Darth Vader courtesy of Star wars
The aggregate of information circulated by proponents of the "low carb diet" is, more often than not, genuinely concerning. Just when I think that this fad has died out I am completely taken aback by headlines and statements asserted in widely publicized articles perpetuating information that is not just ridiculous but downright scary.
The general idea of reducing carbohydrate intake to the point of ketosis while gorging on saturated fat laden creams, cheeses and meats as a means to good health and weight loss carries with it so much flawed logic that I've decided to do a series on some of these diets biggest problems.
Rather than picking out any single diet where carbohydrates are touted as the "bad guys," this series of articles will address the misinformation and problems with some of the underlying principles and theories that are commonly bundled with the "low-carb lifestyle."
Hypothesis number one: The idea that carbohydrates are bad. These diets blame the most abundant organic compound found in nature for weight gain, heart disease, inflammation and pretty much every other health related issue with food. The truth is, carbohydrates are not bad and without them you would be dead. That's right; carbohydrates are the only fuel your brain can run on, period, the end. If there are no carbohydrates in the diet for extended periods of time such as in cases of starvation or very low-carb diets, the body will make sugar. Some of the ways it does this include gluconeogenisis (breaking down muscle protein) and an acidic fat burning process called ketosis which will be expanded upon later in the series.
Banishing carbohydrates to avoid weight gain is like banishing all music to avoid listening to Rap. It's true that the majority of the carbohydrates consumed by the United States are refined, processed, high glycemic and are largely responsible for most diet related illnesses. It is also true that most of the world's healthiest foods can be considered carbs. A bowl of oatmeal and a bag of chips are both filled with carbohydrates yet they are so different in their nutritional offerings that categorizing both simply as "carbs" is the wrong approach to health. People are not overweight because of carbs, they are overweight because of the kinds and amount of foods they eat coupled with lack of sufficient physical activity.
The next article will address where the "magic weight loss" of low-carb diets is derived and their associated health implications.
Comments
There is so much wrong with your column in the first 2 paragraphs I don't even know where to start. Coming from a fellow Examiner, I find this very disappointing.
Please read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. His credentials are impeccable. He has written regularly for Science (the official publication of AAAS} as well as many other highly respected journals. The book has over 100 pages of references and endnotes and in the opinion of Pulitzer Prize winning author Richard Rhodes is "the best book on diet and nutrition in the last 100 years."
Your many one line statements are completely rebutted with pages and pages of careful, scientifically documented studies. Are you aware of the "Krebs Cycle"? By your analysis, all animals should be carbohydrate eaters since carbs are most abundant. Are you aware of the NIH study suggesting a link between carbohydrate diet and serious disease in people with even one APOE4 gene? Are you aware that indigenous peoples around the globe have lived (and continue to live healthily) on completely carbohydrate-free diets? Have you read the scientific studies of the indigenous Inuit diet? Of the Masai? Scientists report these people live as long or longer than similar people on carbohydrate laden diets. (They are not genetically different than the rest of us.)
Read the book. At least you will be arguing from a more knowledgeable perspective. I have been reading & researching it for more than 15 months. It is without parallel.
I'm looking forward to reading your series on an obviously controversial subject.
With all of latest science proving the benefits of a low carb diet, esp. for diabetics, it's a shame to see yet again the same old misinformation being printed. The brain prefers ketone bodies to carbs, by the way. Wifezilla has you pegged all the way.
I can’t thank you enough for this article. I am so relieved to hear someone else is on my page! It is obvious people achieve weight loss joining the low-carb cult but is simple weight loss the only goal we aspire to? Those wanting to make a positive life change should be looking towards a healthy, fit body that is sustained with complete nutrition. Those who have actually researched nutrition (medical studies, not fad articles) know that there is a minimum intake of carbohydrates necessary to maintain normal body function. The body will use up carbohydrate storages in the liver and muscles but eventually the brain and muscles will not get enough sugar from carbohydrates to maintain their normal function. This has proven to lead to bad breath, muscle cramps, diarrhea, general weakness and even adversely affects higher order mental processing and flexibility. It does not take an educated person to deduce these symptoms have to be a sign that something is wrong!
