Harvard Study Supports Low-Carb Dieting
It used to be thought that A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It doesn't matter whether they come from bacon or mashed potatoes; they all go on the waistline in just the same way, but Dr. Atkins may have been right. A rigidly controlled study from Harvard has found strong evidence that people on low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets don't gain weight the same way that people eating high-carb diets do.
A small but carefully controlled study offers a strong hint that maybe Atkins was right: People on low-carb, high-fat diets actually can eat more.The study, directed by Penelope Greene of the Harvard School of Public Health and presented at a meeting here this week of the American Association for the Study of Obesity, found that people eating an extra 300 calories a day on a very low-carb regimen lost just as much during a 12-week study as those on a standard lowfat diet.
Over the course of the study, they consumed an extra 25,000 calories. That should have added up to about seven pounds. But for some reason, it did not.
"There does indeed seem to be something about a low-carb diet that says you can eat more calories and lose a similar amount of weight," Greene said.
That strikes at one of the most revered beliefs in nutrition: A calorie is a calorie is a calorie. It does not matter whether they come from bacon or mashed potatoes; they all go on the waistline in just the same way.
Over on Eschaton, the conversation on this piece continues: http://tinyurl.com/vo61
Highlights:
The view emerging today seems to be that it is the speed with which calories can be extracted from food that makes a difference. What you want is a nice slow burn. Calories from highly processed foods are like flash paper - they enter your system quickly, get things all fired up with a big boost of insulin, leave you feeling even more hungry in a shorter period of time, and contribute to weight gain. -- Professor Plum
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"modifying the Atkins plan" seems to be key here, since the study you've linked to, Atrios, is *not* about the Atkins diet, as this Newsday version
(http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hscarb143494735oct14,0,4825415.story?coll=ny-health-headlines) specifies:
Instead of lots of red meat and saturated fat, which many find disturbing about low-carb diets, these people ate mostly fish, chicken, salads, vegetables and unsaturated oils. -- alclayhole
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A protein calorie, a carb calorie and a fat calorie are absorbed differently by the body. The balance of these also affects they way your body absorbs them. Most of the low calorie diets are some derivative or bastardization of The Zone diet, developed by Barry Sears. Sears preaches a balanced diet, as opposed to carb or protein heavy. If your grandma used serve meat with a few vegetables for dinner, that is almost balanced, as far as macro nutrients are concerned. -- gttim
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