Low-carb diets can be effective weight-loss diets. As MayoClinic.com points out, what makes them effective is not all that different from what makes other diets effective. All successful weight-loss diets work either because you actively adjust your intake of calories relative to how many calories your body needs or because the foods you are allowed to eat on the diet change your appetite.
Low-Carb Diets
Low-carb diets restrict your intake of foods high in carbohydrates, including sugar-sweetened foods, fruit, starchy vegetables and bread. Some low-carb diets, such as Atkins Diet, do not require that you restrict the amount of food you eat or that you count the calories you consume as long as you keep your carbohydrate intake below certain specified amounts. Other low-carb diets, such as the South Beach Diet, prohibit the consumption of sugar and processed carbohydrates but allow normal amounts of complex carbohydrates, including brown rice and whole-grain bread and pasta.
Weight Loss Despite Unlimited Fat and Protein
A study published in the March 2005 issue of "Annals of Internal Medicine" showed that most people lose weight on low-carb diets that allow unlimited consumption of fat and protein because they don't actually consume unlimited fat and protein, reports ScienceDaily. In the study, which was the first to be conducted in a controlled clinical setting, 10 obese Type 2 diabetics consumed what they normally would during one week and then followed the Atkins Diet for two weeks. As soon as the researchers reduced their intake of carbohydrates, the participants spontaneously consumed fewer calories. They were allowed to eat unlimited fat and protein but none of them did. The researchers speculate that the patients spontaneously reduced their calorie intake because foods high protein and fat keep the blood sugar more stable than foods high in carbohydrates. This, in turn, may prevent hunger pangs.
Weight Loss and Type 2 Diabetes
A larger study presented at the Endocrine Society's 2010 Annual Meeting in San Diego, reports ScienceDaily, compared a low-carb diet to a low-fat diet in 45 female participants with Type 2 diabetes over 12 weeks. The participants on the low-carb diet lost 19.6 lbs., whereas the participants on the low-fat diet lost 16.2 lbs., on average. The researchers believe that the fact that the participants had Type 2 diabetes may partially explain the difference in weight loss. Because Type 2 diabetics are resistant to insulin, they do not process glucose normally. This may have negative effects on metabolism. By cutting carbohydrates, the more stable glucose levels apparently counteracted the metabolism deficiencies.
Weight Loss in Normal Individuals
While low-carb diets are particularly effective for weight-loss purposes in people with insulin-resistance, they may also give rise to quicker weight loss than low-fat diets in people who are not resistant. ScienceDaily reports on study conducted by University of Alabama nutritionist Barbara Gower and her colleagues in 2009 that showed that people on a diet moderately low in carbohydrates feel full longer than people on low-fat diets, even when the consumption of protein and calories is the same. The researchers speculated that the feeling of fullness will make it easier for people to stick to the diet, which will ensure better weight loss results in the long run.
References
- MayoClinic.com; South Beach Diet; Apr. 18, 2009
- American Heart Association: High-Protein Diets
- MayoClinic.com; Atkins Diet: What's Behind the Claims?; Jul. 16, 2009
- Science Daily; Study of Obese Diabetics Explains Why Low-Carb Diets Produce Fast Results; Apr. 8, 2005
- Science Daily; Cutting Carbs Is More Effective Than Low-Fat Diet for Insulin-Resistant Women, Study Finds; Jun. 21, 2010
- Science Daily; Moderately Reduced Carbohydrate Diet Keeps People Feeling Full Longer; Jun. 12, 2009
Member Comments