Low-carb diet gets more support from new analysis
AlabasterVerve
Posts: 3,171 Member
Low-carb diet gets more support from new analysis
-- By Nanci Hellmich, USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-08-30/low-carb-diet/57444292/1
As people fire up their grills for barbecues over Labor Day weekend, a new analysis touts the benefits of a low-carb, meat-lovers' diet.
A review of 17 different studies that followed a total of 1,141 obese patients on low-carb eating plans — some were similar to the Atkins diet — found that dieters lost an average of almost 18 pounds in six months to a year.
Overall, participants had improvements in their waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides (blood fats), fasting blood sugar, C-reactive protein (another heart disease risk factor) as well as an increase in HDL (good) cholesterol. LDL (bad) cholesterol did not change significantly.
STORY: Study: Low-carb diet burns the most calories
PHOTOS: Dramatic weight-loss success stories
"These improvements occurred during weight loss which is known to lead to some of these changes," says William Yancy, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center and a researcher who worked on the analysis. It's being published in the journal Obesity Reviews.
Yancy has done several previous studies on the Atkins diet, including some that were funded by the Atkins Foundation. A low-carb diet is a reasonable one to follow to lose weight and improve heart disease risk factors, he says.
Low-carb eating plans slash the consumption of breads, pasta, potatoes, rice, cakes, cookies and some fruits and starchy vegetables while beefing up intake of fish, chicken, beef, eggs, butter, cheese and some vegetables and fruits.
Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, echoed Yancy's observation. "A lot of these favorable effects are due to the weight loss itself, not to the specific diet, with the exception of HDL, which does seem to have more favorable improvements on the low-carb diet."
He wasn't involved in this analysis but did research comparing a low-carb diet and a low-calorie, reduced-fat diet and found both produce similar weight loss and improvements in health measures.
"We have passed the time where we would say the Atkins diet is bad for you. That's an outdated position," Foster says. "This is a viable alternative for weight loss."
Robert Atkins, a cardiologist, published his first book on the diet in 1972. The revised version, called Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, was a best seller two decades later. He died in April 2003 after a fall.
Nutrition experts have long favored a more conventional diet, which reduces the overall amount of calories and fat while allowing a wide variety of foods.
One small study published recently found that dieters who were trying to maintain their weight loss burned significantly more calories — about 300 more a day — eating a low-carb diet than they did eating a low-fat diet.
About two-thirds of people in this country are overweight or obese, which increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many types of cancer and other chronic illnesses.
-- By Nanci Hellmich, USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-08-30/low-carb-diet/57444292/1
As people fire up their grills for barbecues over Labor Day weekend, a new analysis touts the benefits of a low-carb, meat-lovers' diet.
A review of 17 different studies that followed a total of 1,141 obese patients on low-carb eating plans — some were similar to the Atkins diet — found that dieters lost an average of almost 18 pounds in six months to a year.
Overall, participants had improvements in their waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides (blood fats), fasting blood sugar, C-reactive protein (another heart disease risk factor) as well as an increase in HDL (good) cholesterol. LDL (bad) cholesterol did not change significantly.
STORY: Study: Low-carb diet burns the most calories
PHOTOS: Dramatic weight-loss success stories
"These improvements occurred during weight loss which is known to lead to some of these changes," says William Yancy, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center and a researcher who worked on the analysis. It's being published in the journal Obesity Reviews.
Yancy has done several previous studies on the Atkins diet, including some that were funded by the Atkins Foundation. A low-carb diet is a reasonable one to follow to lose weight and improve heart disease risk factors, he says.
Low-carb eating plans slash the consumption of breads, pasta, potatoes, rice, cakes, cookies and some fruits and starchy vegetables while beefing up intake of fish, chicken, beef, eggs, butter, cheese and some vegetables and fruits.
Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, echoed Yancy's observation. "A lot of these favorable effects are due to the weight loss itself, not to the specific diet, with the exception of HDL, which does seem to have more favorable improvements on the low-carb diet."
