Posted on 08/29/2011 6:49:11 AM PDT by decimon
New research suggests a higher-protein, lower-carbohydrate energy-restricted diet has a major positive impact on body composition, trimming belly fat and increasing lean muscle, particularly when the proteins come from dairy products.
The study, published in the September issue of the Journal of Nutrition, compared three groups of overweight and obese, but otherwise healthy, premenopausal women. Each consumed either low, medium or high amounts of dairy foods coupled with higher or lower amounts of protein and carbohydrates.
The women exercised seven days per week for four months, a routine that included five days of aerobic exercise and two days of circuit weightlifting.
According to the researchers, there were identical total weight losses among the groups, but the higher-protein, high-dairy group experienced greater whole-body fat and abdomen fat losses, greater lean mass gains and greater increases in strength.
The tissue composition, exclusively fat, of the weight the women lost has profound implications for longer-term health, say the researchers.
"One hundred per cent of the weight lost in the higher-protein, high-dairy group was fat. And the participants gained muscle mass, which is a major change in body composition," says Andrea Josse, lead author of the study and a graduate student in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University. "The preservation or even gain of muscle is very important for maintaining metabolic rate and preventing weight regain, which can be major problem for many seeking to lose weight."
Researchers found the lower-protein, low-dairy group lost about a pound and half of muscle whereas the lower-protein, medium dairy group lost almost no muscle. In marked contrast, the higher-protein, high-dairy group actually gained a pound and half of muscle, representing a three-pound difference between the low- and high-dairy groups.
On top of the muscle mass differences, the higher-protein, high-dairy group lost twice as much belly fat than the lower-protein, low-dairy group.
"Fat in the abdomen is thought to be especially bad for cardiovascular and metabolic health, and it seems—according to what we found in this study—increasing calcium and protein in the diet may help to further promote loss of fat from the worst storage area in the body," says Josse.
"A very important point is that these changes were not captured by simple measures of body weight or body mass index, which are the most commonly used measures of dietary 'success'" adds Stuart Phillips, a professor in the Department of Kinesiology. "These women also got fitter and stronger, which greatly reduces their risk of disease."
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The I.D.E.A.L. (Improving Diet Exercise and Lifestyle) for Women study was funded by Dairy Farmers of Canada, the US Dairy Research Institute and Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Agropur Incorporated provided the dairy products used in the study.
Attention editors: Video clips of Stuart Phillips and Andrea Josse discussing the findings can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4B-35-lwCc
A copy of the study can be found on the Journal of Nutrition's website at http://jn.nutrition.org/content/141/9/1626.full
McMaster University, one of four Canadian universities listed among the Top 100 universities in the world, is renowned for its innovation in both learning and discovery. It has a student population of 23,000, and more than 140,000 alumni in 128 countries.
Ping
How do you fatten up a pig? You feed him corn which is high in carbohydrates.
A focused test group.
Milk and butter and cheese.....Oh yes!!
What if you are regularly doing high cardio exercises? I run probably 40 - 60 miles a week, and I find that if I cut too many carbs out, I lose energy on long runs.
Sshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, don’t tell the anti-dairy vegan crowd that dairy products are actually beneficial. Before they string you up they will show you photos of poor suffering cows forced to produce milk.
I wish they would list the actual foods eaten. I am on a low carb diet for health reasons and it is difficult to find things without carbs. I had no idea until I started reading labels that yogurt has a ton of carbs. I tend to think of carbs as bread, potatotes and corn.
“The China Study” by Thomas Campbell says, with significant data to back it up, that such a diet will kill you.
Milk has carbs. :( I have had to severly restrict my milk since going on a low carb diet for my health.
I’ve been trying the Paleo/Primal diet. Lean protein, green leafy vegetables, and fruits. The diet calls for basically no dairy and no grain carbs. I’ve cheated a little on the dairy and kept grains to a minimum. So far I’ve lost 17 lbs. over a month. I ride an exercise bike 60 minutes a day-about 16 miles and do a little walking, but not much. I’m feeling pretty good and my blood sugar numbers are excellent (don’t have diabetes, but check due to weight and familial issues).
yep.
Have you tried 8th Continent light vanilla soy milk? It has about half the carbs of cow’s milk. Granted, it’s not as good, but...It’s sometimes hard to find though and only that brand’s light has the lower carbs, at least that I’ve found.
The politically incorrect Atkins diet is correct.
Never mind what the politically correct diet dictators tell you. They lie. They're in it for the donations.
Feed your kids real food. The politically correct diet is screwing them up in all kinds of ways. We fed our kids real food, and they're running circles around all the others.
Carbs are most often white. Cheese is an exception, because it can be white, but it's partially "digested" already.
No I haven’t tried it but I don’t eat soy products if I can help it. (I know there is soy in a lot of things) It contains a natural chemical that mimics estrogen.
My guess is if you run 40-60 miles a week, you aren’t looking to lose weight? You are probably at a healthy body weight? If you do a lot of aerobic/cardio activity...you do need carbs for quick fuel for your cells, and you will in turn burn up those carbs/glucose.
Also, glucose is the preferred source of fuel for your brain. Low carb does not mean “no carbs.”
I thought that too but apples have carbs. Carrots are high in carbs. I can still eat them but I have to count carbs. I get 150g of carbs a day. 30 for breakfast, 45 for lunch and dinner and 30 for snack.
Whole grain carbs are good because of the roughage. It helps flush things out.
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