New Study Says Low Carb Diet Better Than Low Fat Diet

[Reub]

http://www.newsmax.com/Health-News/low- ... id/591971/

"A low-carbohydrate diet is better for losing weight and may also be better for lowering the risk of heart disease than a low-fat diet, according to a new study."

Many of us already know this to be true, but it is further confirmation. Personally, I have lost 25 lbs. since switching to a low carb, high saturated fat approach!

[Mark Leavy]

Any fat loss diet is by definition a diet high in saturated fat.

If you lose 2 lbs of fat per week - by any means - then you are metabolizing a half a cup of lard a day.  Tasty tasty lard.

In general, if you are trying to lose weight, stick with lean protein and let your body eat up the saturated fat that is your waist.  After you reach the weight you like, go back to eating butter, bacon and avocados instead of your belly fat.

[Reub]

That's good news for me, because I enjoy low carb a whole lot more than low fat. 

Reub, was your diet something defined (atkins, paleo, etc.) or did you roll your own?  I need to lose exactly 25 lbs, and I love saturated fat (seriously).

I wouldn't define it as a Paleo diet as it was lower in carbs than that. I was watching my fasting blood glucose and trying every which way to get it below 100. This led me to exercising vigorously most mornings, only eating between 11AM and 7PM most days and utilizing berberine and chromium which both seem to help one lose weight. Funny but my blood sugar still remains above 100 but I feel great with my 25 lb weight loss! I think that the berberine may have been the key.

[flyingpylon]

I was watching my fasting blood glucose and trying every which way to get it below 100.

What were you using to measure glucose levels?  I am interested in measuring mine more often but haven't seriously looked into the options for doing so.  I wonder about the accuracy of some of the DIY tests.

[Reub]

I've been using an inexpensive Relion Prime glucose monitoring kit that was recommended by Kresser and purchased at Walmart.  I am hoping that it's unreliable and that my blood sugar is really 85, but I doubt it.  My next real blood test will tell me for certain.

[Reub]

I have incorporated some of the PHD but use less carbs. I also eat out more often than I should so it is a challenge.

[Reub]

I'm by no means an expert, but you might want to add some daily berberine (purchased from Swanson Vitamins as per MachineGhost's recommendation) and some chromium. Cutting back on the carbs isn't easy, but just have more tasty fatty foods in their place. Can you try not to eat until 10 or 11 AM and then stop 8 hours later? These are the things that I believe have helped me. Prior to finding this regimen btw I could never lose a pound!

Even though this article  about The Leptin Diet specifically addresses diabetes issues I believe that it can benefit all of us:

http://www.wellnessresources.com/tips/a ... ion_fails/

[dualstow]

Do any pp'ers eat oatmeal?

All my life, I thought it was health food and I've always enjoyed eating it. In my twenties, I gave it up because I always seemed to experience acid reflux after eating a big bowl of the stuff. I do still get acid reflux from time to time, but far less often without the oatmeal.

Realizing this is a carb-rich food in a low-carb thread, I still have to wonder aloud: does oatmeal have any reedeeming value in this decade, or do you all avoid it? Thanks in advance.

[WildAboutHarry]

[quote=dualstow]does oatmeal have any reedeeming value in this decade[/quote]

It makes good soap.

[dualstow]

Hah! Thank you, WAH.  I have used Grandpa's brand pine tar soap.

But as far as eating it goes, can all those Scotsmen be wrong?

[Benko]

1. Eating lots of rice is probably not a great idea if you're trying to lose weight/have blood sugar issues.

2. "Can you try not to eat until 10 or 11 AM and then stop 8 hours later?"

This is one of the intermittent fasting protocols and works well for many/most.  However if you have adrenal "issues" i.e. if you have had prolonged periods of sleep deprivation, or e.g. overtraining, I would not try this approach since intermittent fasting stresses the adrenals. 

3. 7 Things Everyone Should Know About Low-Carb Diets  by Chris Kresser
http://chriskresser.com/7-things-everyo ... carb-diets


        #2/7: Low-carb diets are incredibly effective in certain situations
              Overweight and obesity
              High blood sugar, metabolic syndrome, diabetes (both type 1 & type 2)

4.  If you don't have gut issues, or if you're gut issues are not made worse by Oatmeal, I'm skeptical that Oats need to be avoided.    However DON"T USE INSTANT/QUICK COOKING.  I use Bob's Red mill organic rolled oats (not the instant kind.  Needs to be boiled about 10 min).  Steel cut may be better (don't think it is better by a lot).

Most day's for b'fast I eat 1/2 cup cooked oats,  handful gogi berries or 1/2 cup blueberries, 1 tbsp coconut oil, + 1 packet truvia with 6 ounces animal protein (beef, chicken, pork, tuna). 

5.  REsistant starch: you've heard the wonders of them in prior posts on this board.  Go easy if you have SIBO (most people don't). 

[dualstow]

Thanks, Benko. I love Bob's Red Mill. Have enjoyed a lot of their products over the years.

I eat steel cut oats once every couple weeks or so.  They take longer to cook, but are completely different (and taste much better to me) than any of the other rolled oat products (i.e. cooks-in-five-minute, cooks-in-one-minute, and instant).

Steel cut, yes! That's what I used to eat, too. Delicious.

[Mountaineer]

Thanks, Benko. I love Bob's Red Mill. Have enjoyed a lot of their products over the years.

