Low-carb dieters lose more than weight
Water retention, lack of nutrients can be more harmful than extra pounds
By Joie Guner
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
jguner~media.ucla.edu

Recent popular diets have devised a way to color-code the food pyramid, by encouraging the elimination of white foods – those that tend to be high in carbohydrates.

Dr. Robert Atkins first sparked debate in 1972 by supporting a diet based on an extreme reduction of carbohydrates and an increase of proteins in order to lose weight. Other similar diets, like the South Beach Diet and the Zone Diet, have budded off the Atkins regimen in the past few years.

And many people, including UCLA students, are jumping on the low-carb bandwagon as the popularity of these diets surges.

Timothy Chen stopped eating designated foods high in carbohydrates and lost 45 pounds.

Chen, a third-year computer science and engineering students, achieved his high weight loss without exercise through a no-carbohydrate diet his family doctor designed.

"The weight loss was so fast, but I didn't consider that a health problem. In fact, it alleviated many problems since," he said. "I was able to do workouts such as jogging."

Yet other students are concerned with the health risks low-carb diets pose.

"Atkins tells you to avoid things like fruits, so my nutrients were very limited," said Varun Uttamchandani, a first-year undeclared student who tried the diet for nearly a year.

"I quit because I was revolted by how much meat I had to eat," he said.

Many restaurants on campus and in Westwood Village have responded to the increased demand for low-carb options by providing new menu items.

On-campus restaurants may soon add meals that comply with a healthier level of carbohydrate intake, said Roy Champawat, associate director for Food Operations and Business Development at UCLA restaurants.

Burger King in Westwood has added the new burger wrap, which consists of a hamburger without the bun. Both BJ's Pizza and Grill and Jerry's Famous Deli can make similar dishes upon request.

Chili's has even taken the low-carbohydrate popularity to print. The restaurant's new menu lists traditional items like their chicken caesar salad – without the croutons.

"A lot of the same types of restaurants like us have already done a low-carb menu and have been very successful," said Nicole McDaniel, manager of Chili's in Westwood.

The low-carb menu has proven to be popular among customers from all age groups, she said.

Nonetheless, the Atkins diet and similar eating plans that completely eliminate carbohydrates won't be dictating Sheri Barke's meal plan anytime soon.

"You do lose weight on the Atkins diet because you're eating fewer calories," said Barke, registered dietician and nutrition education coordinator at UCLA's Arthur Ashe Student Wellness Center.

"(But) if you're not allowed to eat bread, cereal, rice, pasta, fruits, vegetables, milk, beans and yogurt, there's not much food left," she said.

The danger of low-carb diets is the elimination of high-quality carbohydrates found in fruits and vegetables.

"(In an ideal eating plan) most of your plate is pasta or rice, half of your plate is vegetables and fruits, a quarter of your plate is starch and a quarter of your plate is protein," Barke said.

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies suggests a meal plan where carbohydrates compose 45 to 65 percent of daily calorie intake.

The Atkins diet, on the other hand, restricts dieters to only 5 percent carbohydrates, with the remaining 95 percent to come from protein.

An increase in animal protein or fat can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and cancer, said Christian Roberts, a physiological sciences professor.

"In order to lose weight, nobody needs to go on a low-carb diet," Roberts said.

He suggests a diet limiting the less healthy, refined carbohydrates found in cookies and soda.

With excessive protein consumption, Atkins dieters can lose lots of water when they don't have the carbohydrates to retain it.

Water loss can ultimately damage the kidneys, which are necessary for processing the excess proteins, Barke said.

The Student Nutrition and Body Image Action Committee offers a two-unit course titled "SNAC Education" during the fall and winter quarters that addresses health and nutritional issues.

Visit www.snac.ucla.edu for more information on healthy carbohydrate consumption.

Most+half+quarter+quarter=?????

Must be that "new math" their teaching in schools!



Wow 95% protein, damn I've been doing this all wrong.

No joke, right? I cringed when I read that.


Yeah, same here. Maybe I need to go read DANDR again... or maybe they do!

