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Protein, Carbohydrates and Low Fat. The Zone, Atkins, Ornish and Learn. Protein and Weight Control The idea of losing weight by cutting out carbohydrates and eating plenty of protein was once popularized by the medical establishment, only because these diets were based on some interesting ideas and speculation. In the last few years, many trials looked at the diverse results of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets versus the results of low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets. There has been some evidence that a low-carbohydrate diet may help people lose weight more quickly than a low-fat diet, but so far, the evidence is short term. In two short, head-to head assessments, low-carb approaches worked better than low-fat diets. A subsequent year-long study that was published in 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed the same thing. In this study, overweight, premenopausal females went on 1 of 4 diets: Atkins, Zone, Ornish, or LEARN, a standard low-fat, moderately high –carb diet. All of the women steadily lost weight for 6 months; the most rapid weight loss was amongst the Atkins dieters. After that, most of the women regained weight. The study concluded after a year; the women in the Atkins group had lost the most weight, about 10 pounds, compared with 6 pounds in the LEARN group, 5 in the Ornish group, and 3.5 in the Zone group. Levels of bad LDL, and other blood fats were as good among females on the Atkins diet as those on the low-fat diet. If you read the fine print of the study, you would see that most of the women did not stick to their assigned diets. Those on the Atkins were supposed to limit their carbohydrate intake to 50 grams a day, but they ingested almost triple that amount. The Ornish dieters were supposed to limit their fat intake to under 10% of their daily calories, but they got about 30% from fat. There were similar variations for the Zone and LEARN group. Why is it that high-protein, low-carb diets work more quickly than low- fat, high-carb diets? First is the fact that high-protein foods such as chicken, beef, fish, beans, etc slow the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine. Emptying the stomach slower means that you feel full for a longer amount of time and get hungrier later. Second, protein’s steady effect on blood sugar avoids the fast and steep spiking in blood sugar. It also helps you avoid the ‘hungry again’ symptoms that occur after eating quickly digested carbohydrates such as white bread or a baked potato. Lastly, the body uses more energy to digest protein than it does to digest fat or carbohydrate. There is no solid research that tells us the long-term effect of eating a high-protein diet with little or no carbohydrates. Something else to consider is the addition of unhealthy fats in some of these diets. It is not necessary to go overboard with protein and eat nothing else. Avoiding fruits and whole grains (in moderation) means you are missing healthful fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients. Equally important in eating protein is paying attention to what comes along with the protein. Going for plant-based high-protein foods low in saturated fat will help the heart as they help the waistline. For addition information about proteins, click here. |