Are low carb diets a bad idea?

[lynnconnolly]

Hi all, I hope I'm putting this question in the right place but what I want to know is, are low carb diets such as Atkins a particular risk to people with heart problems, specifically, me?

I've piled on weight since I stopped work and can't shift it with low fat diets but previously, I had a lot of success with Atkins. The weight dropped off and the only problem I had then - but that was before my heart problem was in existence or diagnosed - was a high potassium level.

I don't know if that had anything to do with the diet or the heart problem which at that time must've been there but hiding itself.

I realise there are some inherent health question marks with Atkins but as I've done it before for many months - and only intend to do it for a couple of weeks to kick start my weightloss - without significant problems, I'd really like to do it again.

Any advice would be appreciated if there's a good reason why I shouldn't do it

Thanks everyone,
Lynn

 

[Cooker]

I lost 60 pounds on Atkins a couple of years before my AVR ... It works but IMHO is not good for you, or me ... I had just the opposite effect, low potassium ... on one of my last visits to the ER for A-Fib my potassium was bottomed out and blood gasses wacko ... they questioned me about all kind of things such as diet and substance abuse ... DW perked up and said "he has been doing low to no carbs for almost a year" .... they said that was the culprit .... overnight with fluids and potassium, you get the picture ...

I don't think a couple of weeks would hurt .... we have joined Weight Watchers and are having great success as are many here on VR ... why don't you join us on the ThrowDown? ... It's great fun and the support and accountability seem to help many of us stay on track .... for the most part .... good luck, loosing weight is tough....

 

[Karlynn]

I did the Protein Power Low Carb diet for over a year, had great success with it and never had any health issues. My cholesterol lowered significantly and I had more energy. I kept up a lower-carb life style for several years and then started sneaking back in the "cheats". I'm trying to do it again now, (started in earnest this week) unfortunately - 6 years later I'm officially middle-aged and the weight just doesn't want to come off.

I do take a very good high potency multivitamin (It's not just a single pill but a packet of capsules) and I think that's one of the keys in keeping healthy during any diet.

I still eat fruit - but the lower-carb fruits. Strawberries, blueberries, cantalope etc.

 

[Karlynn]

I meant to also add that I think the start-up for Atkins is much harder than for Protein Power (by the Drs. Eades). You don't eliminate all carbs, even in the first few weeks, just lower it to 30g/day (if you have more than 20lbs to lose) or 70g/day. I've never done the Atkins plan, but have friends who did and it always appeared more restrictive.

 

[Jkm7]

I (and my cardio) feel very strongly about 'good' heart healthy diet. I don't think low (no) carb diet is good for anyone but the processed, no food value carbs are not good for anyone either.

Whole wheat, whole grains are very important and source of fiber which is needed for heart healthy diet. A good cereal like Fiber One with soy milk and a handful of blueberries is a very healthy carb breakfast. Whole wheat pastas, carbs from vegetables and beans are integral to good diet.

Don't skip the carbs IMO but make sure you eat good carbs.
Get rid of white rice, white flour, white pasta, white bread. There is little nutrition value in any of them.

In their place, eat whole wheat/whole grain bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta.

JMHO.......

I used to follow South Beach Diet but have migrated much more to Mediterannean Diet and my skin has never looked better, it makes me feel the best I can feel in terms of what diet contributes to my well being, controls my weight and satisfies me.

 

[Bina]

I (and my cardio) feel very strongly about 'good' heart healthy diet. I don't think low (no) carb diet is good for anyone but the processed, no food value carbs are not good for anyone either.

Whole wheat, whole grains are very important and source of fiber which is needed for heart healthy diet. A good cereal like Fiber One with soy milk and a handful of blueberries is a very healthy carb breakfast. Whole wheat pastas, carbs from vegetables and beans are integral to good diet.

Don't skip the carbs IMO but make sure you eat good carbs.
Get rid of white rice, white flour, white pasta, white bread. There is little nutrition value in any of them.

In their place, eat whole wheat/whole grain bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta.

JMHO.......

I used to follow South Beach Diet but have migrated much more to Mediterannean Diet and my skin has never looked better, it makes me feel the best I can feel in terms of what diet contributes to my well being, controls my weight and satisfies me.

BINGO! Right on. Our bodies need some good carbs....not crappy carbs.

 

[Karlynn]

Fiber carbs are just fine, and imporatant, in low carb eating. In fact - to calculate the number of carbs to count in something you eat, you take the total carbohydrate number and deduct the fiber #. This number is called the ECC - or Effective Carb Counts. (Fiber is considered a carbohydrate - but it is not a "bad" carb) For example my bread has 15 grams total carbohydrates per slice, but has 7 grams of fiber. So the # I use (if I was counting specifically) would be 8 grams of carbohydrates. Fiber carbs go in as fiber and come out as fiber - if you get my drift. Other carbohydrates, if they go unused as fuel in an appropriate amount of time, will get stored as fat. And you gain weight if you eat more carbohydrates than you can burn.

