THE CONTROVERCY ...
The controversy about what is the best eating plan to follow for healthy
eating and weight loss has been going on for the past 40 years. For the most
part over weight and obese people have been told to eat less fat, eat more
carbs and restrict their calorie intake. Although this advice have been
given to people for the last 40 years the obesity epidemic has just
continued to spiral out of control. Clearly the widely accepted way of
eating for weight loss and health is not having the desired effec
THE ALTERNATIVE WAY ...
The alternative way of eating healthy and lose weight is to follow a low
carb eating plan. In the last few years a lot of compelling evidence has emerged from
peer-reviewed studies
to show that low carb eating is in fact a much better way to lose
weight and is in fact a healthier way to lose weight. To see some South
African success stories and some studies go to www.lowcarbsa.co.za
PUBLICATIONS AND RESEARCH
Gary Taubes
Author of "Good Calories, Bad Calories"
A lot of books have been published about low carb eating over the years, the
most important of which is Good calories, Bad calories by Gary Taubes. The
book was described by the Pulitzer prize winning Richard Rhodes as "Easily
the most important book on diet and health to be published in the past one
hundred years" and by The Washington Post as "Brilliant and enlightening".
You can look at a preview of the book at www.amazon.com
In the book Gary provides compelling evidence that the conventional diet
prescribed by doctors and dieticians has never been proven to be effective
for weight loss, is in fact making people unhealthy and sick and is in
fact the cause of most of the diseases of our time. In contrast he provides
compelling evidence that low carb is not just a much better way to lose
weight but also the more healthy option.
In the book Gary Taubes comes to the following conclusions:
- Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity,
heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization.
- The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on
insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis - the
entire harmonic ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, the greater the effect on our health, weight, and
well-being.
- Sugars - sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup specifically - are
particularly harmful, probably because the combination of fructose and
glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver
with carbohydrates.
- Through their direct effect on insulin and blood sugar, refined
carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart
disease and diabetes. They most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's
disease, and the other chronic diseases of civilization.
- Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not over-eating,
and not sedentary behaviour.
- Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter, any more
than it causes a child to grow taller. Expending more energy than we
consume does not lead to long-term weight loss; it leads to hunger.
- Fattening and obesity are caused by an imbalance - a disequilibrium
- in the leaner regulation of adleanerissue and fat metabolism. Fat
synthesis and storage exceed the mobilization of fat from the adipose tissue
and its subsequent oxidation. We become leaner when the hormonal regulation
of the fat tissue reverses this balance.
- Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels
are elevated - either chronically or after a meal - we accumulate fat in our
fat tissue. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from our fat tissue and
use it for fuel.
- By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and
ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we
will be.
- By driving fat accumulation, carbohydrates also increase hunger and
decrease the amount of energy we expend in metabolism and physical activity.
The American Diabetic Association (ADA) has recommended a low carb diet as
a safe and effective way to lose weight for the last 2 years.
To see what low carb eating is all about and what kind of foods you are
allowed to eat go to www.lowcarbsa.co.za
THE GREAT DIET CHALLENGE aims to help over weight and obese people in South
Africa to lose weight safely and effectively by following a low carb eating
plan while at the same time providing a incentive of a 1 MILLION RAND prize
for South Africa's champion dieter.
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