High Protein

High protein - controlled carbohydrate diets are all the rage. But... do they work? Are they safe? Can you live with one?

The answer to all three questions is an unqualified YES. In fact, the medical community has not been able to discount the benefits even though some, like Atkins, have been on the market for decades. The reason they cannot discount them completely is that they work.


Leading weight loss physicians, including Dr. Atkins, Drs. Eades, Mt. Sanai Medical Center, and others, have researched, studied, and concluded that carbohydrates do make you fat. Although many would have you believe otherwise, the data that has been studied reveals a different story.

High protein diets don't eliminate carbohydrates completely. They simply limit them to amounts and types that are in line with the body's actual requirements. They have found that limited carbohydrates reduce insulin problems (diabetes), control fat absorption, reduce the body's production of cholesterol, and help build stronger muscles.

High protein doesn't mean high fat. Sure, you can enjoy bacon and sausages on a high protein diet, but eating lean red meats, pork, poultry, and fish is recommended. Taking in the majority of your daily calories in protein provides the body with the essential building blocks for making healthier muscle and tissue, and helps to control chemicals in the body that make us crave fattening foods.

A high protein diet includes dairy products, meats, fish, poultry, eggs, some vegetables, some fruits, and plenty of liquids. Many of us are quite satisfied living on these foods and can make a high protein diet a lifetime eating program.

High protein diets are completely safe according to their proponents. Of course, all diets have naysayers. But, consider the fact that the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association have convinced people for years that a low fat, high carbohydrate diet would control heart disease, insulin dependency, and weight. Unfortunately, what we have after nearly 40 years of this is the heaviest society on Earth. We have more heart disease, diabetes, and obesity than ever. What does that mean? It means that carbohydrates are a culprit in this.

The human body does not require carbohydrates to create energy. Protein provides high-quality, sustained energy. Protein also provides necessary nutrients for building muscle, tissue, blood cells, and overall cell health. Look at it this way--man is an omnivore. A hunter-gatherer, in a manner of speaking. He has evolved that way. The introduction of cultivated carbohydrates (grains) has led man down the path to obesity and illness. In fact, despite those lovely murals, the upper class Egyptians of old were overweight and in bad health. Why? They ate grains, drank beer (made from grain), and consumed huge amounts of everything but protein. They were also suffering from slave labour--they had slaves who performed even small tasks leading them to be sedentary. Of course, the lower classes and slave classes did not suffer from carbohydrate fattening because they were constantly engaged in strenuous activity. (The distinction between the classes was made following a note from a visitor.)

Evolution is a slow process. It takes tens of thousands of years for a species to change dramatically. Man hasn't been around too terribly long in his current state. We are still the hunter-gatherers we once were. We are not herbivores. Perhaps, in another ten thousand years, man's body will change to process carbohydrates as some animals do, but, until then, high protein intake is essential for our health and well-being.

A final few observations. High protein diets include fat. Fat is essential to good health. The body needs it to operate efficiently. The brain requires it to create chemicals that make us who and what we are. This doesn't mean you should eat a pound of lard at a time, but worrying about a bit of fat on a steak or a strip of bacon is wasted. It isn't harmful at all according to the experts. Lastly, the high protein diets do not raise cholesterol. In fact, they help reduce it. The body manufactures cholesterol based upon our food intake. The research shows that proteins help reduce cholesterol while sugars increase it.

Before beginning any diet program, it is recommended that you talk with your physician.