Nutrition Myths that Need to be Squashed

Take a look at these popular myths and the research that squashes them. If you believe any of these myths you maybe sabotaging your capacity to make great improvements.

Myth: A high protein intake causes kidney dysfunction/damage.

That is, you take a healthy person and put them on a high protein diet, the protein will somehow negatively influence kidney function, damage this organ and promote disease.

Fact: Absolutely no data suggests that a high protein intake promotes any type of renal (kidney) dysfunction in healthy people. There aren’t even any studies that suggest this may happen. In fact, there is evidence that refutes this notion directly.(1)

Protein metabolism experts (scientists that have devoted their careers to this area of research) now urge health care professionals to change their restrictive (unfounded) views on protein intake. These experts provide three important reasons why.

1) We know very little about the important functions of various amino acids at both the mechanistic and quantitative level. Our knowledge on protein requirements to improve health is very limited.(2)

2) Based on poor analysis techniques, previous recommendations are probably well short of the mark.(3)

3) As no evidence suggests that increasing protein intake will cause harm, when healthcare professionals caution healthy, active people about the perils of a high protein diet, it’s ignorance of the worst kind. This is misinformation that may contribute to poor health.(2,3,4)

A high intake (2 to 3 times the basic allowance) of low-fat protein does not promote any adverse effect in healthy people. In fact, scientists leading the way in this field research suggest the opposite; increasing the proportion of protein in the diet is a strategy that will promote health and better results from exercise training. (4,5,6)


Myth: High protein diets are harmful to your bones


Fact: Dietary protein can increase urine acidity and calcium may be drawn from the bones to buffer the acid load. However, its been acknowledged the earlier studies that reported this effect did not use appropriate research design and methodologies.(9)

We now know that the phosphate content of protein-rich foods (and supplements) negates this effect. More recent, well-designed research has found a positive relationship between protein intake and bone health. In fact, not enough protein is deleterious to bone health. Several recent epidemiological studies have shown that a reduced bone density and increased rates of bone loss in individuals that consume low protein diets.(10,11)


Myth: Performing exercise on an empty stomach burns body fat.

Some believe that simply by exercising first thing in the morning on an empty stomach this will burn more body fat. Ah! If only it were that simple, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic!!

Fact: Human physiology is a little more complex. For most people, workouts constitute less than 5% of the week (that’s 3-6 hour-long workouts a week). The total amount of energy burnt during a workout constitutes a small percentage of the day, (around 17%). Therefore, the type of fuel actually utilized during the workout is inconsequential.

Fact: For years we’ve known that intense exercise after fasting (such as sleep) promotes the catabolism (destruction) of precious muscle tissue and creates a metabolic environment that makes improvements virtually impossible.(7)

Conversely, the correct nutrition flowing through your system during exercise will amplify results. The key here is timing – the strategic consumption of the correct nutrition before and immediately after exercise. Performed correctly, the strategic consumption of the right nutrition before and immediately after exercise can improve results in body composition (more muscle, less fat) by 100%.(8) Be sure to read the Anabolic Nutrient Timing Factor.

Myth: Drinking coffee is harmful to your health


Coffee and caffeinated beverages have been blamed for everything from high blood pressure and heart problems to strokes and even cellulite. The fact is, there isn’t one shred of science-based evidence that links coffee to any of these.

Fact: An ever-growing amount of scientific research now supports an unlikelyconcept, coffee is good for you.

Several long-term studies on large populations across Europe have confirmed that coffee has a remarkable, beneficial effect on insulin metabolism. For instance, the first was an eight year-long study completed on 900 adults and it showed that regular coffee consumption reduces the risk for type-2 diabetes by a whopping 60%. Another study involved an even larger group and reported that heavy coffee drinkers (six or more cups a day!), are half as likely to develop diabetes as people who consume two cups or less a day. Coffee is probably the second most frequently ingested beverage worldwide (second to water), it has a significant antioxidant activity, and appears to reduce risk of type 2 diabetes.(12)

Myth: Caffeine-containing beverages cause dehydration

Fact: The idea that coffee or caffeine-containing beverages promote dehydration is not supported by research. Several studies have debunked this myth directly. For example, one investigation determined if three levels of caffeine consumption affected fluid-electrolyte balance and kidney function differently. Healthy participants consumed 3 mg caffeine per kilo body weight per day on days 1 to 6 – (a caffeine dose is equal to around 3 cups of coffee). On days 7 to 11 (treatment phase), subjects consumed either 0 mg, 3 mg, or 6 mg caffeine per kilo of body weight per day in capsules, with no other dietary caffeine intake.

Results showed caffeine had no effect on body mass, urine osmolality, color, volume, sodium or potassium excretion, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, serum osmolality, hematocrit, and total plasma protein. According to the authors, these findings refute the notion that caffeine consumption acts as a diuretic.(13)

Myth: Creatine causes muscle cramps, tears, renal problems or heat-related injuries.