He wasn't involved in this analysis but did research comparing a low-carb diet and a low-calorie, reduced-fat diet and found both produce similar weight loss and improvements in health measures.
"We have passed the time where we would say the Atkins diet is bad for you. That's an outdated position," Foster says. "This is a viable alternative for weight loss."
Robert Atkins, a cardiologist, published his first book on the diet in 1972. The revised version, called Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, was a best seller two decades later. He died in April 2003 after a fall.
Nutrition experts have long favored a more conventional diet, which reduces the overall amount of calories and fat while allowing a wide variety of foods.
One small study published recently found that dieters who were trying to maintain their weight loss burned significantly more calories — about 300 more a day — eating a low-carb diet than they did eating a low-fat diet.
About two-thirds of people in this country are overweight or obese, which increases the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, many types of cancer and other chronic illnesses.
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Replies
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Interesting read! Thanks!0
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I used low-carb to lose about 30 pounds. I loved it and felt great. I just eat moderately, now, and watch my calories. But I would go back on the Atkins diet tomorrow. If I needed to.0
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I don't get it. What are you trying to say? Weight loss leads to favorable results?0
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Here here! Great post... thanks for enlightening us. =D0
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Thanks for sharing...it's makes me feel better about my decision to go low carb.........cutting out sugar and white flour has helped me tremendously with my cravings for sweets,and that was my objective from the beginning.0
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Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, echoed Yancy's observation. "A lot of these favorable effects are due to the weight loss itself, not to the specific diet, with the exception of HDL, which does seem to have more favorable improvements on the low-carb diet."
He wasn't involved in this analysis but did research comparing a low-carb diet and a low-calorie, reduced-fat diet and found both produce similar weight loss and improvements in health measures.
Creating a calorie deficit and losing pounds leads to better health. Sounds about right. I'm not anti low carb, it's just not for me personally.One small study published recently found that dieters who were trying to maintain their weight loss burned significantly more calories — about 300 more a day — eating a low-carb diet than they did eating a low-fat diet.
Perhaps this is related to increased protein intake which burns more through digestion.0 -
Awesome post, thanks for sharing! I myself cut out all refined, EMTY calorie, NO nutritional value carbs almost a year ago and never felt better! :drinker:0
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Low-carb diets ALWAYS fail in the LONG run...ALWAYS! Who eats low carb until they die? You'd want to be crazy to deprive yourself of your bodies natural brain fuel (every cell in the human brain runs on glucose!). I just don't get it. There is so much info out there on how detrimental these low carb bull**** diets are for your health. And the reason they lead to weight loss are actually terrifying when you look into the science behind it! It may have short term benefits, but seriously, who is going to limit FRUIT, bread, pasta etc etc for the rest of their entire lives?
NOBODY. Or crazy people, of course. :laugh:0 -
I have no problem limiting bread and pasta for the rest of my life...LIMITING it. Nothing wrong with that.0
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Eat whatever you want, seriously. Life should be enjoyed.
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I don't get it. What are you trying to say? Weight loss leads to favorable results?
I think before they were worried that you might lose weight on Atkins-type diets but increase your risk of heart disease or other lethal problems. Now studies are showing it's not likely an issue.
Even the Twinkie diet guy had his cholesterol numbers show up healthier, so it's not like eating beef and such without losing weight is likely to help reduce the risk of heart disease and such, though. He still didn't think it was a good idea.
Low carb is working for me, I'm way more consistent than I was before I started it. Glad to know it's not likely to kill me any more than any other weight loss lifestyle.0 -
Eat whatever you want, seriously. Life should be enjoyed.
Yay! free for all!
