Using Low-Carbohydrate Diet to Lose Weight - Essay Example

Using Low-Carbohydrate Diet to Lose Weight Client Inserts His/her Name Client Inserts Grade Course Client Inserts Tutor’s Name 20/04/2012 Introduction Lately, many people around the world have developed a fear of becoming over weight. This is as a result of the generally stigmatized overweight people (Westman 2004). It is common therefore that, the already overweight persons are in a battlefield in quest to fight their overweight nature. However, to become overweight is not a vice. A bad impression of oneself generally forms the foundation on which self-hate motives (Brosnan 1999) accrue and the end result is low self esteem. Causes of overweight are several including the genetically induced, lack of substantial physical exercise, excess of fats in the body among others. An observation made after a research in Australia shows that much of free time is spent sitting down in front of a television or watching a movie and that 17% of the citizens were overweight let alone the 6% who were obese. Many of overweight individuals are in the verge of fighting against their body posture (Brosnan 1999). This paper will focus on Atkins’ low-carbohydrates diet method that is mostly used by most of the overweight. The idea was invented by Dr. Atkins hence the name. Dr. Atkins claim is that one can lose substantial amount of weight if one greatly reduced the rate of carbohydrate intake. The result of the practice is that the body will end up extracting amino acids from the muscle tissues to cater for the energy needs of the body. This culminates in massive reduction of body weight through muscle shrinking (Truswell 2002). The idea has been overlooked by various scientists, especially those in support of exercise, in the sense that what we lose by adopting the method is muscle tissue rather than fats. Their idea is that weight loss can be attained through other ways like physical exercise among others. But Atkins insists that most of adults have the ability to adapt and thrive normally because their body hormones immediately respond to this, resulting in the formation of glucose from the stored amino acids, a process known as gluconeogenesis (Hill 2002). He adds that low carbohydrate diet does not at all mean no-carbohydrate diet and that an overweight person certainly has a lot of reserves in the muscle tissues that need reduction so as to lose weight. But what is a low carbohydrate diet? Determining what a low carbohydrate diet is has not been an easy subject (Aljada et al. 2003). It depends on a number of factors and parameters. For example, do we look at the amount of carbohydrates in the diet or its energy potential? How do we handle the health risks related to particulars carbohydrate level requirements? What are the individual’s carbohydrate regimes tolerance limits? How low should the carbohydrates be in the diet? How much weight loss do we want and at what rate (Sonksen 2001)? The usual carbohydrate recommendations from the U.S. Dietary Guidelines (a country with a very high obesity and overweight cases) and other similar sources for the general public are that 50-65% of the calories in a person’s diet should be from carbohydrates and therefore any diet with less than that is considered a low carbohydrate diet (Ginsberg & Karmally 2000). In practice, the dietary methods of weight reduction are preferred by many victims all over the world. The effectiveness of low carbohydrate diets in this context, its merits and demerits of the practice will be highlighted later below. BIOCHEMICAL ALTERATIONS BY LOW CARBOHYDRATE DIETS The amount of carbohydrate ingested affects the levels of two important hormones; insulin and glucagon (Burke 2003). Both hormones are produced in the pancreas and perform different functions. Insulin production and release into the blood increases with increase in sugar levels in the blood and reduces with reduction of sugars. High intakes of carbohydrates therefore, which are sugars in general, induces production of insulin (Zammit 2000) and the opposite is true. Insulin heightens the rates of sugars assimilation into the cells and their storage in form of glycogen. It also promotes (Hill 2002) synthesis and storage of fatty acids and cholesterol. Simultaneously inhibits breakdown of glycogen (into usable simple sugars) and fats breakdown and fatty acids oxidation. This explain why very high carbohydrates in the diet which stimulate insulin action leads to overweight individuals. Contrary, a low carbohydrate diet promotes production, release and action of glucagon (Macdonald 1999). Glucagon serves functions that directly contrast (Volek et al. 2002) those of insulin. It promotes conversion of glucose in the blood into energy. It also discourages the synthesis and storage of glycogen, fats and fatty acids by inhibiting the enzymes that are responsible for their synthesis and storage. Glucagon also activates (Willett 2004) enzymes whose work is to extract and break these energy-filled compounds down and release energy. From the two observations therefore, it is safe to deduce that low carbohydrate diets are primarily aimed at reducing the amount of insulin and increase the amount of glucagon. Essentially, the main aim (Watford & Goodridge 2000) is to promote the usage of energy reserves by extracting such compounds as glycogen and fats and breaking them down to release energy as well as oxidizing fatty acids. The best example of an effective low carbohydrate diet is the Atkins weight loss diet. This diet demands intakes of 20 grams per day for the first two weeks after which levels of carbohydrates are increased gradually (Frayn & Akanji 