anti-carb, high-protein fad diets

February 19, 2000

Last fall, four health-promoting associations denounced high-protein diets. The

American Dietetic Association, the American College of Sports Medicine, the

Women's Sports Foundation and the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research issued

a joint statement saying that high-protein diet plans are not the solution for

weight loss or for athletic performance. They suggested that these diets might

even be harmful.

" High-protein diets do not build muscle and burn fat as some people think " , said

Ann Coulson of the American Dietetic Association. " What the diet books fail to

point out is that the real reason people are losing weight is that they are

simply eating fewer calories. " The theory that carbohydrates release insulin and

cause sugar to be stored as fat is... junk. Stored fat results only when a

person eats too much.

Too much protein can tax the kidneys (a recent study found that people with

terminal kidney disease who go on a low-protein diets are able to avoid an

artificial kidney machine); and meat is conclusively linked to several other

chronic diseases and fatal ailments. Restricting carbohydrates, which means not

only grains but most fruits and vegetables, can result in nutrient deficiencies.

Carbo-Phobia: Zoning Out on the New Diet Books

Center for Science in The Public Interest

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/zone.html

" The Zone " and " Blood-Type " Diet Fads

Michael Klaper, M.D.

http://www.vegsource.org/klaper/diet.htm

Enter the " Zone " : A Giant Leap Backwards

Charles R. Attwood, M.D., F.A.A.P.

http://www.vegsource.org/attwood/zone.htm

Zoned Out

Amy Lanou, Nutrition Ph.D.

http://www.newcenturynutrition.com/NCN/webzine/article.html#zonedout

The Great Debate: High vs. Low Protein Diets

John McDougall, M.D.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/debate.html

Caution: Approaching The Zone

Jennifer Raymond, M.S.

http://www.cyberveg.org/navs/voice/zone.html

High-Protein " Miracle " Diets - 3 reasons why they fail

The MAYO Clinic

http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9609/htm/miracle.htm

High Protein/Low Carbohydrate Diets

American Dietetic Association

http://www.eatright.org/news/#High

Is A High-Protein Diet Healthy?

Health Central News

http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/deanfulltexttopics.cfm?id=10290

Are High-Protein Diets Unsafe?

Health Central News

http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/deanfulltexttopics.cfm?id=9852

Dietitians Fed Up With High-Protein Diet

Health Central News

http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/deanfulltexttopics.cfm?id=12304

Ask Dr. Weil

How much protein do I need?

http://www.pathfinder.com/drweil/archiveqa/0,2283,1082,00.html

The Protein Myth

Neal D. Barnard, M.D. President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible

Medicine

http://www.pcrm.org/health/VSK/VSK4.html

The High Protein Myth

International Food Information Council

http://ificinfo.health.org/insight/septoct98/proteinmyth.htm

Protein and Propaganda

Health and Beyond

http://www.chetday.com/protein.html

The Protein Myth

David Siegel

http://www.dsiegel.com/wiwd/diet/protein.html

Human Protein Requirements

American Fitness Professionals and Associates

http://www.afpafitness.com/ProteinRequie.htm

The High Protein Myth

Awesome Body

http://www.awesomebody.com/high_protein_myth.htm

Exploding the Protein Deficiency Myth

Tom Salsberg, B.Ed., M.A., C.V.N.(cand.)

http://www.life.ca/nl/64/protein.html

> There's a lot of anti-carb propaganda out there right now because people

> are buying into the high-protein fad diet and are having success losing

> weight. This is how the silly diet works: your body can not process

> fat without sugars (glycerol in particular, I believe) which come from

> carbohydrates or fruit. People on high-protein diets are advised to not

> eat carbohydrates (cereals, bread, potatoes, rice), fruits (even

> carrots), fruit juices or any other sources of sugar. This is so they

> can eat all the fat and meat that they want and the fat will not be

> properly digested (you'll see people eating hamburgers and hot dogs but

> not the bun or french fries). Lack of fibre and vitamins as well as

> high cholesterol are dangerous factors in this diet, and most of these

> " addicted to carbs " diet books contain warnings and advise that you

> don't do this diet for more than 14 days at a time. I'm sure that this

> diet is not recommended by the American Dietetic Association. If you're

> normal diet contains reasonably low fat (less than 35 grams of fat per

> day) then you don't need to avoid grains and fruit and starchy foods. I

> have a friend who did this diet a long time ago, and he lost a bunch of

> weight and then he gained lots back when he stopped doing the special

> diet. He's on it again and is losing weight again, but I don't think

> it's anywhere near as good as plain old healthy eating. Anyway, I think

> that's where a lot of the " carbs=fat " ideas have come from.

--

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February 19, 2000

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to point out that propaganda is being purported by all sides of

the health and nutritional perspectives (beit doctors or nutritionists)...

I think what feels best to the individual is what matters ... if you feel

better having cereals in the morning rather than fruits, then so be it ..

do it as the body sees fit ...

I personally, feel better when I eat less carbohydrates and more fruits and

vegetables ... as almost anyone knows ... most agriculture is a man made

directive ... hence; processed foods such as breads, cereals, rice, and a

variety of vegetables are a " man-made " food, and are less healthy than the

more " natural " foods such as fruits and most veggies that occur naturally

(from a very global perspective) in our diets ...

I would be foolish to state that I omit " man made " foods from my diet .. as

I am in transition ...I certainly feel that the sooner we eliminate grains

from our diet, the healthier we will become ... there is too much glucose

being produced from grains ... there are so many other more beneficial

sources of sugars (such as those from fruits ... fructose ... ) which can

nourish our bodies .. just ask yourselves the question .. " What is more

natural? The banana, or the cereal that has been produced through many

processes ... "

Think for yourselves ...

grains are processed ... raw food is natural ... take your pick ...

In addition, we have many forms of high protein with which we can " decorate

our diet! "

As a vegan .. we know that we don't need grains, breads, cereals to

" compliment " our vegan diets

Get the protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals you need in your diets ...

figure it out and get to work! You aren't figuring out a temporary measure

for life .. this is a " Life Decision! "

Vik

Vikas Sharma of Operations & Media

Carnival Management

Web: http://www3.sympatico.ca/carnival

Email: carnival

Phone 416.923.7325

anji b [vegan]

Friday, February 18, 2000 11:02 PM

Re: anti-carb, high-protein fad diets

" anji b " <vegan

Last fall, four health-promoting associations denounced high-protein diets.

The American Dietetic Association, the American College of Sports Medicine,

the Women's Sports Foundation and the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research

issued a joint statement saying that high-protein diet plans are not the

solution for weight loss or for athletic performance. They suggested that

these diets might even be harmful.

" High-protein diets do not build muscle and burn fat as some people think " ,

said Ann Coulson of the American Dietetic Association. " What the diet books

fail to point out is that the real reason people are losing weight is that

they are simply eating fewer calories. " The theory that carbohydrates

release insulin and cause sugar to be stored as fat is... junk. Stored fat

results only when a person eats too much.

Too much protein can tax the kidneys (a recent study found that people with

terminal kidney disease who go on a low-protein diets are able to avoid an

artificial kidney machine); and meat is conclusively linked to several other

chronic diseases and fatal ailments. Restricting carbohydrates, which means

not only grains but most fruits and vegetables, can result in nutrient

deficiencies.