tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13473599.post114650676611307459..comments2024-03-26T05:07:24.149+11:00Comments on .: GI News BriefsGI Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07609354784645028388noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13473599.post-1147833623141511402006-05-17T12:40:00.000+10:002006-05-17T12:40:00.000+10:00Responding to feedback on GI.comIn May’s newslette...Responding to feedback on GI.com<BR/><BR/>In May’s newsletter, we listed the reasons why we advocated a low GI diet rather than a low carbohydrate diet. It’s important that they are not regarded as the same. Some of our readers admonished us for our stance. Here are their comments and our responses.<BR/><BR/>1) No diet is really recommended for ill or pregnant people.<BR/><BR/>Pregnant women have to eat and the diet they eat affects their baby’s development. We use the word ‘diet’ in the sense of ‘eating plan’ (as defined by most dictionaries), not restricted energy intake. We agree that it’s not a good idea to restrict energy intake during pregnancy (one reason being the effect of ketones on fetal development). But it’s vitally important that women eat a healthy diet throughout their pregnancy and throughout their reproductive years – not every pregnancy is planned. A low GI diet fits the bill perfectly, a low carbohydrate diet doesn’t (and you appear to agree). If a diet’s not good for a developing fetus, why would it be good for anything else?<BR/><BR/>2) There might have been some underlying health reasons for the ketoacidosis you mention.<BR/><BR/>The case of a woman who was hospitalised for life-threatening ketoacidosis was written up in the Lancet in early April (Chen TY, Smith W, Rosenstock JL, Lessnau KD The Lancet - Vol. 367, Issue 9514, 18 March 2006, Page 958). The precipitating factor, whatever her individual vulnerability, was strict adherence to a low carbohydrate diet. Fortunately, most people don’t/can’t adhere strictly to the Atkins diet.<BR/><BR/>3) Opposers of low carb regimes tend to stick to criticism that are really directed to the so called "induction phase" which lasts only two weeks. After that, dieters on Atkins can and should consume a great variety of green, leafy nutritious vegetables, among many others, like mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc etc. Atkins never encourages you to eat zero carbs. 20 grams for the first 2 weeks, and you raise those levels after that.<BR/><BR/>Yes, that’s true, criticism is often aimed at the induction phase but it’s also true that the second phase is also restricted in carbohydrates (~50 g/day) and adherents are encouraged to return to the induction phase (20 g/day) if weight loss slows. Furthermore, because Atkins recognised that the diet was not nutritionally balanced, a vitamin and mineral supplement is compulsory. <BR/><BR/>The study by Yancy et al (Ann Int Med 2004: 140; 769) compared an Atkins diet with a prudent (low fat but high GI) diet in 120 overweight volunteers. Those following the Atkins diet lost twice as much weight in 24 weeks but read the small print. Specifically, adverse effects occurred more frequently in the low-carbohydrate diet group than in the low-fat diet group, including constipation (68% vs. 35%; P < 0.001), headache (60% vs. 40%; P = 0.03), halitosis (38% vs. 8%; P < 0.001), muscle cramps (35% vs. 7%; P < 0.001), diarrhea (23% vs. 7%; P = 0.02), general weakness (25% vs. 8%; P = 0.01), and rash (13% vs. 0%; P = 0.006). One participant sought medical attention for constipation but had no complications. One 53-year-old man in the low-carbohydrate diet group developed chest pain near the end of the study, and coronary heart disease was subsequently diagnosed. <BR/><BR/>Moreover, in a similar study by Stern and colleagues (Ann Int Med 2004; 140: 778), two persons on the low carbohydrate diet died, and a third was hospitalized. No such adverse events were recorded in those following the high carbohydrate diet. <BR/><BR/>5) It is not true that consuming bad fats is unavoidable. You can and should avoid them and stay within Atkins.