High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Safe for Kidneys

Posted on June 3, 2012 by bilrob

High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Safe for Kidneys

For decades, medical experts have been concerned that high-protein, low-carb diets like Atkins could be damaging to the kidneys, but a new study found that this isn’t the case in otherwise healthy patients.

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine compared the effects of such a diet to that of a standard low-fat diet in 307 obese people who did not suffer from kidney disease or other chronic illnesses.

After a two-year period, they found that the high-protein, low-carb diet didn’t cause noticeable harmful effects on healthy obese patients’ kidney function compared to obese people who followed a low-fat diet.

“Despite decades of concerns about low-carb, high-protein diets that may cause kidney damage in healthy people, there were no signs that this would be the case after a 2-year period,” said Dr. Allon Friedman, lead author of the study, published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Protein in the blood contributes to important protective benefits to the body, including fighting infections, blood clots and improving circulation in the body. Normally proteins are too big to pass through the kidneys’ filter into the urine, but proteins from the blood can leak into the urine when kidney filters are damaged, according to the NIH.

Abnormal amounts of protein in the urine, known as proteinuria, usually point to some sort of kidney disease, regardless of diet. But, researchers found that the most important way to reduce protein in urine did not have to do with the type of diet was the actual amount of weight lost, “not really how you get there,” Friedman said.

The results are relevant to the millions of healthy obese adults who use dieting as a weight-loss strategy, researchers noted. More than one-third of American adults are obese, according to the CDC.

Despite the promising results, Dr. Joseph Vassalotti, chief medical officer of the National Kidney Foundation, cautioned people to take the findings with a grain of salt.

“The population studied does not apply to most patients with or at risk for chronic kidney disease, since the study participants had no evidence of chronic kidney disease or other illnesses,” said Vassalotti.

“The best diet is obviously one that is balanced, that reduces calories and encourages daily exercise,” said Friedman. “For this study, we really showed that it’s not important how someone loses weight, but whether they can do it and keep it off.”

But Vassalotti added that the most “successful nutrition therapy will include a treating clinician, registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator and the patient to consider an individualized nutrition plan.”

Diet and Weight loss with Bill & Sheila

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Atkins Diet Plan - What’s The Catch

Posted on July 18, 2011 by bilrob

Atkins Diet Plan – What’s The Catch

The Atkins diet Plan breakfast can usually composed of eggs strips of bacon and coffee. A snack might include coffee with cream, and chunks of cheese. A huge steak fried in butter could be dinner. Doesn’t this sound really good? It seems very tempting but there is a catch.

In the beginning you will have to give up most carbs, such as breads, potatoes, pasta, rice and other things like chocolate, cake, some fruits. In theory, when carbs are eliminated from the diet, the body burns stored fat. Weight loss is quicker because fat burns more calories than carbs.

Stable blood sugar levels help you to feel fuller thereby damping your appetite. The Induction is the first phase of the Atkins diet, which you follow for at least two weeks. Only 20 grams of carbs a day, but you can eat lots of red meat, chicken, fish, eggs cream and butter. That you want.

During this phase, your body learns to burn fat and not carbs. The ongoing weight loss phase is the second stage. Add 5 grams of carbs a day until you get to your critical carbohydrate level for losing weight. How many carbs can YOU eat and still lose between 1 and 3 pounds a week? Bread, pasta rice and potatoes are still taboo.

The pre-maintenance or third phase is started when you have only 5-10 pounds left to lose in order to reach your goal weight. Yes! Now you get to add 10 grams a day for one week, to your carb intake, to help your body adjust to the addition of carbs to your diet, and to the final phase of the diet.

Lifetime maintenance, phase 4, teaches you ways to stay motivated. Your carb intake is limited to 90 grams in a day. You will be eating low carbs for the rest of your life. Some doctors have expressed concern about the long tern effects of the Atkins and other low carb plans.

High saturated fat consumption may cause an increased risk of heart disease. The lack of certain nutrients in this diet could cause future health problems. The limited intake of calcium could possibly put you at risk for Osteoporosis. The low antioxidant nutrients could lead to cancer, heart disease and premature aging.