Oh wait. This is how I got fat. I think you meant, eat mostly good stuff and fill in the gaps with whatever you want
:flowerforyou:0 -
It always cracks me up when people who diet with massive calorie deffacits ( starvation diets ) talk about low carb being bad because you can't do it forever.Low-carb diets ALWAYS fail in the LONG run...ALWAYS! Who eats low carb until they die? You'd want to be crazy to deprive yourself of your bodies natural brain fuel (every cell in the human brain runs on glucose!). I just don't get it. There is so much info out there on how detrimental these low carb bull**** diets are for your health. And the reason they lead to weight loss are actually terrifying when you look into the science behind it! It may have short term benefits, but seriously, who is going to limit FRUIT, bread, pasta etc etc for the rest of their entire lives?
NOBODY. Or crazy people, of course. :laugh:0 -
i have always been a fan of the Atkins diet, ever since i first tried it back when Sky started selling the Atkins answer pack around 5 or 6 years ago. i totally bought into the philosophy behind it and it works!
i had so much negativity from anyone who heard i was doing it, oh that is so unhealthy... etc, i would always challenge them to tell me what was unhealthy about anything i was eating, and asked them what they based their opinion upon, usually it was scare mongering in the press
i am always sceptical when i see reports which are anti low carb, the press is full of propaganda from other affiliates, those whose diets follow low fat low calorie regimes. BUT, what i find really interesting is, those mainstream diets like sw and ww, now both have plans that follow a low carb regime if you want to, the sw red days etc and ww simply filling or filling and healthy as it is now called are pale imitations of the old Atkins plan, though they do have carbs but limit them to jacket potato and brown rice & pasta.
Dr Atkins book explained that triglycerides and lipids would improve on the plan and also blood pressure cholesterol etc so its not really new, just nice that other studies are at least coming on board..0 -
I have no problem limiting bread and pasta for the rest of my life...LIMITING it. Nothing wrong with that.
Why LIMIT foods you enjoy? Do you really want to be conscious of every carbohydrate gram you ever consume? There is nothing like freshly baked bread or fresh pasta...and have you seen the statistics for the general public health of most Europeans who eat this stuff every day? People can live long, healthy lives eating real food (including carbs) in normal portions with some daily activity, enough water and sleep. That's it. Nothing complicated...all these diets are called 'fads' for a reason.0 -
i have always been a fan of the Atkins diet, ever since i first tried it back when Sky started selling the Atkins answer pack around 5 or 6 years ago. i totally bought into the philosophy behind it and it works!
i had so much negativity from anyone who heard i was doing it, oh that is so unhealthy... etc, i would always challenge them to tell me what was unhealthy about anything i was eating, and asked them what they based their opinion upon, usually it was scare mongering in the press
i am always sceptical when i see reports which are anti low carb, the press is full of propaganda from other affiliates, those whose diets follow low fat low calorie regimes. BUT, what i find really interesting is, those mainstream diets like sw and ww, now both have plans that follow a low carb regime if you want to, the sw red days etc and ww simply filling or filling and healthy as it is now called are pale imitations of the old Atkins plan, though they do have carbs but limit them to jacket potato and brown rice & pasta.
Dr Atkins book explained that triglycerides and lipids would improve on the plan and also blood pressure cholesterol etc so its not really new, just nice that other studies are at least coming on board..
HA. Dr Atkins died of a massive heart attack & was morbidly obese when he died, after following his own plan.0 -
After reading your profile, I'm surprised that you aren't getting this. I'm a binge eater, I'm an emotional eater. I HAVE to limit foods. I actually have to keep certain foods completely OUT of my house. And if that's the way I have to live in order to be at a healthy weight/emotional state, then so be it. I'm actually not low carb at all, I'm just not a bread/pasta person so it's no big deal for me. I have been emotionally RELEASED from many issues since keeping foods out of my house, examples...peanut butter/sweets/sugary cereals. I don't think about these foods anymore and when they were in my house I did, non stop.
I'm ok without these foods. I don't need them.I have no problem limiting bread and pasta for the rest of my life...LIMITING it. Nothing wrong with that.