If you believe the mainstream press reports about creatine, you’d be convinced that taking this supplement will cramp you up like a slug that just had salt poured all over it and your kidneys would receive a beating worse than Manny Pacquiao could ever give you. The mainstream press rarely does its homework when it comes to the facts around sports supplements. I mean why let the facts get in the way of a good story, right?

Fact: Creatine is actually a naturally occurring compound found in small quantities within the brain, liver, kidneys, and testes
(in men). However, approximately 95% of creatine stores are found in skeletal muscle. This is probably due to its vital role in all cellular energy (ATP) production and transfer pathways. Creatine’s vital importance in cell function has been studied since 1914.

Oral creatine supplements are often consumed in amounts of up to 20 g/day for a few days, followed by 2-10 g/day for weeks, months or even years. Liver and/or kidney function have been examined during short term (a few days), medium term (4-9 weeks) and long term (up to 5 years) investigations. No adverse effects of any kind have been documented (14,15,16).

Regarding increased risk of muscle cramp and heat-related injuries, several studies have refuted this directly. In fact one large study on top level Collegiate athletes discovered that creatine users had significantly less cramping; heat illness or dehydration; muscle tightness; muscle strains; and total injuries than nonusers. Extensive investigations demonstrate creatine consumption does not cause harm and in fact, may have a protective effect against certain exercise-related injuries.(14,15,16)

References

1. Poortmans JR, Dellalieux O. Do regular high protein diets have potential health risks on kidney function in athletes? Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2000b;10(1):28-38.

2. Reeds PJ, Biolo G. Non-protein roles of amino acids: an emerging aspect of nutrient requirements. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 5:43-5, 2002.

3. Millward DJ, Layman DK, Tomé D, Schaafsma G. Protein quality assessment: impact of expanding understanding of protein and amino acid needs for optimal health. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;87(5):1576S-1581S.

4. Layman DK, Clifton P, Gannon MC, Krauss RM, Nuttall FQ. Protein in optimal health: heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;87(5):1571S-1575S.

5. Layman DK. Protein quantity and quality at levels above the RDA improves adult weight loss. J Am Coll Nutr 23;631S-636S, 2004.

6. Farnsworth E, Luscome ND, Noakes M, et al. Effect of a high-protein, energy-restricted diet on body composition, glycemic control, and lipid concentrations in overweight and obese hyperinsulinemic men and women Am J Clin Nutr 78:31-39, 2003.

7. Biolo G, Maggi SP, Williams BD, Tipton KD, Wolfe RR. Increased rates of muscle protein turnover and amino acid transport after resistance exercise in humans. Am J Physiol. 1995 Mar;268(3 Pt 1):E514-20.

8. Cribb PJ, Hayes A.Effects of supplement timing and resistance exercise on skeletal muscle hypertrophy. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Nov;38(11):1918-25.

9. Ginty F. Dietary Protein and bone health. Proc Nutr Soc 2003;62(4):867-876.

10. New SA. Do vegetarians have normal bone mass? Osteoporos Int 2004; 15(9):697-688.

11. Kerstetter JE, O'Brien KO, Insogna KL. Low protein intake: the impact on calcium and bone homeostasis in humans. J Nutr. 2003;133(3):855S-861S.

12. Ranheim T, Halvorsen B. Coffee consumption and human health – beneficial or detrimental? – Mechanisms for effects of coffee consumption on different risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2005.

13. Armstrong LE. Caffeine, body fluid-electrolyte balance, and exercise performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2002;12(2):189-206.
Poortmans JR, Francaux M. Adverse effects of creatine supplementation: fact or fiction? Sports Med. 2000a;30(3):155-70.

14. Kreider RB, Melton C, Rasmussen CJ, et al. Long-term creatine supplementation does not significantly affect clinical markers of health in athletes. Mol Cell Biochem. 2003;244(1-2):95-104.

15. Greenwood M, Kreider RB, Greenwood L, Byars A. Cramping and Injury Incidence in Collegiate Football Players Are Reduced by Creatine Supplementation. J Athl Train. 2003;38(3):216-219.

DAMAGE CONTROL – Preventing fat gain when you binge

I have decided that from now on I will post most important facts of the 4 Hour Workout Book. So to continue reviewing the book, this part of the book is related How to minimize fat gain during the famous BINGE. So here it is, the most important that you should know, according to the book.

DAMAGE CONTROL – Preventing fat gain when you binge

“Life itself is the proper binge”

Three Main Principles:

1.      Minimize the release of insulin, a storage hormone

Ensure that your first meal of the day is not binge and make it high protein and insoluble fiber in order to decrease your appetite. In total, this can be a smallish meal of 300-500 calories.

Consume small quantities of fructose, fruit sugar. Even small fructose dosing has impressive near-flat-lining effect on blood glucose.

Use supplement that increase insulin sensitivity like AGG and PAGGPolicosanol: 20 to 25 mg. Alpha-lipoic acid: 100 to 300 mg Green tea flavanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG): 325 mg. Garlic extract: 200 mg.