<BR/><BR/>If carbohydrates occupy only 10% of your energy intake (ie you eat about 50 g of carbohydrates per day), then the other 90% of energy must come from a mix of protein and fat. The upper limit on protein intake by humans is ~40% of their calories because of limits on the liver’s capacity to produce urea. By a process of deduction, that means more than 50% (and more often than not 60%) of energy comes from fat. Even if you ate a perfectly healthy balanced diet with a P:M:S ratio of 1:1:1, you’d be consuming about 20% of your calories as saturated fat. The recommendation is less than 10%. <BR/><BR/>6) I love carbs, I could be happy with a GI diet, and I will resort to it as soon as I reach my goal weight, but losing weight with GI diets is complicated because as soon as you surpass the level of carbs you can consume, you stop losing weight and start gaining.<BR/><BR/>That was the claim Atkins made but he had no scientific evidence to back that. To my knowledge, there’s still no evidence. Indeed, recent studies suggest that people find it very hard to stick to a diet with so little carbohydrate (too much discipline is needed) and eventually re-gain the weight they lost. Is there any point in losing weight and then re-gaining it? Wouldn’t it be better to align food habits with something that’s not only healthy, helps you lose weight and keep it off for good? <BR/><BR/>7) As soon as I can start incorporating more carbs into my diet, they will be of the low glycemic load kind.<BR/><BR/>That’s good. Why not cut to the chase early? <BR/><BR/>8) There should really be no quarrel between low glycemic and Atkins because they are fundamentally the same. The diets you should be strongly opposing are the low caloric and the low fat diets.<BR/><BR/>No, that’s incorrect. Atkins wants to ditch carbs, low GI diets can be moderately or even very high in carbs, but of the low GI kind. If Atkins had known what we know now, he would have seen ways to lower insulin levels without cutting out the carbs out altogether. He recognised that high insulin levels interfered with weight control, but he did not have sufficient knowledge to work out the best way to lower them. Remember he had no training in nutrition. <BR/><BR/>9) The truth is that Atkins works. Once you get to your equilibrium level, then you can do low GL and stay in a narrow weight band.<BR/><BR/>Yes, we agree that Atkins works in the short term. But not the long term. So what’s the point in following such a diet?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13473599.post-1146797695975925272006-05-05T12:54:00.000+10:002006-05-05T12:54:00.000+10:00How do you know if your whole grain cereal is low ...How do you know if your whole grain cereal is low GI? Check out www.glycemicindex.com (click on the database) first to see if the product or brand has been GI tested. If you want a handy pocket guide, the annual New Glucose Revolution Shopper's Guide to GI Values may be helpful. A book that will give you some useful general guidelines for choosing low GI foods is Low GI Eating Made Easy (it includes the top 100 low GI foods and has a large section on cereal grains). If it's breads you are mostly concerned about, our rule of thumb is to suggest people look for really grainy breads, granary, 100% stoneground or wholewheat, sourdough, or breads made from chickpea or other legume based flours such as soy, or with added soybeans. The coarser textured, denser and less processed a bread is, the lower its GI is likely to be. We also suggest that you try people power: get in touch with the manufacturer and ask. Sometimes products have been GI tested but the result not published.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13473599.post-1146763978303801202006-05-05T03:32:00.000+10:002006-05-05T03:32:00.000+10:00I find your article on low-carbohydrate diets to b...I find your article on low-carbohydrate diets to be very biased and unbalanced. Some of the information provided has been shown to be false in scientific studies.