It is true simple, processed and refined carbs are bad. Most American's diets are now made up of mostly refined and processed foods, most of which are refined carbs, and yes these carbs are what make us fat and sick! They are bad and we should stay away from them, but not all carbs are created equally in fact you NEED carbs in order to be healthy and happy. High protein, low carb diets are also popular and common among athletes and those who want to build muscle, but the dangers posed by a high protein diet to your health are real and something that should be taken seriously.
Here are the top 5 reasons high protein diets pose a potential health risk
1. High Protein Diets Lower Health
The Atkins Center funded a study that was published in 2002 in which 51 obese people were placed on the low-carb Atkins Diet. Over 6 months these individuals consumed only an average of 1,450 calories/day and lost an average of 20 pounds. (Note: Anyone eating only 1,450 calories/day would loose that much weight, carbs or not) The down side? During the 20 weeks:
- 68% reported constipation
- 63% reported halitosis
- 51% reported chronic headaches
- 10% reported hair loss
- 1% reported increased menstrual bleeding
All of which indicate severe body imbalance. Constipation is especially concerning as it means that the food is sitting in the digestive tract purifying and causing internal toxification of the body.
Another study published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition focusing on the short and long term effects of high protein, low carb diets found that complications such as heart arrhythmias, cardiac contractile function impairment, sudden death, osteoporosis, kidney damage, increased cancer risk, impairment of physical activity and lipid abnormality can all be linked to long term restriction of carbs.
Meat also eaters have a higher risk of all major chronic degenerative diseases including cancer, heart disease, and digestive diseases including diverticulitis, colitis and appendicitis. Vegetarians live about seven years longer, and vegans (who eat no animal products) about 15 years longer than meat eaters, according to a study from Loma Linda University. These findings are backed up by the China Health Study (the largest population study on diet and health to date), which found that Chinese people who ate the least amount of fat and animal products had the lowest risks of cancer, heart attack and other chronic degenerative diseases and a British study that tracked 6,000 vegetarians and 5,000 meat eaters for 12 years and found that vegetarians were 40 percent less likely to die from cancer and 20 percent less likely to die from other diseases during that time.
A meat eater is likely to visit the doctor or be admitted to the hospital twice as often as a vegetarian and is likely to suffer from degenerative diseases 10 years earlier then a vegetarian. (Patrick Holford, The New Optimum Nutrition Bible)
2. High Protein Diets Create Acidosis
Acidodis is the common name for over acidity in the body. Protein produces acid as a byproduct when it is metabolized. The body will neutralize acid through one of two minerals, sodium or calcium. Sodium is used up relatively quickly because of the way it is stored. Once sodium is depleted the body will begin pulling calcium to buffer acids, mainly from the bones and teeth. There more protein you eat, the more calcium you lose. Patrick Holford, one of the world’s leading authorities on new approaches to health and nutrition states, “The protein of animal muscle (steak, chicken, meat, fish, etc.) is far more concentrated and acidic than the plant protein found in whole grains, legumes, and green vegetables. This concentrated acidic protein load can promote the leaching of calcium from the bones, contributing to the process of osteoporosis. Diets rich in protein, especially animal protein, are known to cause people to excrete more calcium than normal through their urine.”
Over-acidity of your body leads to the weakening and deterioration of body systems and processes, giving rise to an internal environment conducive to disease, a decline in energy and reduction in overall vitality. Acidity irritates and changes cell and tissue structure and performance and depletes you body of important minerals, mainly sodium, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Your body cannot tolerate any change to pH so it will pull reserves of alkalizing minerals from other places, mainly your bones and teeth to buffer acidity and balance your internal pH. A healthy body maintains adequate alkaline reserves of these minerals to buffer acidity but when your body remains acidic for too long alkaline reserves are depleted.
- Tooth decay and oral health deterioration
- Lowered mental and physical performance and endurance
- Cardiovascular damage
- Weight gain, obesity and diabetes
- Bladder and kidney problems
- Immune deficiency
- Premature aging
- Osteoporosis, weak brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs
- Joint pain and aching muscles
- Low energy and chronic fatigue
- Slow and inefficient digestion and elimination
3. High Protein Diets Create Inflammation in the Body
A diet high in animal meat is a Pro-inflammatory Diet. To keep inflammation in check the body must have a good balance of omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acid. Most diets are relatively low in omega-3. Meat is high in omega-6 which causes the body to begin to produce an inflammation effect. Chronic inflammation is linked to most health problems. “It is becoming increasingly clear that a host of illnesses - including heart disease, many cancers and Alzheimer's disease - are influenced in large part by chronic inflammation.” (Dr. Weil) Our body needs a good balance of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to prevent inflammation in the body. Wild meat, meaning animals that lived in their natural habitats, eating their natural foods and that were athletic themselves have a good balance of have fatty acids. Domesticated animals, who do not live in their natural habitats, eat their natural foods or engage in any physical activity have a poor fatty acid ratio, heavy in omega 6, absent of omega 3, which induces an inflammation state. Domesticated animals include turkey, chicken and beef, to name a few. Athletes in particular do not want chronic inflammation, from a structural point of view and an internal health point of view.
