produce the desired weight loss, at least temporarily, but at what cost?
CARBOHYDRATES
All sugars and starches are carbohydrates. The one considerable benefit that can be derived from low carb diets is the elimination of REFINED carbohydrates such as white flour, white sugar, and white rice. These are foods that have been stripped of their vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are quickly digested and result in a rapid rise in blood sugar. This in turn causes the pancreas to secrete insulin, a hormone that attaches to cell membranes, telling the cell to open its doors to let in sugar from the blood. Many people are insensitive to their insulin. This is a condition known as Syndrome X, researched over the past 40 years by Gerald Reaven, MD, of Stanford University. People with Syndrome X—as many as 40% of the population—have to make a lot more insulin to lower their blood sugar than the rest of us. The problem with this is that insulin, like all other hormones, has many side-effects, such as lowering HDL, the good cholesterol, and increasing triglycerides, or blood fats. Having increased insulin levels also tells your body that, since your blood sugar is so high, you should store some, in the form of fat, for a rainy day. So diets that are high in refined carbs often lead to weight gain and dangerous fat metabolism – the kind that will often lead to diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.
The Problem with the Atkins Diet
Unfortunately, the Atkins diet replaces all those carbohydrates with mostly low-quality protein and fat, encouraging its devotees to eat a lot of (often commercially-raised) meat. Commercial meat contains significant levels of the antibiotics and growth hormones that are daily fed to these animals, as well as large amounts of saturated fat. Commercial meat may also contain a few other surprises. In 1997, 20/20’s John Stossel did an expose on the meat industry after an outbreak of e-coli, a fecal bacterium. He found that cattle were routinely fed a mixture of (I’m not making this up) chicken manure and cement dust—for protein and minerals. It is very likely that the e-coli outbreak was not a result of bacterial contamination from post-packing sources, but from the animals consuming a steady diet of feces.
Now that you’ve lost your appetite entirely (sorry), there are a few alternatives, the best of which are grass-fed beef and lamb. Ruminant animals raised on grass, their natural diet, have a very healthful balance of fatty acids, much like wild game. Their meat contains no residues of pesticides, antibiotics, or supplemented hormones. Grass-fed animals, followed by other naturally-raised animals, are great alternatives to commercial meat consumption. Yes, it’s more expensive, but so is chemotherapy…….
The Atkins diet as practiced is typically very low in vegetables and fiber, and very high in saturated fat. This typically leads to gallbladder problems (the gallbladder helps you digest fat and is often overwhelmed by large amounts of saturated fat in the diet) and constipation.
Atkins also eschews grain of all types due to its carb content. Whole grains such as brown rice, barley and oats are fabulous sources of B vitamins, minerals and fiber. They are digested slowly, providing measured doses of blood sugar rather than a big spike like refined sugars and grains.
EAT VEGGIES!
Vegetables, of course, should be a major component of our diets. The ¼ of the population consuming the most vegetables has ½ the cancers of the ¼ of the population that consumes the least vegetables. HALF!!!
So what’s a good diet? Moderate amounts of good quality protein from naturally raised meat, poultry, eggs and wild-caught fish; Lots and lots of organic vegetables; moderate amounts of whole grains and moderate to large amounts of olive oil (more of the latter two if you’re physically very active); small amounts of fruits, with emphasis on highly pigmented fruits like berries.
Thanks for reading.