I was hoping to avoid this subject, in hopes that the frenzy would soon pass, but alas, here I sit at my computer with the inevitable article about low carbohydrate diets. Like a bad hair day, it just keeps coming back, no matter what is done to avoid it.
Before looking at the current versions, a peek at the origin of this diet is in order. Back in the 1970’s when John Travolta was struttin’ his stuff, the biggest names in diet books were Atkins and Scarsdale. The philosophy was that carbohydrate-rich foods are the true culprits in the battle of the bulge, not protein and fat. Eat all the eggs, meat and cheese you want but shun the side of toast, pasta and potatoes. Remember the diet-plate special of a hamburger patty, cottage cheese and canned peaches? As the story goes, if you cut the carbs to 20 grams (the amount in less than two pieces of bread) a day, you will burn off your stored fat.
The theory is that if you reduce your carbohydrate intake to almost nil, your blood sugar levels will go down. This in turn will allow your pancreas to turn down the rpm’s for producing insulin, so your body will have to use its fat reserves for energy. Did you follow that? Neither did I. I somehow always get stuck on how a pancreatic vacation tells your body fat to get moving. Anyway, testimonials of people magically losing 50, 85 and more pounds abound. But like all magic, once you know the trick, the magic is gone. What really happens is that cutting the carbs reduces your calorie intake. In addition, carbohydrate is stored in the muscles in the form of glycogen, which is bound with water. Eliminate the carbs in your diet and voila, the glycogen breaks down taking the water with it, giving you that initial rapid weight loss. Also, by going on a high-protein diet, you may feel a little sick to your stomach, so you lose your appetite and eat less. Some magic.
Then the backlash hit; the scientific community blasted Atkins for putting strains on dieters’ livers and kidneys from all the extra protein, not to mention the lack of B vitamins, calcium, potassium and fiber and other nutrients typically found in fruits, vegetables and grains. Lastly, the rise in heart disease in the U.S. did not jive well with a diet high in protein and therefore fat and cholesterol. So Atkins quietly faded into the sunset, carbohydrates were embraced, and fad became the bad guy. Remember all those fat-free products? Names like Pritikin, and Susan Powter (Stop the Insanity!) gave birth to frozen yogurt and Entemanns fat-free pastries. Unfortunately, the “carbs are good” message went too far, because people were almost inhaling these treats with the false impression that fat-free must also mean calorie free. Whoops.
So once again, carbs are the bad guys and not only is Dr. Atkins back on his soapbox, but riding on his coattails you’ll find the Zone, Carbohydrate Addicts and Sugar Busters, to name but a few. The theories of why they work have become a little more interesting, in terms like eicosanoids and ketones to make the theories sound more scientific. My favorite rationale of why we should eat this way is that our ancestors ate a high meat diet so therefore it’s what we should be eating. Sure, they probably gorged themselves on meat after a successful hunt because they had no way of preserving it, but you can bet the majority of the time they were eating carbohydrates in the form of nuts, seeds and other plant foods.
Mark my words, the rage of low carbohydrate diets will fade, only to return again in another twenty years or so years. In the meantime, there’s always the Food Pyramid, as unsexy and unprofitable as it is, it’s what works in the long run. I’ll even bet my brown rice on it.
Sharon Bortz, M.S., R.D. is a nutritionist formerly with the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention and Tufts University.
All content, images & text © Copyright 1997 - 2007
Fifty-Plus Lifelong Fitness
658 Bair Island Rd Suite 200
Redwood City, CA 94063
A 501 (c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation