Low Carb Plan and Obesity

About one thing, however, there is no dispute. As a society we are clearly in a state of nutritional crisis and in need of radical remedies. The figures on fat are striking in America. The proportion of Americans who are obese rose from 15% in 1991 to 27% in 1999. Youngsters show the same trend: 10% of them are now obese. Add in the merely overweight and it would cover 60% of American adults and 25% of children. This sounds bad. Yet the food industry is largely giving American consumers (rich and poor) what they want.

A pattern of life in which fewer families eat regular meals together, fewer  parents remain at home to cook, and increasing amounts of time working or commuting creates a demand for convenient fast-food. The change has been so swift and so pervasive that no simple explanation is possible. Maybe we didn't understand all the ramifications when we jumped on the low-fat bandwagon.

Even though millions of people have enjoyed success in weight loss, and improvement in blood sugar control and cholesterol readings, the mainstream medical community still rejects them for lacking a valid scientific basis. This is why most doctors disagree with low carbohydrate diet plans and tell their patients to avoid them, even after seeing first-hand the success many have had with weight loss and improvement in laboratory values.

For an optimum healthy maintenance diet, modifications necessary in a low carbohydrate diet plan can be:

• No restriction on protein intake
• Avoiding ongoing ketosis
• No restriction on fat intake (as long as fat satiety responses are functioning)

Obtaining the carbohydrate portion of a low carb diet is most healthy when natural food sources are used. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain numerous chemicals that are felt to be protective against cancer, and these have not been totally defined or isolated, so they cannot be obtained in a supplement pill. The newest research seems to imply that peoples’ genetic disposition might matter more than the rest. Variations in the apOEgene, for example, may determine blood cholesterol level more than diet. Perhaps the future will bring better medications, at least for people who are morbidly obese.