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.”

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Are low-carb diets safe for the kidneys?

Posted on June 1, 2012 by bilrob

Are low-carb diets safe for the kidneys?

A new study eases long-term concerns regarding the potential adverse effects low-carbohydrate diets may have on the kidneys.

Low-carb, high-protein diets—such as the Atkins diet—have been popular for years, but experts have long worried that these weight loss strategies may have harmful effects on a person’s kidney function or fluid and electrolyte balance.

As far back as the 1970s, the American Medical Association even released an editorial labeling the Atkins diet “potentially harmful.”

“The belief among many experts was eating lots of protein could ‘rev up’ the kidneys, like an engine, and cause damage or failure over time,” lead researcher Dr. Allon Friedman, from the Indiana University School of Medicine, told FoxNews.com.

“High levels of protein have also been known to change electrolytes in the blood in ways that could be harmful,” he added.

However, in a study of 200 obese patients who participated in a low-carb, high-protein diet over a two-year period, Friedman and his colleagues did not find any noticeably harmful effects on kidney health or function compared to people who ate a low-fat diet instead.

“We did not find that a high-protein diet led to any kidney-related problems like lower filtration rates, kidney stones or problems with blood electrolytes,” Friedman said.

Based on the results, Friedman said high-protein diets appeared to be healthy from both a kidney and weight loss standpoint.

“As long as the diet is sensible, the most important thing is weight loss, regardless,” Friedman said. “Other studies have suggested high-protein diets allow patients to lose at least as much weight as heart-healthy diets.”

However, he warned that despite the encouraging results, these diets may not be safe for everybody.

“We did not perform the study in patients with other illnesses,” he said. “I would be hesitant to extrapolate these results to patients with diabetes or advanced kidney disease.”

Further follow-up is needed to look at even longer-term effects of these diets on the kidneys, as well as study the effects in individuals who do have existing kidney problems or other illnesses.

The study was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. People should consult with their doctors before embarking on any new diet or fitness regimen.

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The Best Way to Use Low-Carb Control

Posted on October 6, 2011 by bilrob

The Best Way to Use Low-Carb Control

The benefits of low-carb dieting are easy to see and make clear why so many are choosing a low-carb way of life. For example, there isn’t any counting of calories or measuring portions. In addition you do not have to cut out all the food you enjoy. You can continue eating burgers, cheese, and bacon. Putting yourself on an eating plan for most people is generally complicated and yet the low-carb diet plan is simple enough for anyone. Cut your carbs down and watch the pounds fall.

No more waiting around for your diet to show results. You will be able to see the results right away. Because of the very simple fact that the amount of calories you consume does matter, by cutting down on your carb intake you will be at the same time cutting out a large amount of calories without trying directly.

Keep yourself in check. As you are minimizing the amount of carbohydrates you are eating you want to make sure that your body is getting enough nutrients. When you are following your low-carb regime here are a few things to keep in mind:

First, make sure you maintain a good fibre intake. You can do this while still sticking to your low-carb plan. Keep away from those bad carbs, such as the ones consumed from sugars. Have the low levels of carbohydrates that you do eat come from whole grains or vegetables. In fact these good carbs that you do choose to eat also aids in weight loss, this is a bonus. Your plan might change names from the low-carb eating plan to the low-carb/good-carb eating plan.

Second, try to minimize the amount of saturated fat you consume. Some low-carb plans you may find are high in saturated fats, one of the worst kinds of fats. They raise your LDL cholesterol levels, which may put you at risk of heart disease.

While eating your low-carb diet, you can reduce your saturated fats by choosing leaner protein sources such as poultry, seafood, and lean pork and beef. Make sure you cut away all visible excess fat on meets. Choose low fat or non-fat dairy products. You should also replace butter with vegetable oils such as olive or canola oil. Try to eat smaller portions of all these foods.

All in all, be smart with your food choices and it will be to your benefit.

author:Melissa White
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Low Carb Ice Cream

Posted on September 5, 2011 by bilrob

Low Carb Ice Cream

As the low carb diet continues to create a booming impact to its dieters, the low carb diet arena then began to produce after the exciting six-part series of frozen desserts, and included in this food trend is the making of the reduced sugar and low carb ice creams.

