New England Journal of Medicine Sites Low Carbs Advantage to Lose Weight
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In 1972, when Dr. Robert Atkins introduced his Atkins Diet to reduce weight, it was met with a great deal of skepticism and often derided as quackery. Dr. Atkins claimed there are two main unrecognized factors in the Western eating habits that caused obesity:
- In America, the consumption of refined carbohydrates, particularly sugar, flour, and high-fructose corn syrups was the primary cause of the weight gain. These are common household items such as Wonder bread, potatoes and pasta which are mainstays in the America diet.
- And that secondly, saturated fat, such as those found in beef and eggs, is overrated as the nutritional “bogeyman”. Atkins claims that only trans fats from sources such as hydrogenated oils need to be avoided (you can find these on the nutrition label under suspicious names such as “partially hydrogenated corn oil”). Consequently, Dr. Atkins rejected the advice of the USDA’s food pyramid, and to the contrary blamed the tremendous increase in refined carbohydrates, which is at the base of the pyramid, as being responsible for the rise in metabolic disorders of the 20th century. He further claims that the focus on the detrimental effects of dietary fat has actually contributed to the obesity problem by increasing the proportion of insulin-inducing foods, i.e. refined carbohydrates, in the American diet. While most of the emphasis in Atkins is on the diet, nutritional supplements and exercise are considered equally important elements.
According to a recent New England Journal of Medicine, recent report. Some of Dr. Atkins idea are not so far-fetched. The study was partly financed by the Atkins Research Foundation, but the foundation played no role in the study’s design or reporting of the results, said the lead author, Iris Shai of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. This study tracked 322 Israelis for two years, surprisingly found that a low-carb diet, often maligned as the diet that recommended eating large amounts of animal fat– was better than a low-fat diet in boosting blood levels of “good” cholesterol, or HDL, high-density lipoproteins associated with cardiovascular health benefits. It also determined that the Mediterranean diet, which includes wine, olive oil, whole grains and fruits, was better than the low-fat diet in controlling glucose levels.
Participants in the low-carb diet could eat as much as they liked while those doing the low-fat and Mediterranean diets were asked to restrict calories. 1,500 calories for the low fat diet and 1,800 per day for the Mediterranean diet.
Of the 322 individuals enrolled in the study, 84% completed it. Of those who completed the study, the average weight losses were:
- Low-fat diet group: 7.3 lbs.
- Mediterranean diet group: 10.1 lbs.
- Low-carb diet group: 12.1 lbs.
This study contributes to the body of evidence that suggests that lower carb and carb-controlled eating has distinct merit and generally has the capacity to out-perform low-fat diets in the fat reduction battle. (the added bonus is that in low carb diet a conscious restriction of food intake is not required!). The results of this study suggest that such a diet may be superior in terms of cardiovascular disease risk too.
In terms of effective weight loss, I’m definitely not seeing a down side to a low carb diet and in fact a lot of upside heart advantage to a low carb or a reduced carb diet! For exercises which help lose stomach fat check out Denise Austins book, Shrink Your Female Fat