Consume citric juices, whether lime juice squeezed into water, lemon juice on food perhaps black tea with squeezed lemon will do the thing.(this is my personal choice)

2.      Increase the speed of gastric emptying, or how quickly food exits the stomach

Accomplish this primarily through caffeine and yerba mate tea which includes the additional stimulants theobromine (dark chocolate) and theophvlline (green tea)

3.      Engage in brief Muscular contraction throughout the binge

For muscular contractions the options are air squats, wall presses, chest pulls.But why the hell would you want to do 60-90 seconds of funnt exercises a few minutes before you eat and, ideally, again about 90 minutes afterwards? Beacuase it brings glucose transporter type 4 (Glut - 4) to the surface of muscle cells, opening more gates for calories to flow. The more muscular gates we have open before insulin triggers the same GLUT-4 on the surface of fat cells, the more we can put in muscle instead of fat.

Inside the microbiome: Balancing Bacteria for fat loss

So, far two primary strains of bacteria have been found to influence fat absorption, almost regardless of diet: Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Lean people have more Bacteroidetes and fewer Firmicutes, obese people have contrary trend. However as obese people lose weight, the ratio of bacteria in their guts swings confidently over to more Bacteroidetes.

There is some things that you can do now to cultivate healthy and fat – reducing gut flora:

1.      Get off the Splenda. Fake sugar turn out just as bad as, if not worse than the real.

2.      Go Fermented. Fermented foods contain high level of healthy bacteria and should be viewed as a mandatory piece of your dietary puzzle. Foods like cheese, kefir and plain yogurt.

3.   Consider prebiotics and probiotics. Probiotics are bacteria. Prebiotics are fermentable substrates that help bacteria grow and thrive. Organic inulin and fructo-oligasaccharides (FOS) are good choices. In the whole-foods realm, garlic, leeks and chicory are all high in inulin (unlike FOS it is not insulinemic) and FOS

Hopefully tomorrow I will continue reading book and will try to review how to master temperature to manipulate weight. It will be quite interesting because it refers how Michael Phelps consumed 9000 calories and remained single digit bodyfat.

Review - 4 Hour Body Workout by Tim Ferriss... Part 1

First of all it is my first attempt to review any book, I admit it requires some practice so if there will be some mistakes or misunderstanding don’t be too critical. Basically I will post the most relevant issues and facts considered by me and that hopefully will give some good reasons to buy, to download or to read book.

The first book that I decided to review is created by Tim Ferriss and it is called “4 Hour Body Workout”. This book covers a lot of issues and facts in nutrition, training and even sexual fields. It has more than 500 pages so I will divide book review in 4 parts, each part will cover aproximatelly 100 book pages. From time to time I will post my opinion in brackets. So let’s begin with the first part…

THINNER, BIGGER, FASTER STRONGER?

It all begins with a concert…. The first pages are quite captivating and provided some interesting facts that I actually underlined for myself. Facts such as to drink little amount of grapefruit juice which contains Narigenin in order to extent the fat-burning effect of caffeine from cup of coffee or if you will exaggerate with some taste foods add some cinnamon to the pastries in order to increase insulin sensitivity.

“50% of what we know is wrong. The problem is do not know which 50% it is”

Tim Ferris tracked all his workout since the age of 18 and did all possible body/hormone analysis spending on them more than 250 000 dollars. 

Tim gives us some rule to be followed in order to attain more benefit from his book. The author suggests to think of this book as a buffet of knowledge, you do not need to read this book from the beginning to the end. Skip science if it is too complicated, be skeptical, don’t assume everything in this book is true because he says so and read the issues that are only relevant to you at that moment.

FUNDAMENTALS – FIRST AND FORMOST

This part covers the minimum effective dose (MED) and which is by definition is the smallest dose that will produce a desired outcome. The book suggests that anything beyond the MED is wasteful. In the body redesign methodology in order to remove fat we must do the least necessary to trigger fat-los cascade and initiate muscle growth mechanisms with least amount of effort.

(I must agree with this statement, there are a lot of people that tend to train every day for a few hours. As a result it is ease to overeat and overtrain. I was one of those individuals and trained every day however I  understood that more doesn’t mean better. This is great temptation that is hard to resist).

Interesting Fact: you just need 15 minutes of sun exposure to trigger the melatonin response. More than that will result in burning and a forced break from beach. 

  

Interesting Fact: The MED for Shoulders equals 80 seconds of tension using 50 pounds once every seven weeks.  

RULES THAT CHANGE THE RULES

Tim is telling that he gained 34 pounds of muscle, lost 4 pounds of fat when he trained for about a month. His total time expenditure in the gym was about 4 hours a week in other words eight 30 - minute workouts.

(Not bad at all. Perhaps his muscle memory also contributed to this gains).

He claims that it is possible to redirect your natural-born genetic profile and that from now on “bad genetics can´t be your go-to excuse”

Muscle fiber composition can be changed and you should eat and train for your desired outcome. So basically the way you train and how you eat will influence your genetically predisposed fiber.

As far as nutrition there is a lot to discuss, there is a suggestion to treat anything that you put in your mouth or your bloodstream as a drug besides the “whole food”. Even the conception of “ food” is treated differently from “the whole food”.

