Low-carb diets worry some experts
Jan. 24, 2004 12:00 AM
Even as low-carb diets expand, some medical experts question the diets' long-term safety and viability. It's possible that ingesting high amounts of protein over a long period can cause kidney damage or bone loss, they say.
The best ways to handle carbs, says Johanna Burani, co-author of
Good Carbs Bad Carbs, is to watch your carbs but don't eliminate them. Instead, she says, choose carbohydrates that are better for the body, or carbs that cause a slow rise in blood-sugar levels.
The chief complaint is this: When a "bad carb," a food high in sugar or refined white flour, is eaten, blood sugar rises quickly, causing the body to increase production of insulin. Insulin tells the body to store extra sugar as fuel, which can turn into fat. Insulin also impairs the body's ability to burn fat for fuel, notes Dr. Stuart Trager, a Philadelphia surgeon and chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council.
Then, blood sugar crashes and the body craves more, leaving a person hungry and likely seeking more carbohydrates. And the cycle repeats.
Instead, experts advise consuming "good carbs," which cause more gradual blood-sugar fluctuations. "Good carbs" include brown rice, whole grains and apples.
However, Dr. David L. Katz, professor at the Yale School of Medicine and author of
The Way To Eat, cautions against diets that ban any food group. He points to the low-fat diet craze of the '90s, when fat-free sweets loaded with sugar erupted in production and popularity. People ate huge amounts of these highly sweetened foods, and many gained weight. Low-carb food creations, he says, are taking us down the same road.
- Jaimee Rose
and Karen Fernau