2003). Dietary carbohydrate requirement missing is replaced by increase in dietary fats (unsaturated) and proteins. Such a diet stimulates immediate alterations to the amounts and actions of the above hormones. Insulin reduces drastically while glucagon increases rapidly (Westman 2004). Effects on Fats Biochemistry After introduction of Atkins diet, glucose level in blood reduces drastically and requires substitution to maintain the initial levels. Increased glucagon rapidly leads to breakdown of fats in a process known as ketosis (Phinney et al. 1983) (diets that lead to occurrence of ketosis is referred to as ketogenetic diets). This releases a lot of energy for use by the body and supplements the little amounts of glucose in the blood. In the process, fatty acids are (Phinney et al. 1983) oxidized and are changed to form simpler compounds called ketones. These ketones are assimilated into the body cells to act as a source of energy. The remaining ketones (Veech et al. 2001) are lost from the body via exhalation, the skin and some in the urine. This way, the fat reserves in the body are drastically reduced. The entire ketosis process thus plays a very important role in reduction of body weight (Veech 2004). Effects on Carbohydrate Biochemistry Low intake of carbohydrates reduces the amount of glucose in the blood. Due to the high body demand for glucose for energy, another energy source has to be found. Before the energy begins to be tapped from fats, the action of glucagon is first directed to the breakdown of glycogen in the muscles. This is aided by the action of the rapidly produced glucagon. Here, glycogen is broken down into glucose through a process known as gluconeogenesis (McIntosh 2001). Gluconeogenesis is energy-giving process in two ways; energy release during glucagon breakdown and the product of the process, glucose, which is assimilated into the cells to be used to generate energy (Feinman & Makowske 2003). Glycogen reserves are drastically extracted from the muscle tissues as a result. The end result is reduction of muscle volume important to reduce body weight. Protein Issues The low carbohydrate diet many a time consists of high amounts of proteins and fats. Proteins serve as a complementary source of energy and control the extraction of fuels from the muscles. Amino acids from the proteins are converted to glucose through the gluconeogenesis process (Manninen 2004). Also, amino acids reserves in the body are extracted and converted to glucose. PHYSIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS EXPECTED Weight Loss After a successful usage of a low carbohydrate diet, weight loss is generally observable (Sato et al. 1995). Total weight loss is an addition of the weights lost through extraction of glycogen and the burning of fats to form ketones. The ketones are filtered in the kidney and this is a process that leads to loss of substantial amounts of sodium from the body. Sodium removal from the body is facilitated by presence of water such that a lot of water to be lost through urine (Salway 1999). Such water loss highlights loss of body weight. Every gram of glycogen is bound to three grams of water and therefore, a lot of weight is lost as the glycogen is broken down to release energy. As so, one is expected to lose 1-2kg of body weight in the first week of Atkins diet. Ketosis When a person uses the low carbohydrate diet, ketosis is one of health threats one faces. Low carbohydrate diets imply inadequate (McArdle et al. 2001) amount of glucose supply in the blood. The body extracts all the glycogen reserves. When these reserves are depleted, fat oxidation sets in so as to maintain sufficient energy supply (Goodridge & Sul 2000). Fatty acids are also oxidized by the liver for energy production. They may also be oxidized to form acetoacetate which can further be converted to a-hydroxybutyriacid. The latter two are sometimes called ketone bodies. These ketone bodies are utilized by most of active body tissues including the brain, as a source of energy. When the brain uses ketones as the prime source of energy other than the usual usage of glucose, the condition is referred to as ketosis. Ketogenetic diets have been used in the treatment of epileptic individuals. Dietary Adequacy Low carbohydrate diets pose a threat of nutritional deficiency. They have been known to lack important nutrients such as thiamin, folate, calcium magnesium, vitamins A, E and B6, fibre and potassium. These diets, which mostly consist of high amounts of fats, cholesterol and proteins are threatening. For, example, high cholesterol consumption is associated with diseases such as heart attack, hypertension, high blood pressure and even heart failure (Westman 2004). Physical Activity Often, a person practicing Atkins weight loss diet experience nausea, headache, dizziness and fatigue. Thirst is the most common and detectable and occurs due to the pre-explained massive losses of water during glycogen breakdown and during ketosis. Therefore, during the period of low carbohydrate diet, a person becomes highly dehydrated. Physical exercises are therefore discouraged. If the immense sweating associated with physical exercise and which leads to further dehydration becomes a threat. It has been observed to cause impairing of metabolic activity, cause fatigue, mental dysfunction, and fever and blood pressure surges. Nevertheless, most people engage in physical exercise and ignore the negative threats above because they are short term. Low-carbohydrate diets are associated, to a great extent, with reduced mean power output as a reduction in the muscle glycogen reserves. Insulin Issues In accordance to various research