Learning diet and exercise principles is priority number 1. There is a state not to confuse physical recreation with exercises. Recreation is for fun while exercises is for producing changes. 

Tracking calories is not imperative however it is better than nothing.

Interesting Fact: 4000 calories equals about a pound of fat in simple way.

Different sources of calories = different results

Protein provokes a greater thermal effect than carbs or fat, so in digestion a higher percentage of protein calories are lost as heat. This led some scientist to believe that every gram of protein should be counted as 3.2 calories.

Women do not need specific workout programs and diets, statistics shows that most of men and women want less fat and more muscle in 99% cases so they should do the exactly same workout.

Interesting Fact: On average women have less than one-tenth the testosterone of men.

THE HARAJUKU MOMENT – DECISION TO BECOME A COMPLETE HUMAN

People suck at following advices, even the most effective

 The main reasons are:

 The first is that people don’t have sufficient reason for action. The pain isn’t painful enough.

Second is, there are no reminders, no consistent tracking. However the most important is the turning point when something that you pretend happens either it muscle gain or a fat loss. It simply stimulates people to continue and make them psychologically happier.

ELUSIVE BODYFAT

The scale is a tool that we should use to track our progress. It is not only about weight, the body measurements are very important and perhaps even more important than our weight.  It is like planning a trip without a start address. Take your circumference measurements such as: upper arms, waist, hips and both legs. You can also total this number.

Body fat most constant and convenient tracking methods are DEXA, BodPod and Ultrasound

Never compare results from different tools, stay always with the same device/method in order to get more accurate results.

BF>30 avoid calipers and use DEXA, BodPod or ultrasound

BF<25 aim for DEXA, BodPo or Ultrasound or opt by calipers

FROM PHOTOS TO FEAR

There are 4 Rules that give us more motivation and they are:

Make it conscious: before pictures are very important – scientist found that photographers were more effective in their goals comparing with written food diaries. Take pictures of your front, back and side.

Make it a game and Make it competitive – suggests to use DailyBurns (www.dailyburns.com) which I personally use to track my calorie intake. Site has also different types of challenges which will help you to achieve your goals by competing with other people. On my personal experience, I tried and loved. It has been proven that on average the group of people lose more 5.8 pounds of fat compared to who doesn’t do any challenges. Try to persuade a friend or a relative to participate in this kind of a challenge. 

Make it small and temporary

Once again do not forget about measurement. Weight yourself constantly at the same time and under same circumstances. As an example the you can choose Monday morning as your weight day, so begin weighting yourself on Saturday, Sunday and finally on Monday. Afterwards just make a media of you weight of the last three days, this will give you more accurate result. Make it small and for the most important make it achievable.

If you want to walk for an hour a day, don’t start with one hour. By choosing one hour you are automatically building an excuse of not having enough time and in the end you will give up. Try small periods of time, begin with 5-10 minutes a day and try to increase time.

BIG SUMMARY: TRACK OR YOU WILL FAIL.

SUBRACTING FAT – SLOW CARB DIET I

(I am a fan of Paleo Diet with some exceptions like oats – post workout and cottage cheese that I do love mixing with Whey Protein. I think that rules of the diet below indicated is not very optimal for gaining muscle however with the right directions it will be a great diet for a fat loss).

Rules:

1. Avoid white carbs such as bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pastas, tortillas

2.Eat the same few meals over and over again – eat a lot of protein from egg whites and yolks, fish, chicken(turkey) breast or thigh, pork. A lot of green vegetables and beans

3.Don’t drinks calories

4.Don’t eat fruit

5.Take one day off per week and go nuts

Debate on FRUITS AND FRUCTOSE

(Once again there is a big discussion in nowadays about the fruit consumption. Personally I am not a big fan of fruit, perhaps from time to time I allow myself to consume some fruit but nothing over exaggerated. Simply for the most of the time I rely more on vegetables.)

So in this part Tim is saying that he tested to different types of diet. The first one consuming fructose and the second without fructose (each diet was one week trial). When he says the fructose diet it means that he consumed 14 onces of pulp-free orange juice upon waking and before bed.  So the results were quite interesting. During the fructose diet the level of cholesterol went up from 203 to 243 and LDL increased  from 127 to 165. Also albumin values went up from 4.3 to 4.9 and IRON from 71 to 191. 

The moral of the story is that do not try to rely on high fructose diet. It will not help you to get rid of last pounds of fat. 

SLOW CARB DIET II

Continuing with the diet…

First of all, start changing your breakfast and you will lose fat

In the book Tim suggests using potassium, magnesium and calcium supplements. Use potassium during meals. Avocado is a could choice which contains 60 % more than bananas. Also it is a good source of insoluble fiber 75%.

There is another option; you can simply use pill form of each micronutrient.

Potassium - 4700 mg (beans, spinach, lentils, sardines, mushrooms) per day recommended for an average healthy male person 25 years old

Calcium - 1000 mg (salmon, sardines, spinach)

Magnesium - 400 mg (pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, peanuts, cashews, almonds) per day.