Why LIMIT foods you enjoy? Do you really want to be conscious of every carbohydrate gram you ever consume? There is nothing like freshly baked bread or fresh pasta...and have you seen the statistics for the general public health of most Europeans who eat this stuff every day? People can live long, healthy lives eating real food (including carbs) in normal portions with some daily activity, enough water and sleep. That's it. Nothing complicated...all these diets are called 'fads' for a reason.0 -
I have no problem limiting bread and pasta for the rest of my life...LIMITING it. Nothing wrong with that.
Why LIMIT foods you enjoy? Do you really want to be conscious of every carbohydrate gram you ever consume? There is nothing like freshly baked bread or fresh pasta...and have you seen the statistics for the general public health of most Europeans who eat this stuff every day? People can live long, healthy lives eating real food (including carbs) in normal portions with some daily activity, enough water and sleep. That's it. Nothing complicated...all these diets are called 'fads' for a reason.
I actually agree with both posts here.
1. You HAVE to limit something or else you'll gain weight. Have you seen American serving sizes? It's like 4.
2. You just said, eat "normal portions." That means there has to be some limit to what you eat.
Eat less, move more and drink more water. Sounds like a solid plan to me.0 -
You keep making yourself look less and less informed. He did not die of a heart attack. And by the way he also ate carbs. He simply promoted limiting them for weight loss.i have always been a fan of the Atkins diet, ever since i first tried it back when Sky started selling the Atkins answer pack around 5 or 6 years ago. i totally bought into the philosophy behind it and it works!
i had so much negativity from anyone who heard i was doing it, oh that is so unhealthy... etc, i would always challenge them to tell me what was unhealthy about anything i was eating, and asked them what they based their opinion upon, usually it was scare mongering in the press
i am always sceptical when i see reports which are anti low carb, the press is full of propaganda from other affiliates, those whose diets follow low fat low calorie regimes. BUT, what i find really interesting is, those mainstream diets like sw and ww, now both have plans that follow a low carb regime if you want to, the sw red days etc and ww simply filling or filling and healthy as it is now called are pale imitations of the old Atkins plan, though they do have carbs but limit them to jacket potato and brown rice & pasta.
Dr Atkins book explained that triglycerides and lipids would improve on the plan and also blood pressure cholesterol etc so its not really new, just nice that other studies are at least coming on board..
HA. Dr Atkins died of a massive heart attack & was morbidly obese when he died, after following his own plan.0 -
Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia, echoed Yancy's observation. "A lot of these favorable effects are due to the weight loss itself, not to the specific diet
That's all that needs to be said here. Nothing bad about low carb, nothing magical about low carb, it's just another eating plan.0 -
Some people respond better to low fat high carb diets, while others do better with low carb. I had heartburn all the time on a Weight Watchers diet many years ago (the plan has changed a lot since then). The version I did was very low fat and high carb. I was constantly hungry, felt lousy, and lost very little weight.
My doctor later recommended a low carb diet for me based on my blood tests and family history. It let me lose 60 lbs while feeling great and not starving. My blood tests showed a huge improvement as well. Your body can make glucose from proteins and fats, so your brain gets the fuel it needs. I slowly regained some of that weight over the next 10 years, but didn't have an immediate weight gain when transitioning to maintenance.
So low carb works for some, low fat works for others. Do what works for you in consultation with your doctor.0 -
NO weight loss plan is the be all/end all. Low carb, low cal, low fat, eat what you want, etc...
Whatever works for YOU is all that matters! I eat low carb. It works...its IS sustainable. And I enjoy myself.
So, whats the argument?0 -
After reading your profile, I'm surprised that you aren't getting this. I'm a binge eater, I'm an emotional eater. I HAVE to limit foods. I actually have to keep certain foods completely OUT of my house. And if that's the way I have to live in order to be at a healthy weight/emotional state, then so be it. I'm actually not low carb at all, I'm just not a bread/pasta person so it's no big deal for me. I have been emotionally RELEASED from many issues since keeping foods out of my house, examples...peanut butter/sweets/sugary cereals. I don't think about these foods anymore and when they were in my house I did, non stop.
