High protein, low carbohydrate diets all come with exciting promises of quick weight loss and miracle results and pounds melting away.
And it is true that when you first start on a high protein diet, you will lose some water weight right away, perhaps as much as a few pounds a week in the first couple of weeks.
So why shouldn’t you rush out and buy a high protein low carb cookbook? Why should you avoid these trendy, popular diets?
Because they don’t work long term, and because they can actually harm your health. Yes, a high protein, low carb diet can be life-threatening. There are much safer - and faster - ways to lose weight...but we’ll get to that in a minute.
The problem with low carb diets is that they require people to eat an unnaturally high amount of protein every day, and generally high-fat protein as well.
The American Heart Association recommends getting 10 to 15 percent of your daily calories from protein. High protein diets overload the body by cramming their menus with meals that deliver 35 to 50 percent of the daily calorie intake as protein.
According to the John Hopkins Hospital, a leading medical research institution, high protein low carb diets cause the body to excrete calcium, and are associated with increased risk of heart disease and risk of kidney failure.
Here’s why:
The body normally relies on carbohydrates for energy. When you eat carbohydrates, the body breaks the carbohydrates down into simple sugars and uses them for fuel.
When you don’t eat carbohydrates your body starts raiding its store of fat and breaking it down into amino acids known as ketones. When too many ketones flood the body, the kidneys have to work overtime to eliminate them and are therefore placed under a huge strain. Ketosis is also associated with the formation of painful kidney stones.
According to a University of Chicago study done in 2002, participants who were on a high protein low carb diet for a mere six weeks had a sharply elevated rate of calcium excretion, which leads to an increased risk of osteoporosis (thinning bones). They also had a high “acid load” in their blood streams, leading to an increased risk of kidney stones, the study found.
And a study published by the American College of Nutrition found that the long term use of the Atkins Diet would result in a 25 percent increase of blood cholesterol levels.
And - as if that’s not enough - the low carb diet tends to lead to constipation and other health problems associated with low fiber diets, because high fiber cereals, fruits and many vegetables are eliminated from the meal plans
People who stay on low fiber diets long term are also at increased risk of diverticulosis, a condition in which areas of the intestines weaken and bulge outward. This condition is virtually unheard of in societies that have diets rich in fiber.
Yes, people do tend to lose some water weight right away on high protein low carb diets. But they also get fatigued, grouchy, and crave carbs constantly. And as we’ve just demonstrated, staying on those diets long term can be life threatening - AND as soon as you start eating normally again you will gain that water weight right back!
But here’s the good news: it is absolutely not necessary to risk your health with a high protein diet.