What about Diary products?

Mostly of diary product despite low glycemic index and glycemic load paradoxically have a high insulinemic response that was proven by University of Lund. (Once again bad reputation of insulin). So removing diary can result in accelerated fat loss. 

Beans are good source of macronutrients and great for cutting

Cheat Day

Expect to have great weigh fluctuations after your cheat day. Don’t worry about it you can easily gain around 10-20 pounds due to water weigh. So enjoy your cheat day and relax, the weight will disappear in the next 48 yours (Hopefully).

Don’t forget to take the respective measurements, pounds can lie.

What about alcohol?

Only on cheat day. However you can opt by drink dry wines which have less than 1.4 % of residual sugar.

Snacks? You don’t need them. Perhaps you are under eating, just try to eat more protein and vegetables. If you decided to snack try something small that have range of 200-300 calories.

Go crazy once a week? Really?!?! It is important to spike caloric intake once a week. This causes a host of hormonal changes that improve fat-loss, from increasing cAMP to GMP that to improve conversion of the T4 thyroid to the more active T3. Perhaps having only a cheat meal will not give you a sense of guilty and won’t create great weight fluctuations.

  

Egg yolks also very important they provide choline, which protect the liver and increases fat loss.

Spinach and Popeye?! Spinach is incredible for body recomposition.

The phytoecodysteoirds (can’t spell it right) in spinach increase human muscle tissue growth rate by 20% and also glucose metabolism. By eating 2 cups or 162 grams per day you can increase muscle fiber synthesis by 3 %.(Now I am really considering buying spinach)

Avoid diary with the exception of cottage cheese. It even appears to facilitate the fat-loss.

EATING OUT AND THE CHIPOTLE METHOD

COMMON MISTAKES

Not eating within one hour of walking, preferably within 30 minutes. He considers that skipping breakfast will lead to overeating in the evening. I can’t agree completely with that as I am doing Intermittent Fasting.

Not eating enough protein. (I think that this is basic for everyone.)

Not drinking enough water to ensure optimal liver function for fat-loss. (Basic number 2.)

Overeating foods such as nuts, almonds, peanuts. Very caloric dense foods. (I completely agree with this statement, as an example of myself I can truly say that it is very simple to over consume such foods.)

Over consuming artificial sweeteners. Even with no calories, insulin can be released however aspartame shows little effect on insulin. (Once again completely agree.) 

Hitting the gym too often. Doing too much will not help at all, it could even reverse your progress, as it also leads to overeating. Remember the MED. (Less is more. 100% agree.)

Low Carb Dogma
By Jamie Hale
Commentary by Alan Aragon

Low carb diet enthusiasts claim their diet is supreme to other methods. They claim their diet offers a metabolic advantage-"metabolic advantages that will allow overweight individuals to eat as many or more calories as they were eating before starting the diet yet still lose pounds and inches" (Atkins, 1992). In addition, advocates claim overproduction of insulin, stimulated by high CHO intake, is the cause of obesity. Other claims include: low carb diets result in weight loss, fat loss, improved body comp, and improved health. Simply put, low carb dieting is superior to other forms of dieting, according to many low carb advocates.

Low carb diets have been shown to improve the conditions previously mentioned, but isn’t it true other diets offer some of the same benefits? And in some cases aren't low carb diets successful due to calorie manipulation and not some metabolic advantage? Or are low carb diets simply the way to go across the board

Low carbs and weight loss

Studies consistently show that weight loss is primarily determined by caloric intake, not diet composition (Hill et al.,1993)

In all cases, individuals on high-fat, low-CHO diets lose weight because they consume fewer calories (Freedman et al. 2001)

Alford et al. (1990) manipulated CHO content of low calorie diets (1200 kcal/d) to determine possible effects on body weight and body fat reduction over 10 weeks. Women in each diet group consumed either a low-, medium-, or high-CHO diet. The low-CHO diet was 15% to 25% CHO (75 g/d) (30% protein, 45% fat), the moderate-CHO diet was 45% CHO (10% protein, 35% fat), and the high-CHO diet was 75% CHO (15%protein, 10% fat). Weight loss occurred in all groups, but there was no significant difference in weight loss among the groups. Percent body fat loss, based on underwater weighing was similar among the groups. Alford et al. concluded, “there is no statistically significant effect derived in an overweight adult female population from manipulation of percentage of CHO in a 1200-kcal diet. Weight loss is the result of reduction in caloric intake in proportion to caloric requirements.” (Freedman et al., 2001)

Golay and colleagues (1996) followed 43 obese patients for 6 weeks, who received a low cal diet (1000 kcal), and participated in a structured, multidisciplinary program that included physical activity (2 h/d), nutritional education, and behavioral modification. The diet contained either 15% CHO (37.5 g), or 45% CHO. Protein content of the diets was similar (approx: 30%) and fat made up the difference. After 6 weeks, there was no significant difference in weight loss between the different diet groups. Significant and similar decreases in total body fat and waist-to-hip ratios were seen in both groups.

