High Protein Diets

The influential American Heart Association has issued a warning about the fashionable high protein diets.

It says that there is no evidence that high protein diets are effective - and that high protein diets might actually do more harm than good.

The warning from the AHA's nutrition committee, published in association's journal Circulation, says that there is no proof that high protein diets help people to lose weight in the long term.

It also warns that high protein diets may pose health risks to people who stick with high protein diets for more than a short time.

Professor Robert Eckel, of the University of Colorado, who co-wrote the advice, said: "High protein diets may also be high in fat. Some of the diets increase fat intake and reduce nutritionally rich foods such as fruits and vegetables, which is not a good approach to meeting a person's long-term dietary needs.

"Many of these high protein diets fail to provide essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutritional elements, in addition to their high fat content."

Animal Protein in High Protein Diets

High protein diets rich in animal protein, saturated fat and cholesterol raises harmful LDL cholesterol levels. These high protein diets increase the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer.

In contrast, a diet high in complex carbohydrates that includes fruits, vegetables, non-fat dairy products and whole grains has been shown to reduce blood pressure.

Studies have consistently shown that successful, maintenance of weight loss occurs most often when people follow a nutritionally sound diet plan and increase physical activity to burn more calories than they consume.

The American Heart Association urges most adults to limit fat intake to no more than 30% of total daily calories, less than 10% of which should be saturated fat.

However, it would be impossible to reach these targets by following some of the high protein diets.

Healthy function

The body needs proteins to maintain healthy function. However, a normal, balanced diet contains all the proteins the body needs.

High protein diets can increase the risk of ill health. For instance, it can exacerbate the symptoms of liver and kidney disease.

High protein diets produce rapid weight loss by stimulating the loss of fluids from the body.

However, this is also associated with the loss of glycogen, a vital energy source, from the muscles. This can lead to fatigue.

Claire MacEvilly, a nutrition scientist from the British Nutrition Foundation, told BBC News Online that people who lived on high protein diets with lower levels of other nutrients risked developing a condition known as ketosis.

"This is a fat-burning state that occurs during starvation, and can be quite dangerous".

The urea derived from the breakdown by the liver of high protein puts a lot of pressure on the kidneys.

Ketosis can also cause the blood to become more acidic.

High Protein Diets - Health Risks

Many people ask about high protein diets, which also go under the names of the Atkin's Diet, the Carbohydrate Counting Diet, and the Drinking Man's Diet. The original version of the Grapefruit Diet which also used only high protein, but included the use of grapefruit, can also be classified as a High Protein Diet.

Basic Principles of High Protein Diets and Weight Loss

High protein diets for weight loss are all more or less based on the use of large quantities of protein foods of animal origin, such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese and milk products, and the exclusion of all carbohydrate foods. Some of these high protein diets permit the use of the so-called 'free vegetables and fruit' which contain only small quantities of carbohydrate (e.g lettuce, cucumber, grapefruit, strawberries, etc).

2 Basic Principles of High Protein Diets

• The human body needs a source of energy and carbohydrates are the best source of energy available to us.
• If the body is deprived of its main source of energy, it has to burn up its available energy store of fat and you will lose weight.

Do High Protein Diets Work for Weight Loss?

The answer to this question is, "Yes, they do lead to weight loss which can be quite substantial in some cases, but (and here lies the rub) the weight loss is at a terrible price, which can in some cases, even kill the dieter!"

This is what happens when you deprive your body of its carbohydrate energy source:

• In the absence of carbohydrate fuel, the human body is forced to burn body and dietary fat and protein to fulfill its energy needs.
• The breakdown products of burning large quantities of body fat for fuel are called ketones. They will begin to accumulate in the body.
• A build-up of ketones in the body can cause all kinds of damage to vital organs such as the liver and the kidneys. The build-up deranges the body's balance of acids and alkalines, causing a condition called acidosis.
• When the levels of ketones in the body reach dangerous proportions, the dieter finds him- or herself in the same kind of state as a diabetic who has not used any insulin. Unless immediate treatment is applied, he/she can slip into a coma, which may result in death.

So although you will lose body fat on a high protein diet, you will be exposing your body to a great many risks just for weight loss. You may damage your kidneys, and your liver, you will be depleting your muscle tissue and you may even die. The latter risk is well documented and regular reports are published in the medical literature describing deaths that result from the use of high protein diets for weight loss.

Other Side-Effects of High Protein Diets

• Unpleasant body odor and bad breath on a high protein diet- if you eat only high protein foods, then you start to smell like a carnivore - the bad smell is caused by the ketones that accumulate in the body.
• Increased risk of high blood fat levels on a high protein diet- high protein foods are often also high in animal fats, particularly saturated fats and cholesterol, which raise blood fat levels and increase the risk of heart disease, and certain types of cancer.
• Loss of muscle tissue on a high protein diet- you will agree that this is not the object of weight-reduction diets and it is ironic that the more carbohydrate you cut out of the diet and the more protein you eat to slim, the lower your body protein stores will be, because you are burning protein foods as fuel.
• Risk of deficiency diseases on a high protein diet- cutting out fruits and vegetables, which are our main source of antioxidant vitamins such as beta carotene, and vitamin C, protective bioflavonoids, and certain minerals, to eliminate carbohydrate from the diet, exposes you to the risk of developing a whole range of deficiency diseases; cutting out wholegrain cereals also exposes you to the risk of developing vitamin B and E deficiencies constipation - carbohydrates such as fruit, vegetables, grains and cereals, particularly the wholegrain varieties, are the main source of dietary fiber in the diet; eliminating these foods will inevitably cause severe constipation, which in the long-run can lead to diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and may even make you more susceptible to bowel cancer.

Indications that High Protein Diets are Not Good For You

One of the most telling indications that high protein diets are not good for you, is the fact that most of the diet books that advocate such high protein diets, always warn that you should only use the diet for one, or a maximum of two weeks, at a time. The writers know that these high protein diets are fraught with negative effects, so they cover themselves against law suits, etc, by issuing these warnings. If you use these high protein diets and suffer adverse effects, the blame rests with you for using the diet for too long.

Alternatives to High Protein  Diets for Weight Loss

The best alternative to high protein diets, is to use a balanced diet with a low fat, high dietary fiber and high carbohydrate content, and to increase the amount of aerobic exercise you do. Use plenty of wholegrain, unprocessed grains, high-bran cereals, fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat and fish, low-fat or skimmed milk and dairy products, legumes and small quantities of polyunsaturated oil or margarine.

Make sure that you don't add fat to the diet plan by using cooking methods or salad dressings and sauces that have a low fat content - grill, poach, and stew, and use low-fat salad dressings, and low-fat yogurt mixed with fresh herbs to add flavor to baked potatoes and salads. And get active - walk or jog, join a good gym or start doing water aerobics now that the weather is getting warmer.

The goals of a good diet plan should be to reduce body fat, preserve lean muscle tissue, and keep you healthy and fit. Any diets, including the high protein diets that are potentially risky and can harm your health, should be avoided.