works, insulin hormone has been found to be stimulated by not only high glucose levels, but also the presence of amino acids. High levels of protein are often included in a low carbohydrate diet. This leads to the introduction of high amounts of amino acids into the blood. These amino acids are converted into glucose through gluconeogenesis. However the converted glucose is not enough to cater for the normal glucose/energy required by the body. As a result this leads to the production of hepatic glucose and a decrease in the peripheral glucose utilization and this basically indicates an insulin resistant state (Veech 2004). From yet another research, it has been observed (Fernstrom et al. 2003) that increased basal insulin release; higher fasting glucose production and enhanced gluconeogenesis have all been observed to increase the demand on insulin release from the pancreas. This directly promotes the occurrence of diabetes of the vulnerable people due to pancreatic beta cell failure. Bone Health A low carbohydrate diet will lead to high loss of calcium this culminates to a disease known as osteoporosis. When especially using the Atkins diet and the likes, various foods that are the key sources of calcium are highly restricted especially the dairy products like milk and yoghurt. This results in the formation of weak bones. As a fact, low carbohydrate diets are known to contain low levels of calcium, and this is a predisposing condition that later invites osteoporosis. Cancer Risks Low carbohydrate intake is likely to be associated with large amounts of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables produce and release compounds and components such as phenols, flavonoids, isothiocyanates and fibre which are alter the body’s protective mechanism against cancer. What results is high chance of cancer occurring in the future. Advantages of the Low Weight Diets The ultimate goal while using a low carbohydrate is to lose weight. The best thing about the practice is its flexibility (Newman & Brodows 1983). The problem encountered during the low carbohydrate diet definition turns a function of the methods flexibility. Different individuals require different levels of carbohydrate restriction in a diet. There are those individuals who will follow the program just for the maintenance of their (Sato et al. 1995) current body weight while another person will follow the formula to reduce large numbers of kilos. Another advantage of the program is that it is effective. If a dieter follows a program strictly, weight loss is achieved. Weight loss is through water lost through dieresis (Wadden et al. 1983) water lost during breakdown of muscle tissue and reduced appetite. The other merit of the program is that it promotes healthy eating habits. If for example an overweight person loses weight through a particular by following a particular program, no doubt that he/she will try to maintain a healthy eating formula to avoid such scenarios in the future (Veech 2004). Disadvantages First there is a general rule that particular dieter need to limit (Bjornotorp 1966) their overall consumption of food. This is likely to discourage people who are fond of particular amount of food. The ultimatum is that such people will never accept to adopt the plan. A low carbohydrate diet means high amounts of proteins and fats intake. Fats intakes are not limited. Such high fat proportions imply (Barzel & Massey 1998) high intakes of cholesterols which are associated to heart diseases. In future therefore, such a person will have high chances of heart diseases. There are also chances that such a diet induces high blood pressure. It is therefore prudent to say that for dieters following such a program, a high blood pressure disease is a threat. As discussed above, there is a chance that most people following the program may later contract cancer. Following the diet appears risky and most people will therefore refrain from adopting such a program. The process also is not practical when a woman is pregnant (Ball & Maughan 1997). This is because the foetus cannot operate when the glucose levels are strained. Due to the water lost through the diuretic means and through the process of glycogen breakdown, the process dehydrates the subject. Conclusion Overweight cases especially in the developed world are in high occurrence of rate. There certainly has to be a way of fighting overweight and obesity scenarios. The low carbohydrate diet method appears appealing and this is because the method’s negative implications are not that detrimental. The results of the method especially when employing Atkins method are immediate. However, it is not always in place to overlook some of the dangers that may face dieters e.g. the amount of carbohydrates already in the body, the health status and the carbohydrate tolerance. Lastly, the society should as well think about preventing the overweight occurrence rather than finding remedies when things have flown off the handle. REFERENCES Aljada, A., Mohanty, P., and Dandona, P., 2003. Lipids, carbohydrates, and heart disease. Metab Synd and Relat Disord, 1, p. 185-188. Ball, D., and Maughan, R., 1997. Blood and urine acid base status ofpremenopausal omnivorous and vegetarian women. Br JNutr, 78, p. 683-8. Barzel, U.S., and Massey, L.K., 1998. Excess dietary protein canadversely affect bone. J Nutrition, 128, p. 1051-3. Björntorp, P., 1966. 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Regulation of ketogenesis in liver: In Handbook of Physiology - Section 7: The Endocrine System - Volume II: The Endocrine Pancreas and Regulation of Metabolism. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Read More