| Low
Carb Diets Part 1by
Sam Torontour B.Sc., C.S.C.S. |
 |
|
Low carbohydrate diets
have been around for a very long time. Long before
our civilization reached the agricultural stage,
the availability of carbohydrates, especially grains,
was fairly low. People survived on what was available
in their surrounding environment. This included
wild game, |
wild fish, wild fowl, wild fruits, wild berries, tubers
and wild vegetables.
Refined foods of any kind were virtually non-existent.
Survival in the wild meant that people did not have a
constant supply of food, and they had to spend lots of
energy trying to get it. There is no doubt that people
who existed under these conditions were less likely to
be obese, regardless of whether they ate carbohydrates,
protein or fat.
People who existed on 'survival' diets spent long periods
of time in a state of semi-starvation, interspersed with
random periods of intense feeding. This 'feed or famine'
pattern went on until we began making and using tools,
and learning to control the environment that we were once
forced to submit to.
Eventually, we began to accumulate and store food, and
were no longer subject to the random feeding patterns
that plagued our hard-working for-parents. Gradually,
feeding patterns became more and more regular, as our
methods of food accumulation and storage became more and
more sophisticated. People were still not obese, because
they still had to work physically hard to survive.
Although it is far less extreme than the semi-starvation
that our ancestors endured, people probably spent long
periods of time in a state of chronic energy deficit,
depending of course on the duration and intensity of the
labour that was performed.
Ultimately, we have taken such complete control of our
environment, that we have completely eliminated the need
for hunger, physical labor or even movement. We have refined
and processed our foods to the point where they are poisonous.
We regularly overconsume all forms of energy in complete
disproportion to our expenditure. We have assigned the
task of physical labor to the few underpaid manual labourers
left in the world and to machines. We have created special
facilities just to put movement back into our lives. We
regularly engage in periods of starvation and semi-starvation
in an effort to thwart the effects of overconsumption/underexpenditure
disease.
Over the past five decades, we have become fat, lazy,
overfed and sedentary. Obesity is slowly and tragically
becoming the norm, and if this trend continues, eventually
the quality of life will be irreversibly altered. In an
effort to capitalize on the obesity tragedy, hundreds
of companies have sprung up selling all kinds of gadgets,
powders, pills, diets, drinks, books, exercise plans,
exercise videos and practically anything else that they
could pawn off on an unsuspecting and desperate general
public.
Today, consumers are definitely more knowledgeable and
wary, but still just as desperate. Lately, there has been
a lot of hype in the media about low-carbohydrate diets.
Recently, they have become the norm in the world of popular
diet trends. Atkins, The Zone, The Southbeach Diet, The
Metabolic Diet and countless others have made a fortune
selling low carbohydrate dietary protocols. It seems like
everyone you talk to is either on or has at least tried
one or more of the many existing low-carbohydrate dietary
protocols.
Regardless of its popularity, carbohydrate restriction
has several drawbacks which can limit its usefulness and
effectiveness, especially in the long-term. Despite warnings
from the medical community, people are still turning to
low-carbohydrate dietary protocols as a means of losing
weight, and they are losing weight. The question is why
are they losing weight. The first and foremost reason
is that, irrespective of where the energy comes from (carbohydrates,
fats and proteins), there is a sudden drop in energy intake.
When people begin any diet, they are usually coming from
a period of overconsumption, and the relative amount of
energy that they consume on their diet is often much less
than what they were previously consuming. This can account
for at least some of the weight-loss affect associated
with low-carbohydrate diets. Also, when you begin any
type of calorie-restricting diet, there is always an initial
loss of body water which contributes greatly to overall
weight-loss in the first couple of weeks.
In dietary protocols where carbohydrates are restricted,
there is an even greater loss of water, because carbohydrates
are stored with a large amount of water. As the diet progresses
and glycogen stores become depleted, the water that was
stored with it is lost. This can account for up to 50%
of the weight that an individual may lose in the first
two weeks. Also, low-carbohydrate protocols lead to muscle
wasting, which also contributes to overall weight-loss.
