Article: The TRUTH About Low Carb Diets by Keith Klein

Any opinions about whether or not what this guy has to say as being true
as well as the whole story?


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From:
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/ar...diet-truth.htm
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The TRUTH About Low Carb Diets
by Keith Klein
TaeBo Select Malibu Naturals Nutritionist
www.ineedcarblo.com



If you've started a higher-fat, lower-carbohydrate diet
then there are a few things you should know:
Why Low Carbohydrate Diets Don't Produce Long-Term
Results.

Enough about the Atkins diet, let's talk about
low-carbohydrate diets in general. Boy, am I frustrated.
If I had a dime for every time a person asked me about
the new "high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet," I'd be a
millionaire.

It's frustrating because it's like a used car salesman
that's willing to sell you a lemon by highlighting the
up-side of a car, but forgets about letting you in on
the down-side. In the case of the low-carbohydrate diet,
the down-side outweighs the up-side by a huge margin.
A problem that adds to the confusion is the simple fact
that cutting back on carbohydrates works, at least for a
quick drop in body fat and body water. The piece of the
puzzle missing for most dieters is the long-term effects
on the body due to such a drastic reduction in
carbohydrates.

In case you haven't heard the latest scoop on the
high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, let me fill you in on
the concept.

This diet was very popular during the 70s and was
popularized by Dr. Atkins. Like many diets of the past,
this one gained a lot of press. After a couple of years
of popularity Dr. Atkins' dieting approach fell by the
wayside for several reasons.

Unfortunately, the low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet is
back, and seems to be gaining in popularity once again.
Currently, Dr. Sears' book The Zone and another called
Protein Power have revitalized the Atkins' diet.
The concept is that a person should eat more protein,
more fat and very little carbohydrate as the day wears
on. Because the dieter is eating more fat, they tend to
feel full longer, and this helps the person exert more
control over hunger.

In the past, people were allowed to eat as much red meat
as desired, but had to keep their carbohydrate intake as
low as possible. This combination of foods causes a
chemical reaction, thereby causing the person to burn
body fat at an accelerated rate.

It's called a ketogenic diet. The low intake of
carbohydrate, coupled with a high-fat diet and exercise
causes the production of ketones. Ketones are the
chemical residue of broken-down fats in the blood.
To be more specific, if insufficient carbohydrates
exist, the body begins to mobilize fat to a greater
extent than it can use.

The result, both at rest and after exercise, is
incomplete fat metabolism and the accumulation of acid
by-products called ketone bodies. This situation can
lead to a harmful increase in the acidity of the body
fluids, a condition called acidosis or ketosis.
The ketogenic diet was conceived in the 20s by doctors
in France and the United States. They discovered that
prolonged starvation promotes ketosis as the body uses
its fat reserves. So, they devised a way to mimic the
chemistry of starvation through diet.
The current diet revolution is nothing new, it's just an
adaptation of these old concepts. The problem is, most
people get their information from uninformed sources
which fail to understand the scope of their
recommendations.


Low Carbohydrate Diet - What You Need To Know
If you've started a higher-fat, lower-carbohydrate diet
then there are a few things you should know:

1) By reducing carbohydrates you will see a drop of body
weight and body fat. However, if you drop them too low
while exercising, you could alter your body's T3 levels.
T3 is an active thyroid molecule that helps regulate
your metabolic rate. Diets low in carbohydrate tend to
cause a reduction of T3, which in turn can slow down
your metabolic rate. This is particularly true for
people who under-eat and over-exercise.

2) A lot of the weight you drop while on a
low-carbohydrate diet is water weight. For every gram of
carbohydrate you ingest, about three to five grams of
water usually accompany it. By decreasing your
carbohydrate intake you naturally drop body water.
Although this may sound like a good idea, when you
resume eating carbohydrates you may find that your body
rebounds and retains excess water. The water retention
will dissipate after several days, but it wreaks havoc
on the dieter's mental state.

3) During the 70s, clinicians began noticing that people
that followed the Atkins' diet regained their weight
very rapidly once they ceased the diet. In fact, they
found the longer a person had been on the
low-carbohydrate diet, the more carbohydrate sensitive
they became.
Further, when this diet was combined with exercise it
caused people to become even more carbohydrate
sensitive. This could be the devastating pitfall,
because once the low-carbohydrate diet has ended, and
the person tries to resume eating carbohydrates, his
body tends to horde and store the carbohydrates as
opposed to using them for energy.
The person notices a fast accumulation of body water
that's followed by an abnormally fast body fat gain.
Although the water weight will eventually drop off, the
person notices that he gains body fat very easily, but
loses it more slowly in the future.


