The diets claim that you can lose weight quickly with no effort. They are supposedly the diet that can work miracles. What's not to love? Are we gonna rush out and buy that book?
They DO NOT work long term. There are numerous studies that back this up - that's why! Yes, just like with any diet, you will lose weight in the short term, but with a lowcarb high protein diet you will risk damaging your health and then the pounds will pile right back on as soon as you go back to eating normally.
Here are some of the unpleasant side effects many suffer from on these diet programs
1.High protein diets force people to enter a state of ketosis (burning ketones) which means they are excreting acetone in their urine and breath. This causes very bad breath.
2.Dizziness because your energy source is nonexistent.
3. Ketosis can cause nausea.
4. Many dieters report severe headaches caused by ketosis.
5. High risk of kidney stones because of an increased "acid load" in the kidneys caused by ketosis.
6. Constant cravings for sweets.
7. Exhaustion, because you are not consuming enough carbohydrates, which your body uses for energy. Which means that you won't have enough stamina to exercise, which means you are not building muscle or aerobic capacity.
8. Dieters also report gaining all of their weight back! At a presentation of the Endocrine Society's national meeting, a study revealed that after two years, only five percent of dieters kept all of their weight off. But don't despair! You don't need to be on one of these diets, there are alternatives, and they are healthier and more efficient for long term weight loss.
These are a few of the more imperative reasons to stay away from a low carb diet if your goal is to lose weight. Contrary to popular belief usually people need to eat more often and the right foods to lose weight. You might want to re-evaluate your weight loss method if you find yourself eating less and less but gaining more and more weight.
Losing Weight Low Carb
Most cases of PCOS are not genetic, but they are all related to hormonal abnormalities. The reason not enough eggs are produced is because of an excess of the androgen, or 'male' hormones. Both men and women have androgen hormones, but men have them in much greater quantities. This hormonal imbalance means that the cysts that are a normal part of producing eggs, do not grow. So a woman with PCOS has a lot of small cysts on her ovaries that do not mature to release their eggs. Normally, once this process happened, the cysts would go.
Another consequence of the higher levels of androgen hormones is the increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, as well as a likelihood of having more facial hair.
Interestingly, low carb diets such as the zone diet may help overweight women with PCOS. A recent study of 11 non diabetic, overweight women with PCOS who had an average age of 33 was conducted. The study compared a 'standard' diet with 56% carbohydrates and 16% protein, with a lower carb diet of 43% carbohydrate and 15% protein. The fat component of the lower carb diet was a lot higher than the standard diet, by 14%. This is higher than it would be in the Zone diet. The fat content of the low carb diet was almost evenly split between polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids. The fat content of the standard diet was almost evenly split between the two types of fatty acids, but was slightly higher (by 3%) in the monounsaturated variety.
A third diet, one high in both carbohydrates and monounsaturated fatty acids, was also compared. The study participants only followed each diet for 16 days. They had a 3 week break between each diet, and tried all 3.
Because production of the androgen hormones are influenced by the presence of insulin, the researchers were interested in finding out whether a low carb diet could reduce the amount of insulin circulating in the body. They believed this would have an indirectly positive effect on PCOS.
The results of this study found that whilst hormones that were circulating weren't significantly affected by the lower carb diet, the women's cholesterol, fasting insulin levels, free fatty acids, and their response to insulin were positively affected. The fact that their response to insulin improved is an indicator of the possible benefit of a low carb diet to PCOS sufferers. And because the women only followed the diet for 16 days, this may be why their levels of circulating insulin were not more prominently affected.
The authors of the study state that: ?Because elevated insulin is thought to contribute to the endocrine abnormalities in PCOS, a reduction in insulin would be expected to ultimately result in an improved endocrine profile."
They go on to say that these improvements indicate that using a low carb type diet, with a lower calorie intake, would probably benefit overweight women who suffer from PCOS.
Not all low carb diets are created equal however. The Atkins diet has been associated with an increased risk of heart problems for some, as well as being implicated in the hospitalization of others.
A 40 year old woman was hospitalized with very high levels of acids in her blood as a result of following the Atkins diet strictly for about a month. The release of acids in the blood, called ketosis, is an indicator of the 'success' of the Atkins diet, and is actually a result of the process of starving the body of certain nutrients beyond a threshold level. The nutrient being, of course, carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are a source of energy for the body, the only source used by the brain. But when the body is deprived of carbohydrates after the threshold level, it will use alternate methods of metabolizing energy. It uses stored fats and protein, but this is not a very biologically efficient way of producing energy for the body. So, there are a lot of acidic metabolic by products, called ketones. These are released into the bloodstream, to be excreted by the body.
In the case of this woman, these metabolic by products weren't excreted fast enough and built up in her bloodstream. She was vomiting 4 to 6 times a day. This build up of blood acids represented a dangerous situation and she was admitted to intensive care.
The Atkins Foundation responded that this woman must have had abnormal metabolic or clinical issues. But given that this woman, who was obese, is in a category at which the Atkins diet is marketed, there is a real cause for concern here. With obesity, there is a greater likelihood for both general medical problems, and metabolic problems. If an obese person did not have metabolic problems of one form or another, they would not be obese. Perhaps there were circumstances that were particular to this woman here, but until those potential dangers are understood more fully, this is a significant issue. It's ironic that a diet should be implied as not being suitable for anyone with metabolic issues, particularly if this diet is marketed as a 'way of life' - that is, recommended for long term use.
Both Phil Hixon & Rebecca Prescott are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Phil Hixon has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, Fat Loss and Food and Drink. Want to be 30lbs lighter next month? See success stories and before and after pictures and how they did it at DO NOT DO Cabbage Soup Diet. Phil Hixon's top article generates over 22200 views. Bookmark Phil Hixon to your Favourites.
Rebecca Prescott has sinced written about articles on various topics from Pets, Yoga Practice and Woman Menopause. The Zone Diet does not induce ketosis, nor does it lower the carbohydrate intake below minimum recommended levels. So, even though it is associated wi. Rebecca Prescott's top article generates over 22200 views. Bookmark Rebecca Prescott to your Favourites.
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