The all falmous low carb diets- thoughts?

On a course i went on recently, they said your diet should be made up of 55-60% carbs ... hmmm i'm not really too sure about this statistic. The traditional method is one quarter of plate carbs, one quarter protein and half veg ...

I have been taking a college course on nutrition. It is a biology course and really goes in depth into the way your body processes food chemically and what have you. Taking this course has scared the bejabbers out of me, especially regarding low-carb diets. Glucose is the basis of every chemical, cellular and metabolic activity in which the body partakes. When we get too little carbs, the body has to resort to breaking down proteins (mainly muscle tissue) to create a glucose alternative. Contrary to what Atkins says, when the body starts throwing ketones it is from protein breakdown, not fat burning.

Healthy carbs are whole grains, fruits, brown rice, and vegetables; unhealthy carbs are processed sugar, white potatoes, refined white flour. I do believe that too many carbs can increase your tendency to gain weight, but too few can be quite harmful as well.

If you want to cut back on your carb grams eliminate the unhealthy carbs and see what happens. If you aren't satisfied, then gradually reduce a few more grams until you feel better.

this is much more sensible than the drastic all or nothing approaches out there-



and didn't cavemen die at the ripe old age of about 30? if they were lucky?

Well, also consider in ancient times the highest rates of disease weren't from the popular neolithic death agents of diabetes, heart disease, and elevated cancer rates. That didn't really come into play until the rise of modern agriculture and affluence in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. We're just now finding the ancient Egyptians (of affluence, anyway) suffered from quite a malady of diseases, maybe tied to their indulgent diets: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/851/eg11.htm.

You'd be much more likely to die at a young age of the following in ancient times (before the rise of modern agriculture and modern society as we know it): being mauled to a bloody pulp by a predator, hypothermia, famine, eating something poisonous, tribal war, getting clubbed in the head, or injury (which, without care was most likely fatal in those days). John Locke's Social Contract didn't fully exist in those days, so if you wanted to nail your brother's wife, he was basically entitled to beat your head with a rock and kill you. Sure, there were nomadic societies, but there was not a lot of protection from the elements, an angry opposing tribe, or predators.

So, what's my point here? Modern medicine is a beautiful thing and I don't think we can contribute a caveman's death solely to his propensity to dine on bone marrow and raw, freshly killed meat. The death rate in the middle ages was even higher thanks to lack of sanitation and widespread disease. Grok the caveman probably had a higher quality of life than someone living in modern Europe during the time of the Black Plague.

And...I'm not saying grains are to blame here, no. But, overindulgence of anything - especially foods of empty nutrition, the ever-increasing amount of "sweetness" in our food supply, lack of movement...those are some pretty negative things that have accompanied the growth of modern society. And if we look at the basis of more traditional societies - modern day tribes in Brazil - we don't see them dropping dead at age 30. They may have a higher propensity to be killed by a predator like an anaconda, but their diet is in a more natural state than the remainder of the modern world, and no doubt they're not plagued by so many of our modern-day "lifestyle" maladies. And other societies of long lifespan DO eat grains (think Okinawa, Japan which has a concentration of centurians) or Mediterraneans, or the French. BUT, they also don't shun dietary fat, meat, and/or fish. They simply eat in moderation, have less stress, and move much more (even at an older age) than the majority of Americans.

Carbs are out bodies main source for energy, they also support kidney function. You need them they are not "bad" for you. The problem is the source, you want fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Carbs should not be refined flours and sugars. Like others have said, you will have to find your balance as to what works best for you. As far as the "low carb" diets go, DH and I both did the South Beach diet several years ago and were very successful. However we gained it all back and for him he gained back even more. I now just watch what I eat and do my best to keep it balanced and don't really count anything but calories.

I have been taking a college course on nutrition. It is a biology course and really goes in depth into the way your body processes food chemically and what have you. Taking this course has scared the bejabbers out of me, especially regarding low-carb diets. Glucose is the basis of every chemical, cellular and metabolic activity in which the body partakes. When we get too little carbs, the body has to resort to breaking down proteins (mainly muscle tissue) to create a glucose alternative. Contrary to what Atkins says, when the body starts throwing ketones it is from protein breakdown, not fat burning.