Wing and colleagues (1995) confined 21 severely obese women to a metabolic ward for 31 days. They were randomly assigned to a non-ketogenic or ketogenic (10 g CHO) liquid formula diet (600 kcals) for 28 days. At end of study weight losses were similar.

A portion of weight loss in the early stages of low carb dieting is due to water losses (Bell et al., 1969; Van Itallie et. al. 1975), however, the majority of weight loss in the early stages of a mixed diet is primarily due to loss in body fat (Yang and Van Itallie, 1976); other studies support this finding. Losses of protein and fat are about the same when following a ketogenic, or isocaloric, non-ketogenic diet (Golay et al. 1996)

"In the short-term, low-CHO ketogenic diets cause a greater loss of body water than body fat." (Freedman et al. 2001)

"Low-CHO diets are high in fat, especially saturated fat, and cholesterol. They are also high in protein (mainly animal), and provide lower than recommended intakes of vitamin E, vitamin A, thiamin, vitamin B 6, folate, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and dietary fiber." (Freedman et al. 2001). In these instances supplementation is required for proper nutrition.

Do Low Carbohydrate diets decrease hunger?

Low carb advocates claim no hunger is experienced when following a low carb diet. Various studies support this claim, however, not all studies.

Baron and colleagues (1986) found similar complaints of hunger in low CHO and low fat dieters. Rosen and colleagues (1985) found no support for the claim that a minimal CHO, protein-supplemented fast decreased appetite in comparison with an isocaloric CHO- containing diet that minimized ketosis. The idea that eating an ad-lib low carb diet leads to decreased calorie consumption in everyone is a logical fallacy- Hasty Generalization.


Do other diets decrease hunger?

Studies indicate subjects consuming an ad-lib low fat diet don't complain of hunger but complain there is too much food (Freedman et al. 2001). Siggaard (1996) reported a high degree of satisfaction when Danish workers consumed low fat ad-lib diet.

"Stubbs et al. (1995) provided normal weight male subjects ad libitum access to one of three covertly manipulated diets: low-fat (20% energy as fat, 67% as CHO), medium-fat (40% energy as fat, 47% as CHO) or high-fat (60% energy as fat, 27% as CHO). They reported that energy intake increased with percent fat, and that lower fat, lower-energy diets were more satiating than higher fat, higher energy diets." (Freedman et al. 2001)

Is overproduction of insulin, driven by CHO consumption, the primary cause of obesity?

Carbohydrates and protein stimulates insulin release. Holt and colleagues (1997) found “protein rich foods and bakery products (rich in fat and refined carbohydrates) elicited insulin responses that were disproportionately higher than their glycemic responses [blood sugar responses]”

Golay et. al. (1996) showed that subjects consuming 15% CHO had significantly lower insulin levels compared with those consuming 45% CHO, yet there was no difference in weight loss between the groups. "Grey and Kipnis [1971] studied 10 obese patients who were fed hypocaloric (1500 kcal/d) liquid-formula diets containing either 72% or 0% CHO for 4 weeks before switching to the other diet. A significant reduction in basal plasma insulin levels was noted when subjects ingested the hypocaloric formula devoid of CHO. Refeeding the hypocaloric, high-CHO formula resulted in a marked increase in the basal plasma insulin. However, patients lost 0.75 to 2.0 kg/wk irrespective of caloric distribution." (Freedman et al. 2001)



"Take a close look at the studies in which the low-carb diet caused greater reductions in insulin. Despite the marked differences in insulin output, there was no difference in weight or fat loss! Among the metabolic ward studies, the trials by Grey and Kipnis, Golay et al, Miyashita et al, and Stimson et al all found greater reductions in insulin on the isocaloric low-carb diets – but no difference in fat loss … . Among the free-living studies, Golay et al, Torbay et al, Noakes et al, and Meckling et al all found greater reductions in insulin on the low-carb diets – but again, no difference in fat loss… . The participants in these free-living studies were given dietary advice intended to make the high- and low-carbs isocaloric. If insulin, and not calories, was the key factor in fat loss, then there should have been a clear and decisive advantage to the lower-carb group every single time. There wasn’t. The reason for this is that the insulin-makes-you-fat theory is rubbish. It is calories, not insulin, that determine whether or not you will lose fat."

"Insulin, in addition to its effects in the central nervous system to inhibit food intake, acts in the periphery to ensure the efficient storage of incoming nutrients. The role for insulin in the synthesis and storage of fat has obscured its important effects in the central nervous system, where it acts to prevent weight gain, and has led to the misconception that insulin causes obesity [Schwartz 2000]. It has recently been shown that selective genetic disruption of insulin signaling in the brain leads to increased food intake and obesity in animals [Bruning et al. 2000] demonstrating that intact insulin signaling in the central nervous system is required for normal body weight regulation" (Freedman et al. 2001).