The Atkins diet is boring in the Induction phase. Vegetarians have a hard time with Atkins, particularly in the early stages, due to the limited amount of vegetables, nuts seeds and beans. The Atkins diet presents an image of good health from a proper diet. Some are concerned that once you go off the diet the weight comes back quickly.

The very low carbs in this diet could cause ketosis which can be dangerous for diabetics. The high cholesterol of this diet may cause constipation and heart disease because of the high fat content. This diet, low in fruits and veggies is consequently low in antioxidants that fight cancer. The Atkins plan is that it’s not intended for long term use and has serious side effects.

The Atkins Plan works, it is that simple. Weight loss is rapid and you can eat as much protein and fat, as you would like. The carbs eliminated by the Atkins diet can cause a loss of antioxidants which are known to prevent some cancers.

This high fat, high protein diet can increase the risk of elevated cholesterol and heart disease. This Diet really works, although some believe you can’t stay on it long term. If you go off the diet or cheat, you will begin to re-gain the weight. Once you start eating a more normal diet the initial weight loss will return.

As with any diet check with a physician-to make sure you are healthy to begin with. The Atkins diet, some believe, is not for long term use and that it poses some serious health risks. If you are overweight, you are already at risk for heart disease and other health problems, and Atkins could increase those risks.
author:Martin Smith

Diet & Weight loss with Bill & Sheila

Atkins Diet in UK

Posted on July 18, 2011 by bilrob

Atkins Diet in UK

The most recent shocking news related to Atkins diet UK is while dieting Atkins, people don’t feel the drive to eat more.

British population is largely enjoying Atkins diet. Though The United Kingdom doesn’t have to tackle serious issues regarding overweight and obesity, there are enough British dieting. It is said that about two fifths of the British population are currently dieting in some form or another – 58% have tried dieting in the past five years. An estimated three million people in the UK have tried the controversial Atkins Diet, suggests a poll; 7% of men and 10% of women had given it a try.

Despite all the warnings coming from dieticians, the Atkins diet is extremely popular, as it is in the United States. Why on earth is this diet so largely voted? Nutritionists are puzzled and are trying to explain this. The public already knows that Atkins is more effective than standard diets (those low-fat or controlled-calories diet) in losing weight; no one could persuade them to give up Atkins. Up-to-the-minute research point out that, in the Atkins diet, lowering appetite is the one responsible for losing pounds, not ketosis. Atkins diet UK has recently given some challenging topics to talk about.

Secrets from dieters’ diaries

A very recent BBC show disclosed a completely new point of view regarding Atkins diet’s success. On 12 August 2004, a few specialists were invited by narrator Barbara Flynn to debate Atkins advantages and drawbacks. The Atkins diet was “chopped” by Prof. Joe Milward, Dr. Theodore Vanitallie, Dr. Gary Foster, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Mary Vernon, Dr. Paul Robinson, Prof. Joseph Donelly, Dr. Susan Jebb, prof. Arm Astrup.

Participants shared a shocking finding. Ketosis has nothing to do with pounds’ disappearance; actually, by lowering appetite, Atkins dieters are losing weight! Nutrition experts have always been terrified by the fact that Atkins encouraged so many fats and had no limits to calories. The Atkins theory overturned all that dieticians had been trying to induce for years. People “wrongly” believed that, if you want to get thinner, all you have to do is eat less or reduce calories. This theory was swept away by the Atkins dietary approach.

Ketosis – out; appetite – in

Confused by the spectacular results, the nutrition care community couldn’t make this out. The conclusion was drawn after diaries of a group of Atkins dieters were scanned. Reading all the notes, it was clear that Atkins followers have a higher command of their appetite. By eating protein-rich foods regularly, they do not need to eat large amounts, British specialists from BBC show conclude. Appetite is somehow normalized by the food the dieters are actually eating. It is so simple, so unexpected. The father of this dietary approach had also mentioned it, among others, but only after private diet diaries had been “scanned”, the appetite’s relevance finally became prevalent.

