Posted on 09/05/2009 5:10:07 PM PDT by neverdem
BOSTON — Proponents of the Atkins low-carbohydrate/high saturated fat diet say that you can have your steak and eat it, too, and still lose weight.
But the adverse metabolic consequences are too heavy a price to pay, Australian investigators reported at a symposium sponsored by the International Atherosclerosis Society.
After 1 year, overweight and obese patients randomly assigned to the Atkins diet or to a low-saturated-fat, high-carbohydrate diet lost similar amounts of weight. But patients on the Atkins diet had a deterioration in flow-mediated arterial dilatation, a marker for cardiovascular disease, and higher levels of LDL cholesterol than at baseline, reported Dr. Peter Clifton of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Adelaide, South Australia.
“What I really want to know is, does the early elevation of HDL, which has been shown convincingly [with the Atkins diet], and lowering of triglycerides plus the lowering of blood pressure and glucose, outweigh the rise in LDL cholesterol that you see in some individuals in some studies?” said Dr. Clifton.
He and colleagues analyzed the effects of two diets on flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), a measurement of the ability of blood vessels to dilate in response to increases in blood flow. FMD is reduced in both cardiovascular disease and diabetes, but whether it improves with significant weight loss is unclear; if so, it might be related to either decreases in glucose or in LDL, Dr. Clifton said.
The study's aim was to evaluate the effects on markers of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease risk of a very-low-carbohydrate/high-saturated-fat diet, and an isocaloric high-carbohydrate/low-saturated-fat diet.
The outcomes were FMD and markers of endothelial dysfunction, including cellular adhesion molecules, inhibitors and promoters of fibrinolysis, adiponectin, glucose, insulin, C-reactive protein (CRP), lipids, and apolipoprotein B.
The study involved 70 men and women aged 16-60 years with body mass index between 27 and 40 kg/m2, and markers for the presence of the metabolic syndrome.
After 1 year, the 33 patients on the Atkins diet lost slightly more weight on average (14.5 kg), than did the 36 patients on the low-fat diet (11.5 kg), but this difference was not significant.
There was no diet-specific effect on blood pressure, glucose, insulin or CRP, but the Atkins diet was superior to the low-fat diet at decreasing triglycerides and increasing HDL. The Atkins diet also was associated with increases in LDL levels.
Overall, 49 patients (26 on the Atkins diet, 23 on the low-fat diet) underwent FMD assessment. Endothelial function decreased by almost half from baseline among patients in the Atkins diet, compared with no change among patients on the low-fat diet. “Overall, FMD deteriorated after 12 months on a high-saturated-fat Atkins diet, despite their fantastic weight loss and improvement in all those other things,” Dr. Clifton said. “Solely because the LDL increased, it outweighed all the other measures of weight loss. The other measures of endothelial function that we took actually improved except ICAM-1 on the Atkins diet, so there seems to be a separation of endothelial functions as expressed by nitric oxide and these other endothelial markers.
“This really calls into question that fantastic elevation of HDL [with the Atkins diet] as being a good thing or having anything much to do with cardiovascular health,” he added.
Dr. Clifton disclosed that he has coauthored diet books, but they do not include the information he presented.
The meat-heavy Atkins diet increased both HDL and LDL cholesterol.
Four things were obvious about the Atkins diet:
1. LDL (good) went up
2. Triglycerides were lowered
3. Avg weight loss was 30% more (considered insignificant by the authors)
4. HDL was elevated by a few percent (considered significant by the same authors)
One of his books (coauthor) is previewed on Google thusly:
“CSIRO as a leading authority in dietary research, was contacted by many dieticians with concerns about the promotion of high protein diets, without reliable supporting evidence.
CSIRO as a leading authority in dietary research, was contacted by many dieticians with concerns about the promotion of high protein diets, without reliable supporting evidence.The Clinic had conducted studies over the years with different types and different levels of protein.
The benefits they showed are subtle but are at least as effective as traditional high carbohydrate, low-fat diets.
To investigate further, Clinic researchers studied 100 overweight and obese women on two different diets over a period of 12 weeks. The women were divided into two groups:
one group was placed on a high protein, low fat diet,
the other group was given a high carbohydrate, low fat diet.
Dr Noake’s team had a hypothesis - that if kilojoule intake for each diet was the same then there shouldn’t be any difference in weight loss.
But they did see a difference.
More weight and fat was lost by the women on the higher protein diet, particularly if they had high blood fats, called triglycerides.
More dropped out of the high carbohydrate diet, which was a surprise, because they didn’t expect the high protein foods to appeal to women as much as the starchy foods.
So the higher-protein diet was more successful because people preferred it!
The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, rrp A$34.95, is available from CSIRO PUBLISHING and most bookstores.”
The theme of their studies seems to eschew fats of any kind up to now.
Bad science marker!
I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it, especially if it is reproducible.
My uncle had not seen my mother in twenty years.
When he did he was gobsmacked. “it is like she discovered the fountain of youth” he exclaimed.
“Unfortunately for us, it is diet and exercise” I told him.
“And who wants to do that?” he answered.
Do you know why the stomach is an acidic environment? Do you know why the intestinal lumen is full of enzymes?
There are several ways to DNA gets transferred. A piece of DNA enclosed in a bacteriophage could be resistant to acid and self enzymes, also by several mechanisms.
It just doesn't happen.
Of several legitimate concerns with gene modified organisms, that has to be lower on the list than little green men from Mars.
LOL.. if it was engineered to get in, it would. Live in your dream world if you want tho.
If I wanted to design an orally administered DNA medicine that could be eaten absorbed and then get inside the cell nucleus to mess around with the host DNA; I would be told just how impossible that is.
That you think it can take place by accident shows how little you know of the subject.
I know the subject. I work in this area.
DNA from the things you eat DO NOT get inside your own DNA. That is delusional.
Thanks for the post. My husband who has diabetes was told this quite some time ago. His kidneys have been effected some what, just hope they do not get worse.
I work as well. You should be careful with your own delusion of thinking you know all see all, clearly, you do not.
And I did not say it was placed their by accident, silly. There are many useful organisms that thrive in the stomach. Clearly you are behind on your genetics.
As I said, of the several legitimate concerns about Gene Mod Organisms that one ranks somewhere below little green men from Mars.
uh oh ping
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