I eat steel cut oats once every couple weeks or so.  They take longer to cook, but are completely different (and taste much better to me) than any of the other rolled oat products (i.e. cooks-in-five-minute, cooks-in-one-minute, and instant).

Steel cut, yes! That's what I used to eat, too. Delicious.

I am another Bob's Red Mill steel cut oats fan.  I only cook them for 10 minutes or so to maintain the firm, chewey texture, and like them with butter, salt, and pepper.  However, I do experience a downside ... can't eat them for breakfast if I'm going to be around other people that day (aside from the cramping issues).  If I eat them every day, those issues pretty much subside - I guess my gut acclimates. 

... Mountaineer

[Reub]

I had previously half-heartedly tried resistant starch without much success for lowering my somewhat elevated fasting blood sugar. Just this past week I have rededicated myself to it, increasing the volume and the frequency.  So far I am seeing results, with my blood sugar down to 101 for 3 days in a row instead of ranging from 105 to 115. Does anyone know how resistant starch such as unmodified potato starch actually works?

[Mark Leavy]

Does anyone know how resistant starch such as unmodified potato starch actually works?

The short version:
Since you can't directly digest it, Resistant Starch passes through to your intestines where it becomes feeder food for all of your gut bacteria.  You grow a real farm down there.  Some of the bacteria work there way up your digestive tract and make you generally better at digesting food and converting it into other things.  They particularly love all kinds of starches and glucose and can convert it into fatty acids, alcohols and vinegars before you can.

Your blood sugar goes down over time, because you are actually consuming more fatty acids instead of carbohydrates - as your bacteria get to the carbs before you can.  As a side affect, you'll probably have quite a bit more gas.

For the record, I've never used Resistant Starch, but that is the gist of the theory.

[Reub]

Yes, I can attest to the gas!

Desert, you don't have to do the intermittent fasting every day if you don't want to. But I would definitely try not to eat too late in the evening if you can help it.

BTW, fats have been great for me in losing weight...I eat plenty of nuts, 90% dark chocolate, full fat Greek yogurt, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil,  and 5 capdules of fish oil per day. Even with adding all of this fat I've lost close to 15% of my body weight staying away from carbs. I've just added chia seeds too which are rich in fiber and fat.

[Reub]

I do it most days. Simply exercising when I would have been having breakfast gets me through the fast rather easily.

[dualstow]

I did a 72-hour water-only fast during the World Cup. It was surprisingly easy. I didn't exercise, though. Mostly napped.

[Benko]

mainstream new sources are not exactly open minded on nutritional topics so when you find CNN saying:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/06/opinion/t ... ?hpt=hp_c4

Now, for the first time, the media and mainstream nutrition researchers are talking openly—and seriously—about the potential health benefits of a low-carb diet
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

you can be pretty sure that this is well established and now mainstream.. 

[Reub]

I guess that Atkins was well ahead of his time. Benko, I haven't hsd any recent blood work so I wonder what a high fat low carb diet generally does to hdl, ldl, homocysteine,  and crp inflammation levels. Do you know?

[Benko]

Reub,

1. NB: that for most people (see Kresser article) low carb is not something to live on forever.  See Kresser's articles or PH diet. 

2. years ago I knew a bodybuilder who as an experiment increased his daily egg consumption starting from  perhaps 3 eggs daily and increased to like 12 eggs daily.  His bad lipids decreased as the number of eggs increased.

3.  I doubt everyone reacts the same.  So doubt there is an easy answer.  Also your omega 3 consumption is important, as is veggie intake. 

[Reub]

Here is a new interesting article on calorie restriction:

http://m.lef.org/magazine/mag2014/sep20 ... ium=social

" If you are considering starting a calorie-restricted diet, the Wisconsin research results
should be encouraging: All the monkeys in the study were adults, suggesting that you can
start a calorie-restricted diet now and reap significant benefits. In fact, the study includes a
helpful statistical analysis, indicating that the control animals had 2.9 times greater rate of
death from age-related causes than the calorie-restricted animals."

[Mark Leavy]

I guess that Atkins was well ahead of his time. Benko, I haven't hsd any recent blood work so I wonder what a high fat low carb diet generally does to hdl, ldl, homocysteine,  and crp inflammation levels. Do you know?

Assuming mostly saturated and monounsaturated fats...
HDL goes up. (good)
LDL goes up. (Needs interpretation.  Large fluffy LDL good.  Small sticky LDL bad).
CRP goed down. (good).

Different story if the fat is mostly poly unsaturated.

[Mark Leavy]

years ago I knew a bodybuilder who as an experiment increased his daily egg consumption starting from  perhaps 3 eggs daily and increased to like 12 eggs daily.  His bad lipids decreased as the number of eggs increased.

You really can't find a better food than eggs.  It is the very definition of "everything you need".  All of the essential vitamins and minerals in exactly the right proportions.  Raw material for creating muscle, hair, skin, eyes, bones, liver...  and feathers

[Benko]

Reub,

Calorie restriction is something else i.e. not the same as what we have been discussing.  It has many adherents and may be wonderful i.e. have lots of health benefits.  May.  It is not without drawbacks one of which is decreasing bone density.  From a TCM i.e. chinese medicine point of view, you are stressing the body though, and I suspect there are select people who it would not be a great idea.  PERHAPS if you built slim and tend toward being cold a lot, CR may be a bad idea.

But we have traveled from talking about low carb for a time period to lose weight or improve glucose to eating less calories forever.  This is a whole nother discussion.