The proportion of fat that is actually lost, especially
in the beginning stages of carbohydrate restriction, may
be much lower than a scale may show. Ultimately, the real
question is does dietary carbohydrate restriction actually
lead to greater fat loss?
Overconsumption of carbohydrates does lead to increased
fat storage. Carbohydrates are stored in the liver and
muscles in the form of the complex carbohydrate Glycogen.
Once the capacity for glycogen storage has been reached,
any excess incoming glucose will be converted into stored
fat. Obviously people who overconsume carbohydrates will
benefit from reducing them.
Exercise, especially resistance exercise, can greatly
increase an individual's capacity to store carbohydrates.
This can be extremely useful in reducing the potential
for storage of excess carbohydrate as body fat. Before
beginning any diet which prescribes the restriction of
any one of the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins
or fats), an individual should be fully aware of all the
effects of such a protocol, both positive and negative.
There is a great deal of individual variation in response
to any given dietary protocol. If we consider the the
nearly infinite number of possible metabolic scenarios,
it becomes clear that there can not be only one way that
works best, or even one way that works best for us forever.
The exercise and diet routine that initially allows us
to lose weight, ultimately will lose its ability to stimulate
change. Regular variation of diet and exercise protocols
is necessary to stimulate further weight loss. An individual
must be willing to experiment and make notes of their
progress in response to different protocols.
Dietary and exercise tracking offers a tremendous opportunity
for an individual to customize their own protocols. There
are several schools of thought regarding how to apply
the low-carbohydrate principle. On one extreme, there
are the low-carbohydrate/high fat/high protein proponents.
These include the Harvey-Banting Diet by William Banting
(1863), the Stone Age Diet by Dr Richard Mackarness, MB,
BS, DPM (1958), the Dr Atkins' Diet Revolution by Robert
C Atkins, M.D.(1972), and the Go-Diet by Dr. Jack Goldberg
(1999). They claim that by replacing carbohydrate calories
with fat calories, that somehow the body will become 'fat-adapted'
and will then magically surrender its fat stores.
As you will discover, this may not be an entirely accurate
way of describing how the body responds to low carbohydrate/high
fat dietary protocols. On the other end of the spectrum,
there are the low-carbohyadrate/low fat/high protein proponents.
These include the Protein Power Lifeplan by Michael R.
Eades, M.D., and Mary Dan Eades, M.D. (1995) and the New
High Protein Diet by Charles Clark (2002). They claim
that in order to benefit from the fat-loss effects of
carbohydrate restriction, while at the same time minimizing
the possible health risks associated with high fat dietary
protocols, replacing calories from carbohydrates and fats
with mostly protein is the best alternative.
Despite the intentions of high protein proponents to reduce
the possible health risks, high protein protocols also
present certain risks. There are also the many varieties
of macronutrient ratio diets, that prescribe specific
ratios of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in order to
maximize fat-loss and minimize health risks. These include
Enter the Zone by Barry Sears Ph.D. (1996) and the Metabolic
Diet by Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale (2000). Then there are the
GI (glycemic index) protocols which restrict carbohydrate
intake to those which are low on the glycemic index or
'smart carbs'. These include the Southbeach Diet by Dr.
Arthur Agatston (2003), the Insulin Resistance Diet by
Cheryle R. Hart. M.D. and Mary kay Grossman, R.D. (2001),
and the Type 2 Diabetes Diet Book : The Insulin Control
Diet - Your Fat Can Make You Thin by Calvin Ezran, M.D.
with Kristin L. Caron, M.A. (2000). These protocols claim
that by reducing the body's exposure to high GI carbohydrates,
insulin levels will decrease and so will its fattening
effects.
This may in fact be a very useful tool for some people,
but not for everyone. With so many possibilities, it is
hard for people to decide what works and what doesn't.
It is important to remember that every individual will
respond differently to a variety of dietary protocols.
In part 2 of this series, I will discuss some of the concerns
that medical community has regarding low carbohydrate
protocols, and I will discuss some of the metabolic rational
behind them.
