Why Do High-Protein Diets Work?
Why Do High-Protein Diets Work?
May 9, 2003 Carnivores, rejoice! Red meat might be key to your high-protein diet. That's the finding from a new study, presented at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association.
"This is notthe Atkins diet," says lead investigator Manny Noakes, PhD, a research dietitian with the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization in Adelaide, Australia. "This is a high-protein diet, but it includes more fruits and vegetables than Atkins," she tells WebMD.
The Atkins diet, which has drawn criticism from dietitians, is a high-protein diet but allows few carbohydrates (at least in the first few weeks). Later, dieters are allowed to gradually add in limited amounts of fruits and vegetables. Atkins allows too much saturated fat and is too skimpy on fruits and vegetables, many dietitians say, but research has shown that people on the Atkins diet do lose weight without upping their cholesterol.
In their study, Noakes and colleagues set out to analyze red meat's effects -- very lean red meat, that is -- on risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, she explains. However, the results turned up a surprising conclusion.
But first the data: 100 women were enrolled in the study -- all overweight, with an average body mass index (BMI) of 33. For 12 weeks, half the women ate a high-protein diet of 34% protein, 46% carbohydrate, and 20% fat. The other half ate a high-carbohydrate diet that was 17% protein, 63% carbohydrate, and 20% fat. Each diet consisted of about 1,340 calories, and protein in both diets was from lean red meat.
After 12 weeks, both groups lost weight -- but some of the high-protein-diet women lost substantially more weight. Those women who had triglyceride levels higher than 133 mg/dL -- a fat in the blood -- at the study's beginning lost 25% more weight, reports Noakes. At the study's end, the high-meat eaters also had 22% lower levels of triglycerides, she says. High triglyceride levels are often seen in people at risk for diabetes.
Other measures of health -- "good" HDL and "bad" LDL cholesterol, blood sugar, and fastinginsulin levels -- fell in both groups.
Why Do High-Protein Diets Work?
Lose more weight when you eat lean, red meat
May 9, 2003 Carnivores, rejoice! Red meat might be key to your high-protein diet. That's the finding from a new study, presented at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association.
"This is notthe Atkins diet," says lead investigator Manny Noakes, PhD, a research dietitian with the Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organization in Adelaide, Australia. "This is a high-protein diet, but it includes more fruits and vegetables than Atkins," she tells WebMD.
The Atkins diet, which has drawn criticism from dietitians, is a high-protein diet but allows few carbohydrates (at least in the first few weeks). Later, dieters are allowed to gradually add in limited amounts of fruits and vegetables. Atkins allows too much saturated fat and is too skimpy on fruits and vegetables, many dietitians say, but research has shown that people on the Atkins diet do lose weight without upping their cholesterol.
In their study, Noakes and colleagues set out to analyze red meat's effects -- very lean red meat, that is -- on risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, she explains. However, the results turned up a surprising conclusion.
But first the data: 100 women were enrolled in the study -- all overweight, with an average body mass index (BMI) of 33. For 12 weeks, half the women ate a high-protein diet of 34% protein, 46% carbohydrate, and 20% fat. The other half ate a high-carbohydrate diet that was 17% protein, 63% carbohydrate, and 20% fat. Each diet consisted of about 1,340 calories, and protein in both diets was from lean red meat.
Who Lost More Weight?
After 12 weeks, both groups lost weight -- but some of the high-protein-diet women lost substantially more weight. Those women who had triglyceride levels higher than 133 mg/dL -- a fat in the blood -- at the study's beginning lost 25% more weight, reports Noakes. At the study's end, the high-meat eaters also had 22% lower levels of triglycerides, she says. High triglyceride levels are often seen in people at risk for diabetes.
Other measures of health -- "good" HDL and "bad" LDL cholesterol, blood sugar, and fastinginsulin levels -- fell in both groups.