Healthy carbs are whole grains, fruits, brown rice, and vegetables; unhealthy carbs are processed sugar, white potatoes, refined white flour. I do believe that too many carbs can increase your tendency to gain weight, but too few can be quite harmful as well.

If you want to cut back on your carb grams eliminate the unhealthy carbs and see what happens. If you aren't satisfied, then gradually reduce a few more grams until you feel better.

this is much more sensible than the drastic all or nothing approaches out there-



and didn't cavemen die at the ripe old age of about 30? if they were lucky?

Cave men didn't die due to illness and such. They died at young ages due to falling victim to bigger animals. There is much research that their bones were stronger and no signs of illness.

We haven't evolved that much for our bodies to handle grains. Grains are nothing but irritants to the human body.

I'm a long time low-carber, and have done Atkins successfully.

The thing is, there are only about 30% of the population, who can eat just about anything they want, and not gain weight.

The other 70% have to watched what they eat and for most, its too many carbs.

Carbs are necessary for a healthy lifestyle, even Dr. Atkins specifies this. However, they must be from good sources and
must not contain too much sugar.

The first phase of Atkins which is 14 days, you are limited to 20g's per day, of carbs. After that, you being to add 5 gs per week, until you stop loosing weight. This is your threshold.

For me, its 45-55 gs per day. Doesn't matter if I'm under my calorie count, if I add more than 55gs of carbs, I will begin to put back the weight.

Every person is different and they have to find their own carb threshold.

I'm on pre-maintenance level now, and I am adding breads, pasta and other favorites, but I have to remain vigil in watching not only carbs, but my calories as well.

As Lioness said, go off any diet and you'll gain back the weight you loss. Its how you became overweight in the first place.

Jim

I'm a long time low-carber, and have done Atkins successfully.

The thing is, there are only about 30% of the population, who can eat just about anything they want, and not gain weight.

The other 70% have to watched what they eat and for most, its too many carbs.

Carbs are necessary for a healthy lifestyle, even Dr. Atkins specifies this. However, they must be from good sources and
must not contain too much sugar.

The first phase of Atkins which is 14 days, you are limited to 20g's per day, of carbs. After that, you being to add 5 gs per week, until you stop loosing weight. This is your threshold.

For me, its 45-55 gs per day. Doesn't matter if I'm under my calorie count, if I add more than 55gs of carbs, I will begin to put back the weight.

Every person is different and they have to find their own carb threshold.

I'm on pre-maintenance level now, and I am adding breads, pasta and other favorites, but I have to remain vigil in watching not only carbs, but my calories as well.

As Lioness said, go off any diet and you'll gain back the weight you loss. Its how you became overweight in the first place.

Jim

I never think of myself as on a diet, I think you're right if you diet you gain the weight right back.

I believe if you make an actual lifestyle change in regards to eating you will keep the weight off!

I have been taking a college course on nutrition. It is a biology course and really goes in depth into the way your body processes food chemically and what have you. Taking this course has scared the bejabbers out of me, especially regarding low-carb diets. Glucose is the basis of every chemical, cellular and metabolic activity in which the body partakes. When we get too little carbs, the body has to resort to breaking down proteins (mainly muscle tissue) to create a glucose alternative. Contrary to what Atkins says, when the body starts throwing ketones it is from protein breakdown, not fat burning.

Healthy carbs are whole grains, fruits, brown rice, and vegetables; unhealthy carbs are processed sugar, white potatoes, refined white flour. I do believe that too many carbs can increase your tendency to gain weight, but too few can be quite harmful as well.

If you want to cut back on your carb grams eliminate the unhealthy carbs and see what happens. If you aren't satisfied, then gradually reduce a few more grams until you feel better.

That is incorrect. Ketones break down fat, not protein.

Actually you are incorrect. The process she is referring to is called gluconeogenesis and it is the result of the body breaking down proteins to make into glucose to perform basic body functions in the absense of adequate carbohydrate intake because while protein can be converted to glucose, fat cannot. The average person needs at least 130 grams of carbohydrate a day to perform basic brain function, and if it doen't get it then the process she stated will occur.

