REALITY MEETS SCIENCE tm perspective: I really do like Nutrition Action healthletter. No other letter is on target re nutrition & lifestyle as often as they are, in my opinion. But no one is perfect (and certainly not I said the fly!). So I felt compelled to provide a bit of the rest of the story when it comes to their recent piece (link attached) on protein drinks (for which the Special K so-called protein drink shouldnt even be included as a serious product worth even mentioning). So, the piece had some very good points – such as the fact that if youre trying to lose weight, cutting down on energy calories (carbs...sugars & starches as well as fats) is the priority, not cutting protein (and we should not confuse protein with fatty cuts of animal flesh like most US factory production beef) When cutting calories, it is important to generally maintain protein intake to maintain lean muscle mass while losing fat (energy storage) by cutting energy calories (carbs and fats). But, as far as protein shakes and weight control – I found it a little bit surprising that Nutrition Actions article (found in one of their recent hard copy Nutrition Action issues as well as on their website) didnt include some data on the largest, longest prospective trial of intensive lifestyle intervention ever performed as of yet in human history, the NIH funded LookAHEAD trial of type 2 diabetics when it comes to the successful use of high-protein meal replacement, yes liquid, shakes. LookAHEAD found that the dramatic difference in weight loss between the two groups of approximately 2500 each type 2 diabetics (one group got usual care, and the other was provided intensive lifestyle intervention..meaning intensive weekly education groups, frequent one on one follow-up visits/coaching and meal replacement protein shakes) at the end of the studys first year came down to only three statistically significant factors – and one of them was: the more use of protein rich meal replacement shakes, the better the weight loss and blood sugar control. And the shakes they used (HMR tm and Slim Fast tm, for instance) werent even that great, in my clinical and personal opinion, than the best that protein rich thick meal replacement shakes can offer.....which would include a blend of low cal fresh or frozen vegetables, a reasonable amount of whole fruit and a quality 25–30 g, or more, dose of protein blended (e.g., NutriBullet, Vitamix or some equivalent blender) Nevertheless, I agree that solid food is better than liquid. But healthy THICK (puréed) is better than THIN liquid (apple juice or sugared pop). And having a thick liquid protein rich shake mixed with vegetables and whole fruit is better than having a solid Mcgriddle sandwich at McDonalds. Take this as being from the perspective of a pretty well seasoned (no salt of course) metabolic clinician with thousands of patients worth of direct care experience, not to mention my own personal binge eating history. So pardon my nit-picking Nutrition Action as I really do believe they and their publications and publisher (CSPI) are great overall (ignoring their political commentary and focusing only on their usually quality info). In fact, I donated $100 to CSPI this year for full disclosure. So, my opinion and theirs are both evidence based blended with opinion for The gap where evidence does not go far enough to definitively answer a question. It is all just food for thought. But one thing is evidence clear, thick liquid based, protein rich meal replacement shakes can be part of legitimate clinical nutrition care. I emphasize part, as in our hospital-based program at St Joe Oakland we intensively teach about many legitimate approaches superior to the typical American (aka Western) Diet including: medically defined Mediterranean, Pritikin, Vegan as well as practical versions of Paleo and, of course DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) in our program. And yes, we recommend subscribing to NA on a daily basis in the clinic because - as with everything in a healthy, balanced Reality Meets Science (tm) based life – we should never throw the baby out with the bathwater MAKE IT A GREAT DAY ALL AND HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 12:35:46 +0000
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