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Barely a day goes by that we don’t open our daily newspaper to be confronted by dazzling shots of our favourite TV stars pronouncing on the slimming benefits of a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. And yet, it doesn’t seem that long ago that every health page was telling us that the only way to lose weight was low fat, high carbohydrate!
Well, we can be forgiven for being confused. The diet industry does seem to change its mind with its socks and any nutritionist worth their salt will tell you that the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
The Atkins diet (as allegedly followed by Ms Aniston, Flockhart and Zellweger) focuses on eating very few carbohydrates and plenty of protein.
So how does it work and is it good for us?
Carbohydrates are sugars. So bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, biscuits, chocolate, sweets and crisps are all carbohydrates and therefore all sugars.
The human body is an amazing piece of machinery, whose one aim in life is to keep things stable. When we eat carbohydrate our blood sugar levels rise and our brain, because it wants to maintain stability, will tell our pancreas to release insulin which drives that sugar into the cells, thereby bringing our blood sugar levels back to normal.
If we are constantly eating carbohydrates our blood sugar levels are going up and down like a yo-yo and every time it hits a low, our brain (again wanting to keep things steady) tells us that we are hungry, so we eat.
On the other hand, protein has a very stable effect on blood sugar levels. It doesn’t cause this yo-yo effect, which is why the breakfast of poached eggs on toast will keep you going for much longer than a bowl of coco-pops.
However, the high protein diets take this a step further and initially remove all carbohydrates all together. While this does help us lose weight, it brings with it a host of side-effects.
Carbohydrates such as wholegrains are a valuable source of vitamins and minerals such as the B vitamins, iron, magnesium, chromium (a good blood sugar balancer) and zinc, all of which perform very important functions in the body.
Carbohydrates are also an important source of fibre. The low carbohydrate diets are famous for causing constipation (which in turn can cause bad breath).
Another risk from a very high protein diet is that most animal sources of protein (chicken, pork, beef, lamb) are high in saturated fat and saturated fat is strongly implicated in heart disease – which is our biggest killer in the UK.
So what’s the answer?
Well, I would agree that cutting back on our intake of carbohydrate is a good thing. As a result of the high sugar diet that we, as a nation, are currently consuming we are seeing a rise in a number of health problems including obesity and late-onset diabetes in younger and younger age groups. However, to cut it out completely is simply foolish. Instead aim for a sensible balance. A good source of protein with each meal, to keep your blood sugar balanced; some good quality carbohydrates, to ensure enough fibre, vitamins and minerals; and plenty of vegetables!
While this won’t get you a part in ‘Friends’, it might just help you to start to lose weight.
» Eat a good source of protein at each meal - e.g. meat, fish, eggs, yoghurt, nuts, tofu, beans, lentils
» Cut back on poor quality carbohydrates - e.g. white bread, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, sweets
» Eat a moderate amount of high quality carbohydrates - e.g. vegetables, wholegrain rice, wholemeal bread and pasta
» If you’re hungry between meals, grab a handful of nuts and/or - you will be surprised how filling they are and most supermarkets now sell a good selection of pre-packed bags.