From: PaR (par@nu-world.com)
Date: Sat Apr 11 1998 - 11:22:41 MDT
>...and their effect on the hormones in the human body...notably
>insulin...that many fat people (myself included i imagine <5'll...260lbs>
>develope a condition he calls "hyperinsulinism"...which over an extend time
>leads to all manner of bad things..notably obeseity...and it's attendant
>ills.(heart attacks, diabetes, strokes...and other nasty stuff)...
I have been involved in learning about health, fitness and bodybuilding for
9 years (since I was 13), and I have worked as a nutritionist and fitness
instructor so I have a bit of experience on this topic.
You are correct: very high blood concentrations of insulin and glycogen can do
some very bad things other than obesity. All of the things you listed and more.
One thing it does is known as "glycolization" which is a build up of cellular garbage
that causes "cross-linking" of proteins. This is not a good thing if you are striving for
immortality (like me) because it can ultimately damage DNA.
One solution to this particular problem is to eat a very low carbohydrate diet such
as described in books by atkins and other books like "The Zone..." But the Atkins
diet has problems of it's own (see below) Another, possbily better solution is to
eat a moderate amount of carbohydrates, but make sure you eat only "low glycemic
index" carbohydrates. Glycemic index (GI) is a scale that measures how much insulin
is released by your body as a result of eating certain foods; it was first devised for
diabetics, but is useful to anyone seeking health. You can find GI food charts on the web,
at health food stores or ask a doctor.
>The problem being that someone suffereing from said ailment (hyperinsulinism)
>has a well neigh impossibe task facing him trying to loose weight via
>conventionally prescribed methods...i.e. cut back calories...
In order to lose wieght you must eat a high protien, low-medium carb, medium fat, calorie
diet. And you must create a caloric deficit meaning burn more calories than you
consume. It IS as simple as that, but it is NOT as easy as that. It takes time
because your body has to totally readjust. If you have hyperinsulinism
then you're body is very insensitive to insulin and another body mass
regulating hormone known as leptin. You're body has to "upregulate"
or resenstize itself to the lower level of insulin, glucose and leptin.
Once that happens the fat loss will accelerate.
>So........I imagine the militant veggies are a trifle upset with this...it
>could be called a "hi protein" , "hi fat" or "meat eaters" diet.
>I've always wanted to get a ketotic diet proponent in a room with a vegan
>to watch the fireworks :-)
Vegtables are still good for you because many (but not all) are low GI. Also
don't cook them as this increases GI (not to mention does lots of other nasty things.)
You don't even *have to* eat meat to do a ketogenic diet because you can get protein from
supplements like whey, soy or egg protein, and you can eat "healthy" fats like those
found in walnuts, almonds, flax oil, primrose oil, peanuts, olive oil etc. instead of
saturated animal fat which *is* unhealthy. So it *is*
possible to be both a veg-head and on a ketogenic diet, although I have no idea
who would want to do this.
>It does work for weight loss (at least temporarily) but the metabolic
>state your body is thrown into does not sound healthy. One side effect my
>wife and her family noticed is that it causes very bad, sulphurous body
>odor. With a large family and a small house this was not appreciated.
>I don't think having these kind of chemicals floating around in your
>body would be good for you.
>The real problem with diets isn't losing weight, it's keeping it off.
>I've seen figures suggesting that 90% of dieters regain all the lost
>weight within two years.
>In addition to substantial fat loss, ketosis is a strong diuretic and you'll
>lose a lot of water as well
I have personal experience with ketogenic diets. Yes they do work very well for
weight loss. Yes, you will stink if you eat that way. You may experience nasausness,
weakness, and you may have trouble thinking clearly. It is also correct that you will
lose a lot of water, so for safety reasons it is important to drink a lot of water. (Water
weight is *not* the type of weight you want to lose.) No, it is not healthy
for a long term diet. I would call the ketogenic diet a "short term militant weight
loss tactic." It is not a long term strategy if you value your health; it has a
number of nasty side effects. But for short term it is OK. My personal experience
with this is that you will need to eat at least 75% of your calories from fat, and most
of the difference should be made up of protein (to preserve lean muscle mass).