<BR/><BR/>For example, Miller, Powell, and Price comment that the brain "is not at its best using ketones, and mental judgement is impaired." There is no scientific evidence that this is true. The brain adapts quite well to the use of ketones as fuel, to where 80% of its fuel needs can be derived from ketones. Anecdotally, many people report thinking more clearly on a ketogenic diet once they've adapted to ketosis (which takes 1-3 weeks). Ketogenic diets have been used for years as a treatment for epileptic children and reduce their seizures by up to 50%. Ketogenic diets are also being investigated as a possible treatment for Parkinson's disease.<BR/><BR/>The comment "You lose fat, water, and muscle" is true of ANY diet. My recent meta-regression, published in the February 2006 issue of AJCN, shows quite clearly that fat loss is significantly higher on ketogenic diets, even after control for energy intake. Fat-free mass loss was also greater, but not by a large amount.<BR/><BR/>I am disappointed in the GI Newsletter's treatment of this topic. I would expect a better, balanced scientific analysis of low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diets.<BR/><BR/>James Krieger, M.S., M.S.<BR/>20/20 Lifestyles Research Associate<BR/>PRO Club<BR/>http://www.proclub.com<BR/>Editor, Journal of Pure Power<BR/>http://www.jopp.usAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13473599.post-1146763722081073482006-05-05T03:28:00.000+10:002006-05-05T03:28:00.000+10:00Glad to know there is a real reason I felt so ter...Glad to know there is a real reason I felt so terrible on low carb ... I have hypogycemia! My Glucose levels just can't handle low carb. I can't give up fruit. I believe God gave us a pancreas to handle things like fruit.<BR/><BR/>One question, how do you know if your whole grain cereal is low GI?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13473599.post-1146757491881425392006-05-05T01:44:00.000+10:002006-05-05T01:44:00.000+10:00your comments against low carb diets are unfair an...your comments against low carb diets are unfair and biased. you cite anecdotical evidence that are really very rare extremes in people that are not doing it right.<BR/><BR/>1) NO DIET IS REALLY RECOMENDED FOR ILL OR PREGNANT PEOPLE<BR/><BR/>2) THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SOME UNDERLYING HEALTH REASONS FOR THE KETOACIDOSIS YOU MENTION<BR/><BR/>3) OPPOSERS OF LOW CARB REGIMES TEND TO STICK TO CRITICISM THAT ARE REALLY DIRECTED TO THE SO CALLED "INDUCTION PHASE" WHICH LASTS ONLY TWO WEEKS. AFTER THAT, DIETERS ON ATKINS CAN AND SHOULD CONSUME A GREAT VARIETY OF GREEN, LEAFY NUTRICIOUS VEGETABLES, AMONG MANY OTHERS, LIKE MUSHROOMS, EGGPLANT, PEPPERS, BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER, ETC ETC. ATKINS NEVER ENCOURAGES YOU TO EAT ZERO CARBS. 20 GRAMS FRO THE FIRST 2 WEEKS, AND YOU RAISE THOSE LEVELS AFTER THAT<BR/><BR/>5) IT IS NOT TRUE THAT CONSUMING BAD FATS IS UNAVOIDABLE. YOU CAN AND SHOULD AVOID THEM AND STAY WITHIN ATKINS<BR/><BR/>6) I LOVE CARBS, I COULD BE HAPPY WITH A GI DIET, AND I WILL RESORT TO IT AS SOON AS I REACH MY GOAL WEIGHT, BUT LOSING WEIGHT WITH GI DIETS IS COMPLICATED BECASUSE AS SOON AS YOU SURPASS THE LEVEL OF CARBS YOU CAN CONSUME, YOU STOP LOSING WEIGHT AND START GAINING.<BR/><BR/>7) AS SOON AS I CAN START INCORPORATING MORE CARBS INTO MY DIET, THEY WILL BE OF THE LOW GLYCEMIC LOAD KIND.<BR/><BR/>THERE SHOULD REALLY BE NO QUARREL BETWEEN LOW GLYCEMIC AND ATKINS BECAUSE THEY ARE FUNDAMENTALLY THE SAME. THE DIETS YOU SHOULD BE STRONGLY OPPOSING ARE THE LOW CALORIC AND THE LOW FAT DIETS.<BR/><BR/>THE TRUTH IS THAT ATKINS WORKS. ONCE YOU GET TO YOUR EQUILIBRIUM LEVEL, THEN YOU CAN DO LOW GL AND STAY IN A NARROW WEIGHT BAND.<BR/><BR/>THANKS,<BR/><BR/>PABLOAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com