4) Carbohydrates provide a "protein sparing" effect.
Under normal circumstances protein serves a vital role
in the maintenance, repair, and growth of body tissues.
When carbohydrate reserves are reduced the body will
convert protein into glucose for energy.
This process is called gluconeogenesis. The price that's
paid is a reduction in the body's protein stores. In
other words muscle! All, in turn, causes the metabolic
rate to slow down as well.


5) There's another problem that eating too little
carbohydrate creates. Your muscle fullness depends to a
large extent on your carbohydrate intake. Low
carbohydrate levels tend to make muscles lose their
density and flatten out.
Carbohydrates are a great source of fuel, so not eating
enough can lower your energy level and make your muscles
feel softer.


6) These diets focus on the relationship between
carbohydrates and insulin (a hormone that shuttles fuel
into fat). However, their suggestion that insulin exerts
negative effects is not only misleading, it's downright
flawed.
Insulin does play a role in fat storage, but it also
causes glucose to be shuttled into muscle cells as well.
Our diets should keep blood levels of insulin as stable
as possible, not try to suppress its release.


7) On the flip side, you'd have to be totally
out-of-the-loop if you haven't heard that more fat
increases your risk of heart disease, cancer, and
obesity. Naturally, everyone wants to hear that they can
eat fats and lose weight. I guess if you want to look
good in your coffin, then it's okay with me.
I've always disagreed with the American Dietetic
Association and the idea that 30 percent fat is healthy.
I believe that a diet of 20 percent or less fat poses a
substantial health benefit as well as a reduced risk of
obesity.


It amazes me that this diet is back. Are people's
memories really that short that they can't remember the
reason that the Atkins' diet vanished the first time?
Consider what bodybuilders learned years ago. During the
70s and early 80s, every major bodybuilding competitor
dieted on a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, yet most of
them ended up very smooth and not very well defined.
The bodybuilders of the late 80s and 90s have improved
dramatically. By having a diet high in protein, low fat,
and moderate in carbohydrates, some of the best
physiques ever have been produced.


Some confusion about carbohydrates could stem from the
fact that people see and hear bits and pieces of
information from gym buddies and accept the information
as fact.


While it is true that as a contest nears bodybuilders
decrease their carbohydrates, that doesn't mean that
cutting back excessively yields better results.
Over the years I have found that by removing the starch
at the final meal during the last three to four weeks
before a show, bodybuilders tend to get very tight and
more defined. And for others, a biased article designed
to sell books placed prominently in a major magazine
could be all it takes to attract everyone's attention.
When you hear people talking about a "new" diet
approach, stop and ask yourself does it follow healthy
guidelines? Does the diet call for measures that you
cannot do for life? If so, don't even try it.

If you are serious about transforming your body to its
ultimate potential, get the Muscle Building Nutrition by
Will Brink with great reviews from top pro athletes like
Lee Labrada, Charles Poliquin, and more.


About the author
For 18 years Keith Klein has been one of America's
leading nutritionists. His books include Weight Control
For Young America, Lean For Life, Get Lean, The Healthy
Chef, and Kidtrition Cafe. His columns run in Fitness
Express, Health and Fitness, and many other
publications.

Keith hosted a nationally syndicated 2-hour radio
program GetFit, for three years on Prime Sports Network.
Keith's popular television show, Smart Bodies, aired
weekday mornings on TPN for several years. He currently
hosts the Keith Klein Nutrition Hour and is director of
The Institute of Eating Management, where he acts as
personal nutritionist to many of America's top athletes,
models, and dancers, including Mary Lou Retton, Kim
Zmeskal, Ricky Sanders (Washington Redskins); golf pros
Greg Chapman and Kelly Knehne; Lee Labrada (Mr. America
& Mr. Universe), Carla Dunlap (Ms. Olympia), Victoria
Gay ("Jazz" of the American Gladiators), Betsy Bates
(Ms. America), Tatianna Anderson (Ms. Fitness USA),
Deanna Clark.