4. High Protein Diets Cause Poor Digestion & Purification in the Body
Animal meat is tough and made up of a complicated chain of amino acids. Our body does not need or use already assembled protein, it uses amino acids. When animal meat is ingested it must be completely broken down into individual amino acids that the body then reconstructs into exactly what is needed by the body. Because of this animal meat needs a longer amount of time in the digestive tract for the body to break down fully. Smaller amounts can be processed by the body efficiently, but large amounts end up siting in the digestive tract for too long which allows purification inside of the lower digestive tract to begin. There is a direct link between this phenomenon and the rate of cancers of the bowel, ie colon cancer, that we see in this country.
Digestion takes up to 80% of all available energy by the body at any given time. The process that takes the most energy is in fact digestion. Natural plant based foods move relatively quickly through the digestive system. It is easy for the body to break down and extract all of the nutrients from these types of foods while eliminating what is left quickly and efficiently. While animal meat sits in the digestive tract and purifies it causes unfriendly bacteria to overgrow and displace our own healthy bacteria, otherwise known as probiotics. When our own healthy bacteria is depleted our digestion is impaired which effects every area of our health as nutrients are not extracted or assimilated as they should be!
5. High Protein Diets are Hard on Body Systems
We just saw how high protein diets are hard on the digestive tract, however high amounts of protein in the diet are also hard on other systems including:
Kidneys. The breakdown of high protein diets are extremely hard on the kidneys. When people eat too much protein, they take in more nitrogen than they need. This places a strain on the kidneys which must expel the extra nitrogen through urine.
Colon. The environment of the colon is vastly different in that of vegetarians. The human colon handles the bulk of the food we eat. Its lining aids in the assimilation of food - especially vitamins, enzymes and water. An unhealthy colon becomes a toxic environment leading to a slew of health problems. It is estimated that up to 80% of all health problems and diseases can be traced to a toxic or unhealthy colon, including the number one cancer among both men and women, colon cancer.
Interesting health related statistics showing the impact on health of high protein diets from John Robbins:
Blood cholesterol levels of vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians: 14% lower
Blood cholesterol levels of vegans compared to non-vegetarians: 35% lower
Risk of death from heart disease for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians: Half
Breast cancer rate for women in Uruguay who eat meat often compared to women in Uruguay who rarely or never eat meat: 4.2 times greater
Breast cancer rate for affluent Japanese women who eat meat daily compared to poorer Japanese women who rarely or never eat meat: 8.5 times greater
Number of lives lost to colon cancer each year in the United States: 55,000
Risk of colon cancer for women who eat red meat daily compared to those who eat it less than once a month: 250 percent greater
Risk of colon cancer for people who eat red meat once a week compared to those who abstain: 38 percent greater
Risk of colon cancer for people who eat poultry or fish once a week compared to those who abstain: 55 percent greater
Risk of colon cancer for people who eat poultry or fish four times a week compared to those who abstain: 200 percent greater
Risk of colon cancer for people who eat beans, peas, or lentils at least twice a week compared to people who avoid these foods: 50 percent lower
Impact on risk for colon cancer when diets are rich in the B-vitamin folic acid: 75 percent lower
Primary food sources of folic acid: Dark green leafy vegetables, beans, and peas
World champion vegetarian athletes (to name just a few):
Surya Bonaly, Olympic figure skating champion
Peter Burwash, Davis Cup winner and professional tennis star
Andreas Cahling, Swedish champion body builder, Olympic gold medallist in the ski jump
Chris Campbell, Olympic wrestling champion
Keith Holmes, world-champion middle-weight boxer
Desmond Howard, professional football star, Heisman trophy winner
Peter Hussing, European super heavy-weight boxing champion
Billie Jean King, champion tennis player
Sixto Linares, world record holder, 24-hour triathlon
Cheryl Marek and Estelle Gray, world record holders, cross-country tandem cycling
Ingra Manecki, world champion discus thrower
Bill Manetti, power-lifting champion
Dan Millman, world champion gymnast
Edwin Moses, Olympic gold medallist and world record holder, 400-meter hurdles
Martina Navratilova, champion tennis player
Paavo Nurmi, long-distance runner, winner of 9 Olympic medals and 20 world records
Robert Parish, professional basketball star
Bill Pearl, four-time Mr. Universe
Bill Pickering, world record holding swimmer
Stan Price, world weight-lifting record holder, bench press
Murray Rose, swimmer, winner of many Olympic gold medals and world records
Dave Scott, six-time winner of the Ironman triathlon
Bill Walton, professional basketball star
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