Why is it that the only time proven approach is the least pursued? A truly healthy body will only come through sensible lifestyle changes that include both a well balanced diet and regular exercise. Thanks again, can’t wait for the next post!
Well in my long career of training sessions over the past 6 months, I have found that your aritcle is on track with my own viewpoints. I hope that these article continue, so that I can benifit further. Very well put together article, sir. I hope to read more from you in the near future
So, ok...I cut down on carbohydrates, the weight starts coming off and BAM...I hit a wall where I'm no longer losing any weight. But, I'm not done losing weight; I'm on a role, I want to lose more! What do I do next? I've got it! I'll just cut down a little more on my carb intake and more weight will come off! Yesss, the pounds are coming off and I look great, yet I feel like death. My energy levels have plummeted and when it comes to my normal work out, I just don't have the fuel in me to make it to that 60 minute marker anymore. I'm also getting sick more often. Why? Because without the proper consumption of carbohydrates, my immune system hates me. Cutting down on one of the body's major biomolecules is not the way to go. If you want to lose weight, you need to do it the healthy way, with a well balanced diet, or your body will suffer. Also, are people really going to live on a low-carb diet for the rest of their lives? Absolutely not. It's just a fast way to lose a few pounds. You'll gain it back once you're off of the diet. Being a person who has unfortunately fallen into a number of fad diets and experienced negative effects, I'm really happy you've decided to publish this series. Very well done, I'm really looking forward to reading the next article!
Wow, talk about flawed logic. Your article is based on gross generalizations and exaggerations, not science at all. It seems clear that neither you nor some of your other commenters have ever actually tried low-carb. It certainly does not reflect the success of most low-carbers, and the great health benefits they experience, including myself. There is no record of low-carbers having experienced any of the negative effects you claim. First of all, we are not claiming that "all carbs are bad". What is bad is the grossly excessive carb consumption of the western mass-produced diet (what you call "balanced"). Are you aware that it has been definitively demonstrated that ALL known symptoms of Metabolic Syndrome are reversed by lowering carb intake? Are you aware that low-carb reverses type 2 diabetes almost immediately? Are you aware that most diabetics can get off their medications by simply lowering their carb intake instead? Are you aware that triglycerides are commonly reduced up to 75% within a matter of days by low carb, without any need for dangerous and expensive medications? Are you aware that modern metabolic illnesses have increased precisely in accord with dietary intake of highly refined flour, starch and sugars (first introduced at the turn of the 19th century)? You are just part of the problem, enabling the corn syrup-junk food-pharmacology complex. Perhaps you fell for previous fads. Sadly, low-fat, low-cal and low-cholesterol have been the real fads of our times. Well, bring it on, we are willing to refute all of your claims with our own personal experience.
Just because someone studied medicine or nutrition, does not mean their knowledge is valid. The body of nutritional knowledge today is rife with agenda-based assumptions, error and blind conformism. The proof is not in authority, but in what works. Low-carb works, low-fat and low-cal have been health disasters, as anyone who has tried them for the last forty years can attest. But if you want to argue from medical authority, try Dr. Richard Bernstein, M.D., or Dr. Richard Feinman, Professor of Biochemistry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Editor-in-Chief of Nutrition and Metabolism Magazine. Or Dr. Mary Vernon, Dr. Michael Eades, Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University or Jeff Volek Ph.D., nutrition researcher at UCONN. They will all disagree with you wholeheartedly, based on sound research and clinical experience.
Jeremy, I agree…so do the most respected scientific bodies in the United States. The National Academy of Sciences, the American Medical Association, the American Dietetic Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the American Kidney Fund, the American College of Sports Medicine, Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health, all advise against a diet such as Atkins. I believe your critics will be hard pressed to find a singe major medical, nutrition, or science-based organization that fully endorses the low-carb diet for long-term health. Keep spreading the accurate word!
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