Furthermore, insulin plays an indirect role in body regulation through Leptin stimulation. Both of these hormones are transported in the CNS, where they may interact with neuropeptides that affect food intake. Decreased leptin levels have been shown to be related to increased hunger sensations (Keim et al. 1998). Freedman and colleagues (2001) said, "Increased insulin secretion has been suggested to protect against weight gain in humans [Schwartz 1995]. Because insulin also stimulates leptin production, which acts centrally to reduce energy intake and increase energy expenditure, decreased insulin and leptin production during the consumption of high-fat diets could help contribute to the obesity promoting effects of dietary fat [... Astrup, 2000]."

Other diets affect health parameters?

The following excerpts are taken from MR. Freedman et al. Popular Diets a Scientific Review Obesity Research, vol. 9, Suppl 1, March 2001.

"Blood lipid levels (e.g., total cholesterol [TC], low-density lipoprotein [LDL], high-density lipoprotein [HDL] and triglycerides [TGs]) decrease as body weight decreases' [...Yu-poth, 1999]. 'Moderate-fat, balanced nutrient reduction diets reduce LDL-cholesterol and normalize the ratio of HDL/TC."

"Plasma TG levels also decrease with weight loss'. 'Although they increase in response to short-term consumption of a VLF, high-CHO diet [1998 Lichtenstein & Van Horn], the type of CHO consumed must be considered. High-fiber foods, including vegetables and legumes, do not lead to hypertriglyceridemia [Anderson et al. 1980], and may easily be incorporated into moderate-fat, balanced nutrient reduction diets to help normalize plasma TG levels."

"Energy restriction independent of diet composition improves glycemic control."

In addition: When body weight decreases so does insulin and leptin levels. Blood pressure drops with weight loss, regardless of diet composition.

Sports nutritionist, Alan Aragon had this to say:

“A key point that must be made is that the research is not sufficient grounds to be dogmatic about low-carbing in the first place. On the whole, studies do not match protein intakes between diets. Adequate protein intakes have multiple advantages (ie, LBM support, satiety, thermic effect), and they simply end up being compared to inadequate protein intakes. Thus, it's not lower carb intake per se that imparts any advantage, it's the higher protein intake. Once you match protein intake between diets, the one with more carbs is actually the one with the potential for a slight metabolic advantage.

Furthermore, the majority of the research compares dietary extremes (high-carb/low-fat/low-protein versus low-carb/high-fat/moderate protein). The funny part is, the majority of long-term trials (12 months or more) STILL fail to show a significant weight loss difference. Note that these trials use the sedentary obese, so in the fit population, any weight loss differences would be even more miniscule. Once again, keep in mind that the lack of significant difference in weight loss is seen despite unequal protein intakes between treatments.

There's a large middle ground here that tends to get ignored by the 'metabolic advantage' folks, who are incorrect to begin with. It's always either-or for them, when in fact, individual carbohydrate demands vary widely. For some folks, low-carb is warranted. For others, it isn't. It always amazes me how hard that concept is to grasp for low-carb absolutists.

What I find to be a common thread among people who deny that individual carbohydrate requirements vary widely is a lack of client experience, particularly with different types of athletes. The minute someone says that EVERYONE should severely restrict carbohydrate, it's obvious that you're dealing with a cherry-picking low-carb zealot who is unfamiliar with the totality of research evidence, and has limited field experience.”

Conclusion

A low carb diet is not necessarily the best diet. Research has found low carb diets to be successful for many people, but other diets have also proven successful. This article is not meant to suggest that low carb dieting is inferior or bad; it is meant to dispel some of the common dogma often perpetuated by low carb dogmatists. The idea that low carb dieting offers unique benefits that cannot be acquired by other diets, is true in some cases, - possibly, treatment for some forms of cancer, and specific neurodegenarative disorders, etc.- however the idea of low carb diets being the panacea of diets is false.

This was a short review of some of the scientific data concerning low carb dieting. To reiterate, my intent was not and in-depth discussion of the various issues surrounding dieting, but to give readers a brief glimpse of some of the popular misconceptions associated with low carb dieting.

There is a plethora of scientific literature showing the benefits of low carb dieting. There is also a plethora of data showing benefits from other types of diets. Which is better? It depends.

References

Alford BB, et al. (1990). The effects of variation in carbohydrate, protein, and fat content of the diet upon weight loss, blood values, and nutrient intake of adult obese women. J AM Diet Assoc. 90:534-40.

Atkins RC. (1992). Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution. New York: Avon Books, Inc

Baron JA, et al. (1986). A randomized controlled trial of low carbohydrate and low fat/high fiber diets for weight loss. AM J Public Health. 76:1293-6.

Bell JD, et al. (1969). Ketosis, weight loss, uric acid, and nitrogen balance in obese women fed single nutrients at low calorie levels. Metabolism. 18:193-208.

Colpo A. (2009). They’re All Mad. Anthony Colpo.

Freedman MR, et al. (2001). Popular Diets A Scientific Review. Obesity Research. Vol.9 Suppl. 1 March

Golay A, et al. (1996). Weight-loss with low or high carbohydrate diet? Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 20:1067-72.

Golay A, et al. (1996). Similar weight loss with low or high carbohydrate diets. Am J Clin Nutr. 63:174-8.

