Are you eating a low-carb, high-fat fad diet like Adkins or Paleo in order to lose weight? Do you have a family history of diabetes or have you been told you have prediabetes? If so, then you really need to read this.
Low-carb diets like the Paleo or Adkins diet are still really popular. Many people lose weight following them, but others dont. Furthermore, for those with prediabetes these low-carb, high-fat diets dont reduce the risk of advancing from prediabetes to diabetes.
A 2016 study reported in Nutrition and Diabetes magazine found that New Zealand Obese mice with prediabetes fed a low-carb, high-fat diet gained weight, and did not see an improved function of their insulin-producing pancreas. The mice were fed a low-carb diet consisting of 13% protein, 6% carbs and 81% fat, with over half of the fat calories coming from saturated fat. Even thoughtheir triglycerides and HDL(the good cholesterol) improved, they gained weight and their was no improvement to the health of their pancreas. In other words, they got fatter and their prediabetes did not improve.
Researchers believethat a low-carb, high-fat dietcauses an accumulation of fat in the liver causing the liver to keep making glucose. In healthy people, higher insulin blood levels halt the production of glucose in the liver. This normal process goes awrywhen someone with prediabetes eats a low-carb, high-fat diet. Keep in mind, the CDC reports that more than 1 out of 3 adults in the U.S. have prediabetes.
The diet used in the low-carb, high-fat diet study consisted of a very high fat diet over 3/4 of the calories were coming from fat and half of those were from the heart-clogging saturated kind. I wonder what the results would have been if the diet had consisted of slightly less fat and the heart-healthy unsaturated kind the mono- and polyunsaturated fats.Would there have been weight loss and improved pancreatic function?
From Adkins.com
The Adkins and Paleo diet depending on what you choose to eat could have you consuming a diet low in carbs but really high in fat the saturated kind if you are not careful. There are a few differences in the two diets. The Paleo diet forbids dairy, meaning cheese, yogurt, and milk and encourages only grass-fed meat.
From the Paleodiet.com
It also emphasizes heart-healthy fats mainly from fish, seeds, oils like olive and flax seed, and avocado. The Adkins diet does not discern between saturated fat and healthy fats. It also allows cheese and only full fat dairy after phase 1. Both diets encourage lots of non-starchy veggies, but the Paleo diet allows fruit from the start and expects that 35-45% of your calories come from non-starchy fruits and veggies.
You have to usesome common sense when it comes to dietary choices.Why not use some of the dietary tips from the Omniheart study that protectsheart health while still eating a lower carb diet? Here are some other tidbits:
Fad diets like Adkins and Paleo may seem like a prescription to a lovely destination, but are you losing weight? And if you reached your goal are you going to keep maintaining on that diet? You most likelystill have to learn how to keep old habits at bay. Find a path to health that is sustainable. NutritionAction.com, a nonprofit group that has consumers interests at heart (they are the ones that got trans-fats listed on food labels), has a wonderful guide that will help you lose weight in a sensible way and keep your heart healthy.
Read the original:
And you think Adkins and Paleo diets always work? - Bangor Daily News (blog)