>Research on the long-term safety of ketotic
>diets is zilch, which I consider inexcusable given than Dr. Atkins has been
>pushing this diet for 25 years. Not even a rodent study
Actually, there has been some research done on it. Like I said, the results
showed short term use will not be harmful. But long term use is harmful for several
reasons. Unfortunately I don't have the refs handy.
If you decide to try the ketogenic diet you should also go to a drug store
and buy what are called "keto sticks." This are little pieces of paper that you
put your urine on - they change color if you are in ketosis. This sounds gross,
but it is important to do becasue it is the only way you will be able to tell if you
are in ketosis or not. If you are not, then the diet will not be effective because you
will still be buring carbs for fuel instead of fat. Contrary to what some people say,
you can not just "eat whatever you want" on this diet becasue you will still
have to create a caloric deficit in order to burn fat; so you will not be able to "pig out."
I must warn you though: It takes an *enourmous* amount of self discipline to stay
on a ketogenic diet. Here is why: your brain chemistry gets all out of wack. Your
body uses carbs to make seratonin, one of the brain's neurotransimittors. (It is the
"happiness" neurotransimitter.) If your body has so few carbs that it goes into
ketosis, it will most likely not have enough to make seratonin. As a result,
your body will "tell you" you should eat more carbs. You will have the most
horrendous carb cravings you have ever experienced. But if you pig out on
carbs at this point, you will gain even more weight because your metabolism
will have slowed from the reduced carb and calorie diet.
One way to mitigate
the seratonin problem is to use some sort of drug or supplement that creates
seratonin or prevents the breakdown of it. The drug dex-fenfluramine (formerly
used in phen-phen and Redux) did this, but it has some bad side effects. Some
bodybuilders I know use methamphetamines for this purpose, (and also to speed
up their metabolism) but obviously this is not a good idea. You could use
Prozac which is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake inhibiter (SSRI) which might help.
But my suggestion would be to use a combination of the herb St. Johns Wart
which also acts as a natural SSRI without ANY known negative side effects (perhaps
nasuau) and maybe some dexitrim which also helps.
So no, you won't be "hungry" on a ketogenic diet, but you will still crave carbs to
make seratonin. OTOH with a high carb diet you end up being hungry all the time
because your body releases and burns all the carbs very quickly, and doesn't
have enough of the "slow burning fuel" (eg protein and fat) to maintain level
blood sugar levels. "All things in moderation." -- Ben Franklin. I have found
that for a normal diet I get the best results with 40-45% carbs, 35-40% protein,
and 20% fat. For losing fat I do 45% protein, 35% carbs, and 20% fat, just with
lower than normal calories. But everyBODY is differnet. YMMV. You will have to see
what works best for you. Everyone has an individual learning curve about
his or her own body.
Yes, most people regain lost weight. The key to keeping it off in general is to
make total life style changes. Make eating healthy and excercising a regular
part of your life. Most people fail becaus they aren't willing to do it permanently;
they see it as a short term "fix". Need motivation?: If you are striving for
immortality just ask yourself the question "what is more important to me, life,
or a cheesburger?" I haven't looked at a cheesburger since. :-)
The key to keeping off the weight after a ketogenic session is to come off of
it gradually, and not eat too many carbs at once. Keep your total calories the
same, but gradually shift the macronutrient composition to more (but not too
many) carbs. Once you are back to your revised carb intake level, then you
may be able to increase calories without gaining much weight. You might
want to increase your excercise when you do this though.
BTW - you shouldn't ever try to lose "weight" you should try to lose *fat* You
should go to a gym and have your body composition measured. Scales should
really not be your progress guage. Maintaining muslce is important because
it has a high metabolism (and you do want to be able to move don't you ;-).
Also - I have never seen a fat loss program work that did not include excercise.
For best results I would recommend a combination of weight training *AND* cardio.
Hope this helps.
Sin,
Jason
Temporary email address: PaR@NU-WORLD.com
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