Proponents of low-carb weight-loss diets, such as the late Dr. Robert Atkins who popularized low-carb diets, hold that you can lose weight without restricting calories, fat or protein. The only requirement is that you restrict carbohydrates. Proponents of high-carb diets, including the United States Department of Agriculture, recommend upping your intake of carbohydrates while cutting fat. Scientific studies of the two diets show that people can lose weight on either diet. As Mayo Clinic points outs, however, if your calorie intake is greater than calories burned, you will gain weight on either diet. When the diets work, they work by making you eat less.
The Atkins Diet
The most popular low-carb weight-loss diets officially allow unlimited fat and protein, including vegetable oils, fish, meats, eggs, tofu and unsweetened or artificially sweetened dairy products. According to Atkins, the only no-no on a low-carb diet is foods high in carbohydrates, such as bread, pizza, potatoes, corn, burger buns, deep-fried breaded foods, french fries, candy, sugar-sweetened foods and significant amounts of fruit and vegetables. Substitutes for these high-carbohydrate foods are permissible, for example, bread sticks made of soya powder or garlic toasts crisps made of soy flour.
A Common Point of View Regarding Low-Carb Diets
According to most proponents of low-carb diets, low-carb diets work as weight-loss diets because they force the brain to switch from one kind of metabolism to a different kind of metabolism. There only are two kinds of fuel the brain can use: glucose and ketone bodies. Carbohydrates are the main source of glucose. Ketone bodies are a byproduct created by the liver when it breaks down fat. When the brain does not get enough glucose, it turns to ketone bodies as a source of energy. But to get these ketone bodies, the body must burn fat. So, when you restrict carbohydrates, your body is forced to burn fat.
The Official Statement of the AMA
According to the official statement of the American Medical Association, however, protein and fat can also be converted into glucose. The liver converts fat into fatty acids and glycerol, and glycerol can be converted into glucose. So, consuming unlimited fat and protein can make you gain weight. The members of the AMA admit that low-carb diets work but they state that they work because fats and proteins are more filling than carbohydrates and low-carb diets make it harder to think of permissible foods to eat. As a result, people on low-carb diets will eat fewer calories, and this will make them lose weight.
High-Carb Diets
A high-carb diet allows people to eat what they usually eat as long as they cut fat and keep the intake of carbohydrates high. In one study of the diet published in the January 2004 issue of "Archives of Internal Medicine," 34 participants following a high-carb diet lost about 7 lbs. without cutting calories and without exercising. However, Gary Foster from the University of Pennsylvania's Weight and Eating Disorders Program wrote that he suspects that the diet worked because the participants ate less calories than they reported. He states that it has still to be proven that you can lose weight without cutting calories. However, as suggested by Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jim Levine, it is also possible that high amounts of carbohydrates can give you extra energy resulting in more total daily movements that usually are not counted as exercise.
References
- Atkins: Thoughtful Approach, Powerful Science
- American Medical Association: A Critique of Low-Carbohydrate Ketogenic Weight Reduction Regimens: A Review of Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution
- Mayo Clinic: Low-Carbohydrate Diets: Are They Safe and Effective?
- CBS News: Anti-Atkins, High-Carb Diet Tested
- Better Health: Mayo Clinic's Dr. Jim Levine on How "NEAT" Good Health Can Be
- United States Department of Agriculture: Food and Nutrition Information Center
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