Low-Carb High-Protein (continuation)

 What actually happens and what they don’t tell you about LCHP diets.

Although LCHP diets may lead to fast weight loss in the short term, the majority of this weight loss comes from loss of water and muscle tissue, not fat which is what you need to lose to keep the weight off. If you're trying to lose weight permanently, losing precious lean muscle tissue is like sabotaging your own body. Muscle tissue is metabolically active, and burns calories even when you are at rest.

A decrease in the amount of muscle tissue you have will lead to a decrease in the number of calories you need each day to maintain your weight, making it much harder to keep your weight under control when you stop following the low-carb diet.

Water loss occurs because when the body is starved of carbs it takes energy from its glycogen stores and each gram of glycogen has 4 grams of water attached. So although weight loss looks good, much of it is water and as soon as carb intake returns to normal, much of this 'water-weight' is regained.

LCHP diets can bring about changes in a dieter's fat cells causing these fat cells to accumulate even more fat when the person comes off the diet. There is a distinct possibility they will cause mood changes like tension and irritability, which may result in cravings for high carb foods and fatty snacks.

So why are high protein low-carb high-protein diets bad for your health?

Ooh where to start......

Let’s kick off with ketosis.

If you have chosen  some form of extreme low-carb diet and are now severely restricting your carbohydrate intake so that it is a mere shadow of what should be consumed as part of a healthy diet, you are placing your health at great risk.

The aim of low-carbohydrate diets is to force the body to use fat as its main energy source, when this occurs a person produces 'ketone bodies' to fuel parts of the body that cannot use fat as an energy source - the brain, and red blood cells, in particular.

(Note: Ketones are basically little carbon fragments resulting from the breakdown of fat stores.)

When you force your body to change its metabolic rate; the body will go into a metabolic state called ketosis.

Under normal circumstances your body burns carbohydrates; they are the go-go juice for your brain, heart and other organs that you like to use on a regular basis. Now that you have made your body burn fat instead, you have robbed it of its usual fuel. 

Your body burns fat instead of glucose for energy. Whilst burning fat may sound wonderful, ketosis can cause severe health problems. Ketones can cause organs to fail and result in gout, kidney stones, or kidney failure.

Ketones can also dull a person's appetite, cause nausea and bad breath. Ketosis can be prevented by eating at least 100 grams of carbohydrates a day.

Did I mention that another side-effect of ketosis is bad breath?

Consuming too much protein can also put a strain on the kidneys, which again, can make a person susceptible to kidney disease.

High-protein diets have also been shown to cause people to excrete more calcium than normal through their urine. Over a prolonged period of time, this can increase a person's risk of osteoporosis and kidney stones.

They also pressurize the kidneys as they try to eliminate large amounts of urea, a by-product of protein metabolism.

LCHP (consisting of red meat, whole dairy products, and other high fat foods) tend to encourage over-consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, which in turn leads to increased risk of heart disease, strokes and some cancers.

 And there’s more!

Low-carb diets are also likely to encourage yo-yo dieting, cycles of losing and regaining weight, which has been shown to be a health risk.

Not only that but they go against all the current healthy eating principles and are deficient in many vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and dietary fibre, as they restrict the intake of fruit and vegetables.

Essential vitamins and nutrients come from a balanced diet and low carbohydrate diets are certainly not balanced. You can only get many essential nutrients from fruit, vegetables and grains.

 You NEED Carbohydrates

Carbohydrate is a nutrient group which is readily converted to energy - by minimizing carbohydrate consumption, high protein diets can quickly lead to tiredness and fatigue.

Carbohydrates are brain food and a shortage of carbohydrate can cause loss of concentration and a slow reactions.

 Don’t overdose on protein

It’s important to obtain your protein from a diet rich in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Not only are your needs for protein being met, but you are also helping to reduce your risk of developing cancer.

 If you are still insistent on trying a LCHP diet

Then find a type of low-carb diet that provides a reasonable amount of 'healthy' carbohydrate and a moderate amount of healthy unsaturated fat.

 Before you do, consider this:

Higher carb diets tend to raise the level of serotonin - the feel good brain hormone - thereby improving mood and appetite.

A recent study, reported in Obesity journal, followed a number of obese women with a long history of yo-yo dieting. Some followed a higher-carb diet and some a high-protein diet. Both diets consisted of 1400 calories per day.

The higher-carb dieters had fewer cravings and better overall moods than those on the high-protein diet.

They also lost significantly more weight than those on the high-protein diet plan! 

 And if that didn’t convince you

Low-carb high-protein diets violate several dietary and nutritional guidelines of the US Government and the American Heart Association. In addition, the dietary guidelines laid down by the World Cancer Research Fund contradict many of the recommendations in many LCHP diets, with the exception of those concerning refined sugar.