A must read!!!!!! Low Fat vs. Low Carb For years weve been hearing that the best way to cut down body fat was to cut down on the fats we eat. On the face of it, that seems totally reasonable; but only if you dont fully understand your bodys metabolism--how your body turns what you eat into fuel. In recent years, research has indicated that we may have been doing it all wrong. To verify that, just ask yourself: If low-fat diets work, why are we so fat? Sure, you could blame some of it on people with weak willpower, or metabolic problems, or whatever. But when nearly two-thirds of the nation is overweight, those excuses just dont hold water. There is now an enormous body of research that proves that the conventional wisdom about the role fats play in the human diet is, quite simply, wrong, and in fact, its a high-carb, high-fat diet that results in weight problems and all the diseases that go along with being overweight. Culprits include the USDA Food Triangle, which guides school lunch programs across the country--its top-heavy on refined grains, including pasta and other starches while limiting foods containing fats. And many foods that are thought of as healthy--such as bran muffins, fruit juices and most brands of diet shakes and nutrition bars--are loaded with empty calories and high carbohydrate counts. The low-fat high-carbohydrate diet, promulgated by the National Cholesterol Education Program, the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association...and the Department of Agriculture food pyramid...may well have played an unintended role in the current epidemics of obesity, lipid abnormalities, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndromes. This diet can no longer be defended by appeal to the authority of prestigious medical organizations or by rejecting a growing medical literature that the much-maligned low-carbohydrate high-protein diet may have a salutary effect on the epidemics in question. -- From the abstract of The Diet-Health Hypothesis: A Critique by Sylvan Lee Weinberg, MD, MACC in The Journal of the American College of Cardiologists, Vol, 33, pp. 731-33, 2004. Next Up Now that you have a better idea of how we got in this fix, how can the Atkins Nutritional Approach help get us out of it? * * * How Atkins Reverses the Cycle For an in-depth understanding of the science behind the ANA, its a good idea to read pertinent chapters in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution or spend some time on the Science Behind Atkins section. But for now lets address the overall mechanism of how the ANA reverses the carbohydrate-induced conditions brought on by the Standard American Diet. Heres how Dr. Atkins explains it in Chapter 1 of Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (revised edition, 2002): Atkins works because it targets our stored body fat. The fat is not just there to make us overweight but is the body’s back-up system for fuel to generate energy. Take it out of the back-up role and convert your body to using fat as the primary fuel source, and the result is an extremely efficient weight loss and weight maintenance program. This metabolic switch occurs when only an insignificant amount of carbohydrates is available. And its an easy switch to control, because very little glycogen (made from carbohydrate) is stored in our bodies: When you eat fewer carbs, you almost immediately trip the switch. Low-fat diets can work, but the problem is that people often feel too deprived on them, and quit because of hunger and food cravings. The ANA abandons the concept of the low-fat diet and moves toward addressing the root of the problem--which is too many of the wrong kind of carbs in the diet. Rather than a short-term weight loss solution, the ANA is, as weve already discussed, a life-long program for health that is based on the four Atkins Nutritional Principles. In light of what weve learned in this lesson, lets revisit the four principles and take a closer look at how they work. Weight Loss Both carbohydrate and fat provide fuel for the bodys energy needs. Carbohydrate is the first fuel to be metabolized. However, when the intake of digestible carbohydrate is sufficiently restricted (without caloric restriction), the body converts from the metabolic pathway of burning carbohydrate to primarily burning fat as its main energy source. This results in weight loss. Ketosis is a shortening of the term lipolysis/ketosis, and its the process youll be jump-starting during Induction. Lipolysis simply means that youre burning your fat stores and using them as the source of fuel they were meant to be. When you restrict the amount of carbohydrates you eat, your body turns to fat as its alternative source of energy. In effect, lipolysis/ketosis replaces the alternative of burning glucose for energy. Both are perfectly normal processes. Some people confuse ketosis, which is a perfectly normal metabolic process, with ketoacidosis--a life-threatening condition that only affects extremely insulin-deficient people with out-of-control blood sugar levels. Weight Maintenance Each person has a tightly regulated carbohydrate threshold below which fat burning and weight loss occurs. However, if the persons carbohydrate intake exceeds this threshold, carbohydrate burning predominates--this allows fat to accumulate and results in weight gain. So each individual has a level of carbohydrate intake at which weight is maintained. Good Health and Well-Being By following a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach, people who choose to eat nutrient-dense foods (including adequate fiber and healthy fats) are more likely to meet their nutritional needs and promote good health than they would by following a calorie-restricted, fat-deficient diet. Exercise is also essential for controlling weight, enhancing energy and maintaining a sense of well-being. Disease Prevention By following an individualized controlled carbohydrate nutritional approach that lowers carbohydrate intake, resulting in normalizing blood sugar and insulin levels, people at high risk for, or diagnosed with, certain chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension, can see improvement in these conditions. Summary Weve studied the consequences and causes of obesity, and taken a look at how the myth of low-fat is not making us any thinner or any healthier. After reading this Quick Study you should have a better picture of the health crises facing us today and a sense of how the standard American diet (SAD) is contributing to epidemic levels of obesity, hypertension, heart disease and diabetes. An ample and growing body of scientific research backs up the ANAs effectiveness in preventing and controlling these health problems. By controlling the carbohydrates they eat and reducing the insulin load on their bodies, people following the ANA can reverse the cycle and achieve lifetime health and well-being.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 23:51:35 +0000
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