Speaking of low carb ice cream, there are some low carb ice creams that cannot be technically called “low carb ice cream” due to their cream contents, however, they are still low carb ice cream alike. Fortunately, the ice cream companies are now working hard to provide the ice cream consumers with frozen desserts that have reduced sugar contents, which ultimately reduce the products’ calorie and carbohydrate contents.

And one of the good news that accompanied the production of the low carb ice cream is that most of the reduced sugar desserts really taste yummy. However, there are some studies which noted that reduced sugar does not eventually mean the treat is low in fat. But despite that possibility for the low carb ice cream, there are still some frozen desserts that are both low in fat and carbohydrates.

It is as well interesting to know that many studies about the low carb ice cream have considered that only half a cup of the low carb ice cream is a reasonable serving. However, it is still considerable that even if an ice cream carton trumpets that has low sugar or calorie levels, or has no added sugar, or even has low carbohydrates, they might have probably fat contents that would contribute a bad effect.

So if you are one of those who love low carb ice creams, following are several low carb ice creams that are best recommended for family preference.

One of the noted best recommended low carb ice cream is the Edy’s No Sugar Added Triple Chocolate low carb ice cream. Many who have tasted this low carb frozen dessert have considered it as low in fat, low in sugar, and tastes so yummy. And in fact, there are fudge sauce swirls in this chocolate ice cream.

And also of great interest is the Vanilla Ice Cream that can really be considered as a low carb ice cream for the fact that it contains a lower carbohydrates count for two carbohydrates per serving. This particular low carb frozen dessert is made by these ingredients: five egg yolks, a cup of Splenda, 1 and ¼ cups of heavy cream that is whipped.

All of these mentioned low carb ice creams are really considered as nice favourite treats. So you can keep yourself and slim down with these low carb frozen desserts.

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Low Carb Cooking

Posted on June 20, 2011 by bilrob

Living cookbook has hundreds of special diet recipes

Low Carb Cooking

Around the world people are paying more attention to their bodies and their health than perhaps at any other time in history. One method that has shown great success in helping people quickly drop those unwanted pounds is through low carb cooking and dieting. This method of weight loss seems to have taken the world by storm promising quick results for the simple (or not so simple) lifestyle change of eliminating as many carbohydrates as possible from our diets.

The notion sounds simple on one hand and is appealing to not only women hoping to drop those vanity pounds but also men who welcome the idea of eating all the steaks they can handle throughout the year. Low card cooking is becoming a way of life for many families as a result though the idea of this particular lifestyle change and the reality of it do on occasion seriously collide with one another.

If you are interested in dropping those unwanted pounds and keeping them off, this is a doubt that without a doubt gets results. The problem is that you must stick to the diet in order for the results to remain consistent even after you’ve met your weight loss goals. This means that you are not really embarking on a diet so much as a complete overhaul in the way you eat.

The excellent thing about low carb cooking is that it is so widely popular. This means that you will have no trouble finding resources, tips, tricks, advice, and even amazing substitutes for those things you often miss most when engaging in the low carb lifestyle. Popular stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes are great places to go for specific foods that are low carb in nature and designed to meet the chocolate or breading needs of those who feel more than slightly deprived by the rigorous restrictions of a low carb lifestyle. Many mainstream grocery stores are also beginning to see the value of catering to this ‘high end’ market of consumers and offering a wider variety of low carb friendly foods to consumers.

You can find recipes that are low in carbs by the mouthful at your local libraries and bookstores around the world. You can also find many resources on the Internet to help assist and encourage you in your low carb lifestyle incorporation. In addition to the cookbooks, recipes, and encouragement you also need to weed out the fact from the fiction when it comes to low carb cooking. The best way to do this is to go straight to the source. If you are going to incorporate this lifestyle altering diet into your way of life, you want to make sure that you are following it to the letter and not some knock off version that may not be as effective.

When it comes to low carb cooking you have the perfect excuse to use your grill well and use your grill often. In fact, I highly recommend a George Foreman grill (or some similar knock off) for your home for those days when grilling outside simply isn’t an option. Around our house, those are the days when the snow reaches the bottom of the grill but we are the exception rather than the rule. Most importantly about low carb cooking you should keep your goal in mind. If you aren’t making progress, check what you are doing and adjust your cooking and eating accordingly.

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High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Safe for Kidneys