High Protein Diets – Fads & Fiction:

One of the most popular versions of the fad diet today is the high-protein diet. I’m sure you all know somebody on a high-protein diet who’s lost 20 pounds in 30 days eating all the bacon, butter and bleu cheese dressing s/he wants. There’s just one hitch – something the authors of these diets won’t tell you about: If you’re trying to lose weight on a high-protein diet, you’re risking your health.

Wrong by Design: We are designed to run on carbohydrates. Glucose, one of the simplest, most basic carbohydrates, is our primary fuel. By our very design, the body needs carbohydrates to operate efficiently. Brain tissues, red blood cells and cells of the kidneys will ONLY use glucose as fuel.

Making yourself sick to lose weight: When you take the carbohydrates away, your body runs out of glucose and is forced to burn its secondary fuel – fat. When your cells burn fat instead of glucose, byproducts known as “ketones” are produced, creating a state called “ketosis,” which leads to a loss in appetite and significant water loss…and also to fatigue, nausea and low blood pressure. The severely carbohydrate-restricted diets simulate the metabolic state seen with serious illness. In short, they’re “make yourself sick” diets.

Staying sick forever: In order to remain in ketosis, you must severely restrict carbohydrates. More than 80 calories of carbohydrate (a half of a potato or a banana) could take you out of ketosis and cause you to become hungry again. In order to maintain weight loss from a high-protein diet, most people must remain in this state of sickness on a long-term basis.

Flirting with heart disease and cancer: Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets contain significant
amounts of the very foods the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association tell us






contribute to our most common diseases. A 1980 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association that tracked the effect of the diet described in Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution showed a significant increase in the amount of LDL “bad” cholesterol among participants, and in women a significant decrease in the amount of HDL “good” cholesterol, suggesting an increased risk of heart attacks.1 There was also a significant increase in free fatty acids, which may increase the chance of developing heart beat irregularities.2

Washing your bones into the toilet: Osteoporosis and kidney stones are caused primarily by a diet rich in animal foods. A high-protein diet provides an abundance of acid that must be neutralized. The body uses its bones as a buffering system. This causes bone loss, which leads to osteoporosis.3 During its passage through the ureters, this bone material can solidify into kidney stones.4

Sharp as a tack? Not anymore!: Another immediate effect you may notice on a high-protein diet is reduced mental capacity. A recent study shows that mental functioning is impaired by ketosis.5

Another side effect -- Constipation: If you do choose to try a high-protein diet, make sure you have plenty of laxatives on hand. High-protein diets cause constipation because they are composed chiefly of foods (meat, fish and cheese) that are completely free of dietary fiber. Low-fiber diets are also believed to cause varicose veins, hemorrhoids and hiatal hernia.

Draining your body of its most important element: Carbohydrate-deficient diets cause dehydration. In fact, this is the main reason that the initial weight loss for people on these diets is so rapid.

Break out the breath mints: Keith Ayoob, professor of nutrition at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in






New York City, warns about the bad breath caused by the high-protein diets. This unpleasant side effect is caused by the ketones produced when your body is forced to burn fat. Although halitosis isn’t physically damaging to you, it could seriously damage your social or business life.

The truth: Complex carbohydrates are the secret to health AND weight loss: A low-fat diet based on complex carbohydrates with the addition of fruits and vegetables will cause effortless, permanent weight loss without hunger, while promoting good health. You can eat delicious dishes, such as minestrone soup, chili, and bean burritos. You won’t ever have to make yourself sick again with fried cheese cubes wrapped in bacon. And it’s a program you can stick to – for the rest of your new, healthy, and long vital life!