It was stated before that ketones break down protein and not fat, which is incorrect. Ketosis is the body's burning of fat and using it as an energy source in place of carbs. It is not unhealthy to be in ketosis, please don't get it confuse it ketoacidosis, which are two totally different things.

Gluconeogenesis is the tprocess hat results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates such as lactate, glycerol, and glucogenic amino acids. (lactate, glycerol and glucogenic amino acids are not protein).

If what she were saying was true, that muscle tissue was broken down to convert to glycogen, then that means there would be a lot of body builders losing a lot of muscle as when they are prepping for competitions, they go in deep ketosis to burn fat and eat a lot of protein to build muscle mass fast.

I can also attest to this as I have no muscle loss when I lost 98 pounds on Atkins in 2003.

I have been taking a college course on nutrition. It is a biology course and really goes in depth into the way your body processes food chemically and what have you. Taking this course has scared the bejabbers out of me, especially regarding low-carb diets. Glucose is the basis of every chemical, cellular and metabolic activity in which the body partakes. When we get too little carbs, the body has to resort to breaking down proteins (mainly muscle tissue) to create a glucose alternative. Contrary to what Atkins says, when the body starts throwing ketones it is from protein breakdown, not fat burning.

Healthy carbs are whole grains, fruits, brown rice, and vegetables; unhealthy carbs are processed sugar, white potatoes, refined white flour. I do believe that too many carbs can increase your tendency to gain weight, but too few can be quite harmful as well.

If you want to cut back on your carb grams eliminate the unhealthy carbs and see what happens. If you aren't satisfied, then gradually reduce a few more grams until you feel better.

this is much more sensible than the drastic all or nothing approaches out there-



and didn't cavemen die at the ripe old age of about 30? if they were lucky?

Cave men didn't die due to illness and such. They died at young ages due to falling victim to bigger animals. There is much research that their bones were stronger and no signs of illness.

We haven't evolved that much for our bodies to handle grains. Grains are nothing but irritants to the human body.

any nomadic lifestyle is going to develop strong thick bones. That doesn't mean they didn't have heart attacks, which wouldn't be evident from the fossil record. The bones can't tell the entire story on nutrition levels.

If grains lead to obesity, why is China, (who consumes rice at an amazing rate) so slim?

Simply put - I do NOT believe in Lo-Carb diets!!!! Your body needs carbs!

Regarding ketosis: in itself, it's not bad, but it's dependent on the level of ketone bodies present in the blood. We all have ketone bodies present in the blood to some degree - the degree varies with other factors including diet, prolonged hunger, suckling (i.e. an infant), diabetic conditions, exercise, fasting...etc. I'm a bit confused as to why there's so much confusion in itself about what it is, how it works, and how it affects the body.

I was going to come in here and give a scientific speech on what it is, how it works, and what it means for the brain, but everyone will just come blasting and disagree with everything I post, regardless of whether it's pulled directly from a biology textbook, so what's the point? If you're concerned about it, do some research on Google. In fact, research the name Dr. Richard Veech for several full-text journal articles. He's basically Grandpa Ketosis.

I'm out of ketosis at about 71/g (total) carbohydrate per day. From there I'm in mild or non-existent ketosis - AKA normal level. Mild-moderate ketosis for me = steady weight loss. Maintenance level means mild to non-existent. My carb intake varies proportionately with desired weight loss rate and my rate of fitness.

And seriously people, unless you're actually testing this personally along with your health stats (i.e. blood sugar, weight, daily Ketostix testing) , don't make sweeping generalizations like "Low carb is bad!" or "you need 130 grams of carbohydrate/day to survive" Realize that the majority who "live low carb" EAT CARBS at some level. They probably also eat a diet higher in fat and with moderate protein. Look at my food diary and WHOA! Lookie there, folks! I EAT CARBS to correspond to my activity level. Sometimes (like yesterday) I have cheat days with an unGodly amount of carbohydrate (220 grams).

Everyone has different needs. Let's leave it there.