The recent BBC show guests said that this finding is extremely interesting because appetite is one of the most fundamental human instincts. It is argued that it is hugely important, since without eating appropriate and sufficient food a human being cannot survive or move, or act, or think, or work. Moreover, hunger drive is considered “incredibly powerful”. The bottom line is that the Atkins way of eating acts like an “appetite killer” and this is tremendously important to understand the diet’s mechanism.
author:Dana Scripca

Diet & Weight loss with Bill & Sheila

Does the Atkins Diet work?

Posted on July 1, 2011 by bilrob

Does the Atkins Diet work?

Dr. Atkins

Does the Atkins Diet work?

The people in America are becoming more obsessed with weight and dieting. We are also getting heavier than any other time in the nation’s history. There are diets, surgeries and supplements that are geared towards helping people lose weight, but most of them fail to get people to address the true issue of looking at how they need to change their lifestyle to keep the weight off.

My husband and I decided that we needed to address our weight. We were both carrying more weight than we needed to be. Friends of ours were on the low carbohydrates diet, and had lost weight quickly, but our question was does the Atkins diet work in keeping the weight off. We decided that we would research this and other diets to see what we would be able to fit into our lives the easiest. We knew that the plan had to be easy to follow and flexible in order for us to stay on it. We knew that most diets would give you results if followed faithfully, yet we were concerned about what happens in the long term.

My husband had me look into low carb dieting to learn how does the Atkins diet work and he was going to look into lower fat dieting. In a way asking the question does Atkins diet work seemed silly considering that the number of people that were following some form of it was growing on a national level. Restaurants and fast food chains were changing their menus to accommodate the number of people that were looking for foods that were lower in carbohydrates. Due to the number of people that are following the Atkins diet it was easy to find information on it.

After doing research on does the Atkins diet work I found that the entire process is dedicated to changing your eating habits for a life time. The strict low carbohydrate intake is used to drop weight, but then a full regime for adding some healthy carbs back into the diet is outlined in the books and other materials that are available. The goal is to add enough carbohydrates back into your daily routine to satisfy your hunger and cravings, without over doing to the point of gaining weight back. The consistent report that successful dieters gave was that they did not feel hungry while cutting back on the carbohydrates. Most people reported having increased energy as well. We have decided that we will try reducing the carbohydrates in our diet and also cut the amount of fat we take in. We are creating a hybrid system that we hope will give us results as well as change our eating habits for the rest of our lives.

If you have ever thought about modifying your diet to lose some weight, you have probably been overwhelmed with the different types of diets out there that the ads are urging you to try. It can be very confusing, especially since there are so many different ones, and they all have a different focus. Some want you to cut carbs, and others tell you that fat is the enemy. Some offer you meals in a package, and others want you to count points. When it came time for me to make a change, one thing on my mind, based on the food choices I had, was does the Atkins diet work?

What is great to many about the Atkins diet is the choice of foods. Fats are allowed, and are encouraged at the beginning of the diet. This is intriguing for most, as the no-fat and low-fat mantra has been drilled into our heads our entire lives. It sound great, but it is also a bit scary. Some think that the answer to the question ‘does the Atkins diet work’ is not because of what you can eat, but what they don’t know is that there is a lot of science behind this diet, and it has been around for decades with great success.

Does the Atkins diet work when you load up on proteins and fats? For many, it does. I know that this was something that I found suspicious, but in the end, the results of the diet spoke for themselves. It was the only diet in which I could eat when I wanted and I was never hungry. Something about this diet kills your appetite, and that is the biggest problem most have when trying to lose weight. I had to give up white foods, but many of the foods that were limited in the beginning are put back in the diet later while the amount of fats is reduce. It ends up being much of what many of us believe is the perfect, healthy diet.

You can think about the diet, but the answer to the question does the Atkins diet work is going to be something you find in the pages of the book on the diet, and in your results when you try it. If you can follow the program, and really commit to it, you are going to see results without feeling hungry all of the time. You may soon feel better than you have in years, and the feeling like you want to nap all of the time is going to go away. Does the Atkins diet work? It did for me. If you want to try it, you must read the book, and then talk with your doctor about your health and the scope of the diet so you know you are keeping your health your number one priority.

Diet & Weight-loss – Atkins diet, with Bill & Sheila

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High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Safe for Kidneys