If you really want to see how "heart healthy" something is - read the label and look at the number of Fiber grams per serving. This can be found under the carbohydrate total. I think you will be surprised at how few fiber grams some of these advertised heart healthy items contain. Even if something says "Whole Grain" check the number of Fiber carbs per serving. If it's 2 or 3, then it gets most of it's content from refined carbohydrates - and those are the ones that don't do you much good.

Also be very careful of Low Fat products. Fat adds flavor. When a company takes the fat out of something, they need to put something in for flavor - many times it's sugars.

My cardiologist was fully on-board with my low-carb eating. Please don't mistake Low Carb eating for No Carb eating. The effects on your body are totally different.

 

[dlangton]

Concerning Diet

Concerning Diet

I don't know Carbs from Carburetors, but the Mediterranean Diet seems to be the most heart-healthy, with possible exception of far-eastern diet as advocated in "The China Study" (book).

The latest research advocates the Mediterranean Diet.

The article is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/health/13brod.html?em

 

[Duff Man]

I definitely do not think atkins is a good idea. Just google ketosis.

 

[Blanche]

My cardiologist is all for a low carb diet too because......

My cardiologist is all for a low carb diet too because......

recently he lost 35 lbs on the South Beach Diet.

I went on South Beach two years ago. I lost 15 pounds quickly. Then, I continued on South Beach for a while, but I was not careful and I included items, such as rye bread with white flour. So, I continued to lose very little.

I will tell you that being off sugars and white flour has been just wonderful for me in other ways. I have so much more energy than I had before. Also, I have been enjoying all sorts of vegetables that I had not had before.

It is my plan to go back to the South Beach Diet within a month. There is a South Beach Diet Book which explains the diet and contains tons of recipes.

My friend, who has always been slim, has used recipes from my book for her and her family. The recipes for fish and chicken are not only good they are very easy.

If you can't find a copy of the book, let me know and I will send you one. I picked up a few of the books on Dollar day at my local thrift store. I have beeen giving them to people who have diabetes, like my best friend, Beev.

Oh, another inportant fact is that the book was written by a Cardiologist who works out of South Beach, Florida. He says he wrote it for his patients to begin with.

Kind regards,
Blanche

Disclaimer: I am not receiving anything, from anyone,for my post about the South Beach Diet. And, I suggest that people who wish to purchase the book check with your local thrift store, like The Goodwill, for a used copy at a dollar or two. The book has a copyrite date of 2003, so many hard cover copies are available now cheap. It's worth a buck or two just for the good recipes. There are 183 pages of recipes.
.

 

[Karlynn]

http://diabetes.about.com/od/glossaryofterms/g/ketosis.htm

Ketosis is a natural process that occurs when fats are converted into energy by the body -- usually when there is not enough glucose (carbohydrates) to provide for the body's energy needs. Instead, the fat is broken down into energy, and "ketone bodies" are the molecular by-products of this metabolic process.

Ketosis may occur during fasting, after an extended period of exercise, or when a high-fat/low carb diet is followed. It can also happen during an illness when nausea and/or vomiting make it difficult to keep food down.

Ketosis in and of itself is not a harmful process and occurs among diabetics and non-diabetics.

However, when ketone levels become excessively high, a condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis, aka DKA, can occur.
Examples: Ketosis can happen during exercise if not enough carbohydrates are taken in to support the body's need for energy.

Basically - Ketosis occurs when the body uses fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. This is how you lose fat weight when dieting. It is burned for energy. If there are too many carbohydrates present, then fat will not be burned .... and you won't lose weight. If you eat more carbohydrates than you burn as energy - you won't lose fat.

 

[Duff Man]

yeah but how do you know when you're producing too many ketones if you're eating until you're full and still producing ketones? On an ordinary diet that's when you start to feel hungry but when you eat and you still don't satisfy the body's carb requirement it seems kinda blurry.

Not to mention, if you're eating a diet high in protein you're not getting enough fiber which could make you constipated, you're eating alot of meat which has cholesterol and fat (something our cohort in particular should be weary of), etc...


I'm just not a fan.

 

[Bina]

My theory is one that I eat enough protein to fill my daily requirement, usually a fist size piece of chicken, fish, etc.
Then the veggies are something nutritious and low cal to indulge in.

 

[Karlynn]

Most people eat way more carbohydrates than their bodies need for energy. Google how many carbohydrate grams a body needs daily then check how many carbohydrates a potato has, or a slice of bread or a cup of rice.

You may be assuming that low-carb eaters don't get fiber. Maybe those who just eat nothing but meat. But then they aren't following a LOW CARB diet.

The years that I followed a low carb lifestyle were the healthiest I ever had, and I'm trying to get back to it. The key to any diet is to approach it wisely.

 

[Dina]

The latest research advocates the Mediterranean Diet.