"Water retention, lack of nutrients can be more harmful than extra pounds"

Hmmm, they usually claim that we LOSE water weight.

"Nonetheless, the Atkins diet and similar eating plans that completely eliminate carbohydrates won't be dictating Sheri Barke's meal plan anytime soon. "

Same old story here. They have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.


"(But) if you're not allowed to eat bread, cereal, rice, pasta, fruits, vegetables, milk, beans and yogurt, there's not much food left," she said.

Hmm, no fruits, vegetables and beans on Atkins. I must have missed that part when I read the book.

"The Atkins diet, on the other hand, restricts dieters to only 5 percent carbohydrates, with the remaining 95 percent to come from protein. "

I won't even waste my time on this one. This is possibly the worst I have ever seen.

"With excessive protein consumption, Atkins dieters can lose lots of water when they don't have the carbohydrates to retain it."

Didn't they just say at the top that we RETAIN water???

Barke: registered dietician and nutrition education coordinator at UCLA's Arthur Ashe Student Wellness Center:

"(In an ideal eating plan) most of your plate is pasta or rice, half of your plate is vegetables and fruits, a quarter of your plate is starch and a quarter of your plate is protein," Barke said.

Let's add this up:

Most >= 1/2
1/2
1/4
1/4

So in an ideal eating plan, we pile 1.5 platefuls of food on a plate? Yep, that will help us lose weight.

It's a dumb, dumb, dumb world out there.



Lynda

I suppose he forgot the part in the book (did he read the book ??) that talked about vegetables.



Yaddi yaddi yah, everyone knows you aren't allowed to eat vegetables on Atkins under pain of death.



Yes let's replace a good part of that icky meat and those nasty veggies with the ultimate in nutrition : white rice or pasta. It would be a crime to deprive your body of all those wonderful nutrients you find in rice and pasta !!

Why is it articles in college papers seem to be written without research? Don't people have to do research for classes any more? ~elle

Somewhat related article:

The low down on low carb dieting

By SADIAT OLATUNBOSUN
March 05, 2004

The Atkins, high-protein, and the Hollywood diets, are just a few of the increasingly popular low-carb diet plans. Low carb, high-fat and protein diets may be the "in" thing right now, but when one considers the consequences such diets have on holistic health, you may be less willing to adopt such a radical approach to weight loss.

"Even though I lost a little weight when I went on a low-carb, I gained the weight back and more once I started eating carbs again," said Dean Owida Martin, dorm parent of Washington Hall. "I don’t think it is smart to completely give up carbs, especially when you are trading healthy high fiber foods for foods high in saturated and trans fats."

These diets are so popular because there are obvious benefits from cutting out refined sugars from your diet. Called simple sugars, these carbs have no significant nutritional value. Since they are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, a high consumption of sweets drastically raises insulin levels. A diet low in carbohydrates will lead to a reduction in insulin production, requiring the body to rely on fat and protein storage as its primary energy source.

Chronically high insulin in the blood causes an increase in appetite, sugar cravings, hypertension, heart disease, and insulin resistance leading to diabetes; so you should eat foods high in simple carbohydrates in moderation if at all.

You might compromise your health, though, when complex carbohydrates, the "good" carbs that should be the body’s main source of energy, are eliminated. On the Atkins diet, 60% of daily calories are supposed to come from fat, and a maximum of twenty grams of carbohydrates are allowed.

According to the Weight Loss Resources website, a UK and USA database, the majority of weight loss from low carb diets come from the loss of water and muscle tissue, instead of losing fat. Not only are you likely to gain it back since you are not losing fat, but the loss of lean muscle tissue will eventually lead to a decrease in metabolism, making it more difficult for you to control your weight.

"After only one week, I found that the low-carb, high protein dieting was not effective for me," said David Casey, a senior chemistry major from Opelousas. "The high protein products disrupted my academic performance by making me tired in class, but they were also too expensive."

Americans spend more than $30 billion in the weight-loss industry; but obesity is still reaching epidemic levels nationwide. The money spent on weight loss is often spent on diet plans and gimmicks that are not valid and may even be harmful.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is concerned about the possible health threats that may possibly result after long-term adherence to these fad diets.

