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Posted by: Cindy in Texas on 2010-05-29, 07:57:42
Low carbers don't advocate processed foods from Atkins company or anywhere else, so there is no monetary incentive behind promoting low carb. A new Atkins based book from 3 leading nutrition researchers just came out 2 months ago (haven't read yet, so can't comment) Gary Taubes 2008 investigative book about scientific studies in the field of nutrition surmised that Atkins was right all along. They have done countless studies to discredit Atkins concepts & all they have done is prove that he was right. Saturated fat is healthy & carbs create the destructive VLDL & oxidants. Atkins program is a health plan easier sold as a "diet " because weight loss is just a bonus package of a normalized body. Until the government changes it's dangerous low fat policy, then doctors & nutritionists can be sued for malpractice for recommending anything other than the government sanctioned recommendations (even though it's been clearly shown to be detrimental to public health.) U.S. government guidelines were changed 35 years ago to suggest we lower our fat intake & increase our carb intake. American society followed these recommendations & lowered their fat intake by 11% & increased their carb consumption. In this same time frame obesity, diabetes, heart disease are all at epidemic levels. Through their direct effects on insulin & blood sugar, refined carbohydrates are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease & diabetes. There is no better way to bring the body to the state of optimal health than with a low carb way of eating. Low carb doesn't cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar or high cholesterol, it cures it. It is actually dangerous to take meds that lower these levels and do low carb at the same time because the levels will become dangerously low. Carbohydrates trigger insulin. High insulin levels unbalance other hormones. Anything less that 9 grams of carbs per hour controls insulin and is considered low carb (up to 144 grams per day). Glucose is the bodies preferred fuel (if you want to get technical, it actually burns alcohol most efficiently, but that doesn't make it any healthier for the body than carbs), the body can convert 100% of carbs, 58% of protein & 10% of dietary fat into glucose. The body can also be fueled by fat (dietary fat & fat cells) but only in the absence of carbs. Your brain actually prefers* to be fueled by ketones (part of the fat burning process), it does require glucose also, but glucose can be easily converted from excess protein if needed or dietary fat. Plaque build up in the arteries is more attributable to carb consumption than dietary fats, which seems to be the conclusion of the following study. Carb consumption raises triglycerides & VLDL (bad cholesterol). Fats raise the HDL (good cholesterol). High triglyceride levels & low HDL levels are an indicator of plaque & glycation - the precursors to a heart attack & heart disease. study from the Oxford group examining the postprandial (after-eating) effects of a low-fat vs. low-carbohydrate diet. (Roberts R et al, 2008) Postprandial lipoproteins, you'd think, would be plentiful after ingesting a large quantity of fat, since fat must be absorbed via chylomicrons into the bloodstream. But it's carbohydrates that figure most prominently in determining the pattern and magnitude of postprandial triglycerides and lipoproteins. Much of this effect develops by way of de novo lipogenesis, the generation of new lipoproteins like VLDL after carbohydrate ingestion. Gary Taubes who wrote "Good Calories, Bad Calories " spent 7 years going through all the studies over the last century & dividing up the real science from the faulty science & concluded that low carb was the best way to control insulin levels which balances out other hormones & allows the body to function properly. His main points are: 1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease or any other chronic disease. 2. The problem is refined carbs in diet, their effect on insulin secretion & the hormonal regulation of homeostasis. 3. Sugars - sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup specifically - are particularly harmful, the combination of fructose & glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels & overload liver with carbs. 4. Through their direct effects on insulin & blood sugar, refined carbs, starches, sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease & diabetes. They are likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's & other diseases. 5. Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating. 6. Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter. 7. Fattening & obesity are caused by an imbalance in the hormonal regulation of adipose tissue & fat metabolism. 8. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from fat tissue. 9. By stimulating insulin secretion, carbs make us fat. 10. By driving fat accumulation, carbs also incre |