Hill JO, et al. (1993). Obesity treatment: can diet compositon play a role? Ann Intern Med.;119:694-7.

Holt S, et al. (1997). The insulin demand generated by 1000-kJ portions of common foods. AM J Clin Nutr. 66:1264-76.

Keim NL, et al. (1998). Relation between circulating Leptin concentrations and appetite during a prolonged, moderate energy deficit in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 68:794-801.

Rosen JC, et al. (1985). Mood and appetite during minimal-carbohydrate and carbohydrate-supplemented hypocaloric diets. AM J Clin Nutr. 42:371-9.

Siggaard R, et al. (1996). Weight loss during 12 weeks carbohydrate-rich diet in overweight and normal-weight subjects at a Danish work site. Obes Res. 4:347-56.

Stubbs RJ, et al. (1995). Covert manipulation of dietary fat and energy density: effect on substrate flux and food intake in men eating ad libitum. AM J Clin Nutr. 62:316-29.

Van Itallie, T..B et al. (1975). Dietary Approaches to obesity: metabolic and appetitive considerations. In: Recent Advances in Obesity Research. London: Newman Publishing pp.256-69.

Wing RR, et al. (1995). Cognitive effects of ketogenic weight-reducing diets. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 19:811-6.

Yang MU, Van Itallie TB. (1976). Composition of weight loss during short term weight reduction. Metabolic responses of obese subjects to starvation and low-calorie ketogenic and nonketogenic diets. J Clin Invest. 58:722-30.

Visit Jamie Hale's website at www.maxcondition.com

Visit Alan Aragon's website at www.alanaragon.com

The day is safed by IFasting(once again)

Well, yesterday have a nice Dinner with my High School Classmates. We went to the local pizza restaurant. As an obvious thing most of my friends ordered pizza but... I myself resisted to this temptation and ordered a a huge BEEF STEAK! And it was Awesome!!! I didn't count my calories from my dinner however I do believe that a nice big steak with salad and perhaps 80 grams of white rice didn't make me gain fat.

So once again the day is safed by Intermittent Fasting.

P.S. Today will be the day off and there will be no training. Got to go... a lot other things to do today

Happy Holidays!!!!

During the winter holidays many people as well as I am tend to overeat. I admit, it is quite natural.  All we know that Christmas is the time when families are gathering together for the nice dinner and this is where the big problem appears. To a person that have an habit to control the daily based nutrition and strive to be as healthy as possible it is really hard  to enjoy Christmas Family Dinner. The food macro nutrients differ completely, from what is considered to be normal for person with healthy diet approach. It is a quite important issue. So how not to feel guilty and at the same time enjoy Holiday Dinner with our family? The consensus between this issues must be reached.

So what is the solution for this problem? What is a way to go and save ourselves from gaining to much fat during Christmas Holidays and for the most important enjoy the company of our family?

As an example of myself, December tends to be the most difficult month to diet. It all begins on December 12th when it is my father's birthday, than it is Christmas, two days after Christmas it is my birthday, following this it is the Dinner with my Friends and Classmates and finally we have New Years Eve. As you can see the list of holidays is quite big. Where there is a holiday there is always a chocolate cake. My mom is a pro as far as making chocolate cakes. These cakes are delicious however the problem is that they have significant amount of calories coming from undesired carbohydrates and fats.On these days I normally eat almost half of a cake by myself. Perhaps many people will think that it is something crazy and that I will gain a few pounds of fat on the next day. But....Despite all the food that was eaten, I even was able to loose weight. 

Next day when I weighted myself in the morning I was less heavier (around 300 grams less). Surprised?! ... Not really and the answer is Intermittent Fasting combined with Paleo Diet.

It is quite simple actually. In order not to gain the undesired fat just try to eat two meals on that day. First meal equals post workout and normally would consists from lean sources of protein such as Whey Protein, Egg Whites, different types of meat, carbohydrate sources come from vegetables and as far as fat I tend eat less fat as possible however walnuts and egg yolks are my favorite choice.

For the second meal you can just simply enjoy your Family's Christmas Dinner. Just try not to overeat. You still can eat a lot of food. Perhaps another thing that could really help to minimize the fat gain is to count calories. The equation is very simple: Calories In  - Calories Out = Weight Gain. As I control  my daily calorie intake for me it is not quite hard to keep my weight and fat gains to minimum. Yet, I always considered that macro nutrient intake is also important. Try to rely more on protein intake during the first meal of the day.

So I would really recommend Intermittent Fasting for the diet approach. It is very convenient not only during Holiday Time but also for the people that don't have enough time to prepare six or more meals a day and are very busy with their work.

So don't be afraid to experiment this diet approach. You will definitely see the desired effect in short terms. In my next posts I will try to explore more about Intermittent Fasting, Muscle Loss, Metabolism, Paleo Diet and other relevant issues regarding food science/technology and especially nutrition.

For more information regarding this Diet Approach created by Martin Berkhan just visit www.leangains.com 

The Holidays and cakes will be continued for the rest of December!!!