References
1. Aro A. et al. "Stearic
acid, trans fatty acids, and dairy fat: effects on serum
and lipoprotein lipids, apolipoproteins, lipoprotein
(a), and lipid transfer proteins in healthy subjects".
Am J Clin Nutr 1997;65:1419.
2. ASCN/AIN Task force on Trans Fatty Acids. "Position
paper on trans fatty acids". 1996;63:663.
3. Babayan VK. "Medium chain length fatty acid
esters and their medical and nutritional applications".
J Am Oil Chem Soc. 1981; 58:49A-51A.
4. Bach AC, Ingenbleek Y, Frey A. "The usefulness
of dietary medium-chain triglycerides in body weight
control: fact or fancy". J Lipid Res. 1996; 37:708-726.
5. Bach AC, Babayan VK. "Medium-chain triglycerides:
an update". Am J Clin Nutr. 1982; 36:950-962.
6. Baechle, Thomas R. and Earle Roger W eds. Essentials
of Strength Training and Conditioning, second edition.
Human Kinetics, 2000.
7. Craig GB, Darnell BE, Weinsier RL, et al. "Decreased
fat and nitrogen losses in patients with AIDS receiving
medium-chain-triglyceride-enriched formula vs. those
receiving long-chain-triglyceride-containing formula",
Am J Clin Nutr , 1997; 97:605-611.
8. Ellis, Frey R et al, "Incidence of osteoporosis
in vegetarians and omnivores". Am J Clin Nutr,
June 1972, 25:555-558.
9. Kerstetter, J.E., OBrien, K.O., Insogna, K.L. "Dietary
protein, calcium metabolism, and skeletal homeostasis
revisited". Am J Clin Nutr , 2003, Vol 78, Issue
3, Suppl. S, pp 584S-592S. Kerstetter JE, Univ Connecticut,
Sch Allied Hlth Profess, U-101, 358 Mansfield Rd, Storrs,CT
06269 USA.
10. Linkswiler, H.M. et al, "Calcium retention
of young adult males as affected by level or protein
and of calcium intake". Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci,
1974 36:333.
11. Mazess, Richard B. and Mather,Warren , "Bone
mineral content of North Alaskan Eskimos". Am J
Clin Nutr, September 1974 2:916-925.
12. Mcardle, William D., Katch, Frank I. and Katch,
Victor L. Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and
Human Performance, fifth edition. Lippincott, Williams
and Wilkins, 2001.
13. Spencer, Herta and Kramer, Lois, "Further studies
of the effect of a high protein diet as meat on calcium
metabolism". Am J Clin Nutr, June 1983 37 (6):924-929.
14. Spencer, Herta and Kramer, Lois, "Factors contributing
to osteoporosis". Journal of Nutrition, 1986 116:316-319.
15. Spencer, Herta et al "Do Protein and Phosphorus
Cause Calcium Loss?" American Institute of Nutrition,
1988:657-660
16. Steven R Smith, Lilian de Jonge, Jeffery J Zachwieja
et al, "Fat and carbohydrate balances during adaptation
to a high-fat diet". 1-3. Am J Clin Nutr 2000;71:450-
17. Wachman, A. and Bernstein, D.S. "Diet and osteoporosis".
Lancet 1968 1:958.18. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4582.
 |
Sam Torontour, B.Sc., C.S.C.S. is
an experienced personal trainer and certified strength
and conditioning specialist with over 15 years experience
as a fitness professional. With a Bachelor of Science
degree in Exercise Science and a minor in Biology
from Concordia University, he possesses a thorough
scientific understanding of the workings of the
human body, nutrition and exercise. |
| He is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning
Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning
Specialist (CSCS) and has expertise in a wide variety
of areas. His specialties include physique transformation,
athletic preparation, muscle balance and posture,
flexibility, nutrition and supplementation. He is
also an instructor of Muay Thai (an ancient martial
art developed in Thailand). He has worked with males
and females of all ages and from all walks of life,
including students, older adults, teens and professionals.
He is presently working at Gym L’Apogée
on St. Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, and also works
with clients at their homes. |
|
