Health Articles

Topics presented by our Food & Nutrition Department Dietitian.

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*Many people are interested in loosing weight and keeping it off. Popular Diets often boast these claims but in fact do the opposite. The information below is from Dr James Kenney, PhD, RD, FACN, Nutrition Research Specialist who is board certified in Human Nutrition.

Just as your car runs best on a certain type of fuel, so does the human body. Unfortunately the latest low-carbohydrate (CHO) fad diets are not the fuel mix the human body was designed to run on. Here are 10 main health risks associated with consuming a high-protein, low-CHO diet over the long run.

1. Poor Long Term Weight Control
There is no metabolic magic in low-CHO diets. Those who continue to lose weight after the first week do so because they decrease calorie intake. This can occur because of decreased dietary variety. Greatly limiting the number of foods that people are allowed to eat, reduces their food and calorie intake. But a reduction in variety most often leads to boredom and cravings over the long run. One recent study showed that a high protein meal leads to a greater tendency towards binging of foods, high in sugar and fat, later in the day.

2. Fainting
Orthostatic hypotension, or a rapid drop in blood pressure when you go from lying down to standing, is caused by a loss of fluid and electrolytes and reduced sympathetic nervous system activity. Both of these occur when your body is deprived of CHO. This may result in dizziness or even fainting when you stand up quickly.

*If you are really interested in loosing weight and keeping it off, you want to know the pros and cons of a Diet before you start it. The claims made by diet programs are not always true.

3. Reduced Athletic Performance Don't let the wrong fuel mix run you down!
Athletic performance is reduced on a low-CHO diet. Since the 1930's it has been known that a high-CHO diet can enhance endurance during strenuous athletic events. Mountain climbers and skiers should be warned that a ketogenic diet greatly increases the risk of mountain sickness.

4. Keto breath
Keto-breath can be described as a cross between nail polish and over-ripe pineapple. This is common for dieters who consume so few CHO that they put their bodies in ketosis. Your best bet for permanent weight loss and control, as well as good health, is twofold:
1) increase the amount of fruits, vegetables, nonfat dairy products, whole grains and beans that you eat.
2) eliminate calorie-dense foods such as cookies, sugary desserts, bagels, crackers, chips, fries, pizza, candies, etc. Research on people who have successfully lost a lot of weight and kept it off long term, shows that the vast majority succeeded by consuming a low-fat diet high in fiber coupled with regular exercise.

*If weight loss and lowering your cholesterol is on your mind, then you want an effective diet to do both. A balanced diet and exercise is the best way to accomplish this. This diet should limit fats and concentrated sweets while increasing your daily activity. Popular Diets Do Not Always follow these guidelines. The information is about The Atkins Diet and other Low-Carbohydrate Diets which are unhealthy.

5. Heart Disease Risk Increases
Risk of heart disease is increased greatly on a low-CHO, low-fiber diet that is high in animal protein, cholesterol and saturated fat. All three raise serum cholesterol, particularly LDL or "bad" cholesterol. Elimination of high-CHO, high-fiber plant foods, that help lower cholesterol, compounds this problem. A high meat intake may excessively increase homocysteine levels and iron stores in the body. There is growing evidence that high levels of both may increase the risk of heart disease.

6. Gout
An excess of uric acid in the body causes gout. This excess can be caused by an increased intake of foods high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid in the body. Meat, poultry, nuts, seeds, eggs and seafood are all fairly high in purines. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints.

*Instead of following a Low-Carb or Atkins Diet, try a balanced diet. The DASH diet is balanced, includes the characteristics you want and increases your intake of vegetables. The DASH diet research has proven it controls hypertension, and helps to lower cholesterol. It can also be designed for healthy weight loss.

Fruits and vegetables are not included in sufficient quantities in the Low-Carb diet. This is a very serious omission. There are many phytochemicals found in a healthy diet which includes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The phytochemicals play an important role in cancer prevention.

7. Cancer Risk Increases
Risk of many cancers is likely to increase when most fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans are eliminated from the diet. The National Cancer Institute currently recommends, based on the bulk of scientific research, that you eat a plant-based diet that is high-fiber and low-fat.

8. Osteoporosis
Over time, excess protein intake, especially from animal sources, increases the loss of calcium in the urine which may contribute to osteoporosis.

The DASH diet [Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension], has been shown to be of great effectiveness in combating this significant health risk. Fruits and Vegetable are a major ingredient in the dietary approach to fight the dangers of high blood pressure. They also help with weight control by taking the place of high fat - high sugar snack choices.

9. Rising Blood Pressure with Age
Blood pressure will likely increase with age on a typical low-CHO diet. In part, this is because a high-CHO, high-fiber diet includes more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nonfat dairy products. This diet was shown to lower blood pressure most likely due to its higher content of key minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. Also low-CHO diets do not restrict salt intake, the main reason blood pressure rises with age.

10. Kidney Stones
Both uric acid and calcium oxalate stones are more likely to form on a high protein, ketogenic diet than on a higher carbohydrate diet with more fruits and vegetables.