Your body is supposed to be trim, lean, and full of energy all day, every day. You are supposed to wake up refreshed after a good night's sleep, without pain or disease. Your food is supposed to be like jet fuel for a high performance race car. Now what do you do if some or all of this is not true for you?
The debate about what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat rages on, loaded with so much misinformation, fantasy, and downright lies that you, the consumer, has almost no chance to find out what is best for you. However, scientists continue to publish research on how to eat right for losing weight, being energetic, and staying healthy. If your doctor, nutritionist, trainer, or other health advisor isn't aware of the science behind how to eat right, then this article will help you discover for yourself how to get slim, increase your lean body mass, and get your body back to optimum performance.
A major health bonus for following recommendations based on the scientific research summarized here is that you will also help yourself to avoid the number one killer of modern times: cardiovascular disease. Wouldn't that be a great bonus for just eating right? The question is: What is right?
Latest Research on the Atkins Diet
Source: New England Journal of Medicine, 2008 (Volume 359, pp. 229-241: "Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet")
Summary: This study compared three diets: 1) Atkins (low carb), 2) Mediterranean, and 3) low fat. Main results after 2 years were:
Atkins diet: average weight loss, 12.1 pounds; with greatest reduction in ratio of total cholesterol to HDL
Mediterranean diet: average weight loss, 10.1 pounds; with most favorable changes in fasting glucose and insulin levels among diabetics
Low fat diet: average weight loss, 7.3 pounds; with smallest reduction in ratio of total cholesterol to HDL
Conclusions: Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets. The more favorable effects on lipids (with the low-carbohydrate diet) and on glycemic control (with the Mediterranean diet) suggest that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions.
Comment: This is the most recent research to vindicate the diet made famous by Dr. Robert Atkins more than 30 years ago. The bottom line is that carbohydrates, meaning refined sugars and flour, are the main dietary culprit behind getting fat and unhealthy. Although the results may seem mild and the conclusions timid, this is another study that confirms what scientists have known about dietary carbohydrates since before the turn of the 20th century.
Benefits of High-Protein Weight Loss Diets
Source: Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity, 2008 (Volume 15, pp. 416-421: "Benefits of high-protein weight loss diets: enough evidence for practice?")
Summary: This is a review of several articles based on well-designed clinical trials. The most consistent results from all of these studies is that protein is the key dietary component for energy and for fullness leading to proper weight control. The most important effects of high-protein diets are for weight loss protein diets on weight loss, preservation of lean body mass, and improvement in several cardiovascular risk factors for up to 12 months. (Studies generally do not go longer than 12 months.)
Comment: When several well-designed studies come to the same conclusions, the best dietary strategy becomes clear.
How to Put Weight Loss Science into Your Life
The take-home lesson is that eating more protein, regardless of whether it is from animal or plant sources, is the foundation for maintaining proper lean body mass. The bonus benefit of a high protein diet comes in reducing cardiovascular disease risk. Overall, protein is turning out to be the key missing ingredient in the average diet of an increasingly obese population.
Dr. Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
http://www.protein-weight-loss.com
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