I'm ok without these foods. I don't need them.I have no problem limiting bread and pasta for the rest of my life...LIMITING it. Nothing wrong with that.
Why LIMIT foods you enjoy? Do you really want to be conscious of every carbohydrate gram you ever consume? There is nothing like freshly baked bread or fresh pasta...and have you seen the statistics for the general public health of most Europeans who eat this stuff every day? People can live long, healthy lives eating real food (including carbs) in normal portions with some daily activity, enough water and sleep. That's it. Nothing complicated...all these diets are called 'fads' for a reason.
I suffered with BED for a year and a half, and it was horrible...it developed AFTER I'd lost 50lbs by limiting myself too much! It took me a few months to recover from it, and I only recovered by giving myself freedom where food is concerned. I consider myself totally recovered now & have realised that binge eating isn't down to the food, its down to emotional connections to particular foods (for me and most people, this is carbs, because carbs are our bodies primary source of fuel and are the easiest to digest).
It is for this exact reason that I totally disagree with low carb! It always results in binges for so many of my friends on here & friends in real life trying to lose weight...they eat low carb for a week or two then BOOM, massive carb binge. This is such a dangerous & unhealthy pattern to fall into, trust me x0 -
It always results in binges for so many of my friends on here & friends in real life trying to lose weight...they eat low carb for a week or two then BOOM, massive carb binge. This is such a dangerous & unhealthy pattern to fall into, trust me x
Nope....maybe for your friends, but not for me. I never binge and I have been doing it for months. For me, it is a life saver.0 -
Low-carb diets ALWAYS fail in the LONG run...ALWAYS! Who eats low carb until they die? You'd want to be crazy to deprive yourself of your bodies natural brain fuel (every cell in the human brain runs on glucose!). I just don't get it. There is so much info out there on how detrimental these low carb bull**** diets are for your health. And the reason they lead to weight loss are actually terrifying when you look into the science behind it! It may have short term benefits, but seriously, who is going to limit FRUIT, bread, pasta etc etc for the rest of their entire lives?
NOBODY. Or crazy people, of course. :laugh:
Using any kind of absolute just makes you sound ignorant. (Absolutes are never, always, nobody, etc. Just realized you might not know that). Just because you don't get something doesn't mean it's wrong.. Maybe you haven't done any research on it and that's why you don't get it. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine, but it obviously works for others. You seem very uninformed. Here's some of the reasons why it may work~
--Stops the cravings cycle from eating sugar and other refined carbs, (ie, controls binge eating)
--Stops cravings so you eat less overall; just anotehr form of calorie reduction
--More protein leaves you fuller, so you eat less calories overall.
--More fat leaves you full and satiated, so you eat less calories overall.
I think most diets would say that cutting out sugar is a good step. Guess what? Sugar is a carb.0 -
Lyra89 ... get your facts straight, Dr. Atkins had a heart attack at age 71 from cardiomyopathy, a infection of muscle tissue not blockage caused by the diet he promoted. He was also not obese. He died from his head injuries after suffering a fall. The original post was just information. Everyone can choose for themselves. What works for you doesn't work for someone else. If you binge on carbs after limiting them, that is your problem, not everyone's problem. Each person is different.0
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Eat whatever you want, seriously. Life should be enjoyed.
Yay! free for all!
Oh wait. This is how I got fat. I think you meant, eat mostly good stuff and fill in the gaps with whatever you want
:flowerforyou:
No, I meant what I said, good. 0 -
You keep making yourself look less and less informed. He did not die of a heart attack. And by the way he also ate carbs. He simply promoted limiting them for weight loss.i have always been a fan of the Atkins diet, ever since i first tried it back when Sky started selling the Atkins answer pack around 5 or 6 years ago. i totally bought into the philosophy behind it and it works!
i had so much negativity from anyone who heard i was doing it, oh that is so unhealthy... etc, i would always challenge them to tell me what was unhealthy about anything i was eating, and asked them what they based their opinion upon, usually it was scare mongering in the press
i am always sceptical when i see reports which are anti low carb, the press is full of propaganda from other affiliates, those whose diets follow low fat low calorie regimes. BUT, what i find really interesting is, those mainstream diets like sw and ww, now both have plans that follow a low carb regime if you want to, the sw red days etc and ww simply filling or filling and healthy as it is now called are pale imitations of the old Atkins plan, though they do have carbs but limit them to jacket potato and brown rice & pasta.