"They put people at risk for heart disease and we’re really concerned about that," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, senior author of a recent paper published by the AHA. "Long-term, the saturated fat and cholesterol content of the diet will raise the bad cholesterol and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attacks."

This is the kind of information the kept from taking Atkins seriously, until an Atkins dieter explained it to me.

I don't think either articale mentioned fat. That simple idea implies they have no clue.

Funny you should say that Groggy, this is what I wrote him/her.

I was reading your article and had to wonder, what diet are you talking about. It certainly bears little resemblance to the Atkins diet, despite the name. Maybe it's a new spin-off like the South Beach diet. Oh wait, I know it's the new Media Low-Carb diet.

Let me sum it up. All the steak, cream, butter and fat you can stuff down your gullet, just skip ... well everything else.

I'm kidding....well maybe not. I hope you realize that the diet bandied about by the media ever since it became "news" bears little resemblance to the real thing. It's tragic in many ways because it's been repeated so often, many people (including the media, who really should know better) thinks that's what Atkins is. There is an unfortunate tendency for people to simply go forward with they THINK Atkins is, instead of actually reading the book and finding out what's it really is. You end up with people like Varun Uttamchandani, who believes things like "Atkins tells you to avoid things like fruits, so my nutrients were very limited," and "I quit because I was revolted by how much meat I had to eat,".

First of all, you don't "have" to eat meat on Atkins in anything else than normal quantities. No one says you need to start eating whole chickens, or 16 ounces steaks. Atkins says that you should eat till you are satisfied, not stuffed. Not sure about you, but eating a whole chicken would make me more than stuffed. Most people who follow the REAL Atkins diet as opposed to the pretend pseudo-Atkins Media diet, declare that they don't eat in any greater quantity than they used to, but now eat a much greater variety and quantity of......will you guess it .... vegetables. Yes the poor humble vegetable that is demonized on the pseudo-Atkins Media diet is actually, not only permitted but encouraged. Yes, maybe the quantities are limited at the strictest phase of the diet, but even those quantities are more than most people on "normal" diets eat. As you progress you start eating more vegetables, reintroduce fruits and eventually complex carbohydrates. The only thing that are never re-introduced are simple carbs such as sugar, white flour, white rice, white pasta. Do you seriously think those are the essential staples of a good diet ?

But too many people never get to that stage because they have been misled in believing Atkins is a diet of all meat, and very little of anything else. A complete fabrication that turns people away from a diet that would ultimately lead them to eating more vegetables they ever ate before and to cutting out all the junk food that made them fat in the first place.

I think you do a great disservice to people by perpetuating the myths about Atkins. Forget the misconceptions and hearsay and go to the source. Find out for yourself.

One week? It's been said before, but do you give up quitting smoking after one week because you're feeling jittery?? No! (Well you shouldn't anyway...) And I won't even comment on the "high protein products" being "too expensive"

What I am baffled by is what do they consider rice and pasta to be if not starch?

I mean are they adding bread on top of this?

I am assuming they are counting potatoes and corn as veggies here lol

Ideal meal Pasta with some rice on the side add a big baked potato (you need your veggies dont you?) a roll, and a tiny piece of boneless skinless chicken breast.

Two more completely ridiculous articles. It is such a shame. If anyone of the people involved had read the book, it would have been a much different article.

Angeline - What a well stated response. I guess this is why we're in the revolution, to educate the unenlightened.

My DD was having a lunch of salmon and salad and was chastised "I thought you were doing Atkins!". "Yes," she replied "I eat a big bowl of bacon three times a day."
She's at an institution of higher learning, so maybe it's something in the chalk fumes.

Yup...and I start every morning with a steaming mug of bacon grease!




I take it that this guy thinks that veggies have no nutrients? Or perhaps he was doing that "all meat" version of Atkins that the media puts out?



I take it they don't teach math to dieticians? Given that they need it to calculate percentages of protein, carbs, fat, etc....that does explain a lot about what most dieticians recommend, percentage-wise, that people eat; they're doing the math wrong! Either that, or she's using one very strange plate.