Hi Lynn,nice to 'see' you

I agree with my neighbor here.
I seem to do better with this one, and I have read that women as a
whole get better results from the Medit. diet comparatively.
I like to eat alot of fruits,dairy,legumes,and whole grains,so it is more
for me,I just stay away from the cholest, too much animal fats,and the
processed carbs that have been mentioned.
I don't know how you are feeling or if its okay for you exercise, but if
you can you should keep as active as you can if you want to keep the
weight down. Atleast this is the way it is for me unfortunately
Though I have a slow thyroid, so it may not be as difficult for you.

 

[Blanche]

You, sir, are mixing apples and oranges.

You, sir, are mixing apples and oranges.

Duff Man:

With all due respect, you don't know your Atkins from your Agatston.

THe Atkins Diet was one that probably was not appropriate for many people, or as his critics have suggested, it was not appropriate (period). That is the diet, the model, that you are basing your erroneous suppositions on. But, now you know, so that is OK. If I ate the Atkins diet, you are right I might be passing cannon balls weekly.

The new group of low-carb supporters have taken Dr. Atkins to task. They have come up with diets (eating plans) that do not restrict people to things that used to moo, oink, cluck or bahaaa.

I happen to like the South Beach Diet because it was developed by a Cardiologist for his cardiac and diabetic patients. It is based on the Glycemic Index which was developed by medical researchers in Toronto, Canada.

Duff, I suggest that you let your fingers do the walking before you do any more talking. Search the net for: South Becah Diet, Glycemic Index, and diabetic diets.

In the meantime, here are some things from my South Beach Diet Book.
"You are allowed to eat foods you love, like meat and fish, cheese, healthy oils, nuts, vegetables, the right carbohydrates and sweets."

South Beach requires that you eat three meals and have 2 snacks and one desert. Here are some of my favorites: Eggs Florentine, Salsa Chicken, Apple with peanut butter, Italian style spaghetti squash, South Beach Salad (14 items including boston lettuce, red bell pepper, tomatoes, olives), Macaluso's Salad..from Macaluso's restaurant, Miami Beach, Zuchinni with Dill, Asparagus and peppers, pear, ricotta cheese and walnuts, Oriental Cabbage Salad, Turkey, Roast Beef and cheese on mixed greens.......

Seems to me that it would be very difficult to be constipated with all that going on. Although I really hate to be personal, I see the four walls where my water closet if afixed several times a day. Gives all new meaning to the phrase, I don't give a..... a darn.

Duff, after you check on some of these things, please, please tell us what you think. I value you and your ideas.....especially when you make me smile. And, you do that a whole lot.

Your buddy,
Blanche

 

[Lisa in Katy]

Here's my 2 cents. I've followed Weight Watchers for years (with lots of cheating at times) and believe that it is a good, balanced diet.

It's not a low carb diet that's bad, it's the way people interpret it. Cutting out vegetables and eating a hog isn't good. The new and improved food pyramid still has lots of carbs, but specifies healthy, whole grain, high fiber, fresh, etc. I read something recently about eating more things that come directly from plants and not processed in plants, and I think that's the idea that everyone needs to remember. Eat carbs, but make sure they are healthy carbs, and as Karlynn said, the more fiber in a carb, the better it is. Raw fruits & vegetables, fiber rich breads, pastas, and rice should all be included in a healthy diet. So should meat, in moderation. Even fat is necessary for proper brain function.

There are diets that cause you to lose weight that are absolutely devastating to your body. Eating healthy and losing weight slowly is much better than dropping 15 lbs in a couple of weeks. The first week you might lose a large amount of weight (especially if you are significantly overweight), but after that, 2 lbs a week should be the max, and the closer you get to your goal, the smaller that number will be.

 

[Dina]

Blanche, what do you think the key difference between So Beach and Medt.
diets? More fats in the Medit. maybe? I like alot of yogurt, nuts,veggies,
oats sometimes,a little chicken and legumes and natural P butter for protein.
Just curious.
Dina

BTW-years ago I heard of a very dangerous diet and I believe THIS is
the one that generates a dangerous amount of ketones. It was created
in the 70's and was called "the doctor's quick weight loss diet" or "the
inces off diet", and it was absurd. NO,sugar, bread,rice,fruits,vegetables,
nuts,beans,milk,or fat. You could only have lean meats,cottage cheese,pot
cheese,and eggs. I believe that THIS diet will turn you ketotic in
less than 2 weeks. Very dangerous but,I remember my grandmother went
on it for a short time(thankfully!)and thats how I even knew about it.

 

[Karlynn]

Cutting out vegetables and eating a hog isn't good.

That gave me a pretty funny mental picture! LOL

I think you also have to learn what your triggers are. I personally have to stay away from bread, pasta and rice, no matter how much fiber is in them, because for some reason they trigger huge cravings. I'm fine sticking with a really high grain bread, strawberries, blueberries, melons, and most veggies. But if I have whole wheat pasta, or a banana or apple with dinner, I'm spending the rest of the night opening cupboards looking for sweets. These things must really make my insulin receptors go crazy.

 

[Duff Man]

you're right Blanche, I was talking about Atkins. I don't know anything about the south beach thing and honestly I thought it was created by a walmart frozen food marketing campaign. Good luck.