Dr Atkins book explained that triglycerides and lipids would improve on the plan and also blood pressure cholesterol etc so its not really new, just nice that other studies are at least coming on board..
HA. Dr Atkins died of a massive heart attack & was morbidly obese when he died, after following his own plan.
I've read a lot of books and watched a lot of documentaries in which it was stated he DID die of a heart attack and was very unhealthy before he died, & also that he was grossly overweight...I recall quotations by doctors Neil Barnard & John McDougall, whose work I admire greatly.0 -
Low-carb diets ALWAYS fail in the LONG run...ALWAYS! Who eats low carb until they die? You'd want to be crazy to deprive yourself of your bodies natural brain fuel (every cell in the human brain runs on glucose!). I just don't get it. There is so much info out there on how detrimental these low carb bull**** diets are for your health. And the reason they lead to weight loss are actually terrifying when you look into the science behind it! It may have short term benefits, but seriously, who is going to limit FRUIT, bread, pasta etc etc for the rest of their entire lives?
NOBODY. Or crazy people, of course. :laugh:
Using any kind of absolute just makes you sound ignorant. (Absolutes are never, always, nobody, etc. Just realized you might not know that). Just because you don't get something doesn't mean it's wrong.. Maybe you haven't done any research on it and that's why you don't get it. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine, but it obviously works for others. You seem very uninformed. Here's some of the reasons why it may work~
--Stops the cravings cycle from eating sugar and other refined carbs, (ie, controls binge eating)
--Stops cravings so you eat less overall; just anotehr form of calorie reduction
--More protein leaves you fuller, so you eat less calories overall.
--More fat leaves you full and satiated, so you eat less calories overall.
I think most diets would say that cutting out sugar is a good step. Guess what? Sugar is a carb.
Absolutes are nobody's friend. While I don't think low carb is a good choice for myself, I don't disregard someone else's personal choice to do so.0 -
Low-carb diets ALWAYS fail in the LONG run...ALWAYS! Who eats low carb until they die? You'd want to be crazy to deprive yourself of your bodies natural brain fuel (every cell in the human brain runs on glucose!). I just don't get it. There is so much info out there on how detrimental these low carb bull**** diets are for your health. And the reason they lead to weight loss are actually terrifying when you look into the science behind it! It may have short term benefits, but seriously, who is going to limit FRUIT, bread, pasta etc etc for the rest of their entire lives?
NOBODY. Or crazy people, of course. :laugh:
Using any kind of absolute just makes you sound ignorant. (Absolutes are never, always, nobody, etc. Just realized you might not know that). Just because you don't get something doesn't mean it's wrong.. Maybe you haven't done any research on it and that's why you don't get it. If it doesn't work for you, that's fine, but it obviously works for others. You seem very uninformed. Here's some of the reasons why it may work~
--Stops the cravings cycle from eating sugar and other refined carbs, (ie, controls binge eating)
--Stops cravings so you eat less overall; just anotehr form of calorie reduction
--More protein leaves you fuller, so you eat less calories overall.
--More fat leaves you full and satiated, so you eat less calories overall.
I think most diets would say that cutting out sugar is a good step. Guess what? Sugar is a carb.
It works for everyone, in the short term, but works for NOBODY in the long term, that is my point. Find me a healthy, thin, fit person who has been eating low-carb for 50+ years and I'll take that back, but I've never heard of anybody succeeding long-term on low carb nor spoken with one online.0
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