High Protein Diets and Weight Loss

In this modern age, appearance is more important than ever. New fad diets are finding their way onto the market at a rapid pace. The highly publicized Atkins's diet, promoted by Robert C. Atkins, a cardiologist in New York City, consists of a higher protein intake and lower carbohydrate consumption. The diet has been quite controversial since it's popularization in the seventies, when a campaign against refined sugar gathered a following. On one hand, completely eliminating a macro-nutrient from one's diet can be a recipe for disaster. On the other hand, if the results of the diet acquiesce with an individual's weight loss goals, weighing the pros and cons of the diet becomes a difficult task indeed.

A high protein diet requires the consumption of more water throughout the day. This is a major concern for athletes who are trying to lose weight and keep up their daily exercise regimen. Dehydration is a definite possibility for those on these high protein diets that do not realize the importance of hydration. Nutritionist Alysun Deckert, M.S, R.D. stated, "In general, athletes should not consume high-protein diets. They increase the risk of dehydration, and also appear to have negative effects on cardiovascular disease and kidney function". Being a marathoner himself, Deckert clearly has a vested interest in the health of long-distance runners.

The negative aspects of high-protein diets do not only affect the athletically inclined. As Deckert affirmed, the diets appear to have negative effects on kidney function. This is yet another controversy surrounding the Atkins's high-protein diet. The supposed link between the diet and kidney stones was examined in a study carried out by Tuft's University. To determine if the link was a reality or mere propaganda of high-carbohydrate diet proponents, researchers analyzed ten people who wished to lose weight. The results affirm the hypothesis: "What was found in their urine had become markedly more acidic, and there was a 'striking increase' in the amount of acid their kidney's had to handle". The Atkins's diet is long-term, which allows the extra acid the necessary time to form kidney stones. The risk of developing kidney stones increases the longer an individual is on the diet.

A high-protein diet is especially dangerous for women. Julie Eisenstein, leader of a research group from Tuft's University, warns "What data are available show that a protein intake of two to three times the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance promotes calcium loss through the urine, which may contribute to osteopenia and osteoporosis in the long term". For women concerned with having brittle bones in the later years of their lives, this supplies a definitive answer to the question of attempting the Atkins's diet. High-protein diets promote calcium loss and may contribute to bone thinning

Losing weight is the ultimate goal of anyone on a diet. Granted, it is definitely possible for someone to lose a good amount of weight in a relatively short period of time using the Atkins's diet. Sadly, most of the weight being lost is in the form of water. When the intake of carbohydrates is cut down or simply eliminated, the muscles, which are retaining carbohydrates and with them water, will lose much of this water. In addition to this, high-protein diets are not a good selection for a long-term diet because it is wholly unrealistic for one to stop eating carbohydrates completely; they are arguably the most abundant food in the world.

The risk of missing out on vital vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that help fight off diseases is far higher in a diet that calls for cutting back on fruits and vegetables. Experts also worry that high-protein diets have too little fiber, which has been proven to play a crucial role in the prevention of a number of diseases. Because of this fact, carbohydrates should constitute at least fifty percent of an individual's daily consumption.

What many people forget when considering their diet options is the well-known fact that a combination of diet and exercise is the only way to truly maximize one's physical potential. Americans today are always looking for the easy way out, for the magic diet that promises unrealistic weight-loss totals. "Most people are just looking for a quick fix," says Harvey Anderson, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto. "Most people live such a vicarious existence and are so lazy they will just sit back and look for that magic solution rather than go out and actually do what must be done to lose weight themselves".

This leads the ignorant public down the dark, unlit alley of unsafe dieting. When someone's weight inflates to an unappealing weight, they spend a couple of weeks on the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. They then would take a week off to normalize, and then go back on it again for two weeks. It is a viable option for the short term - it could take off as much as twenty-five pounds. In spite of this, that is not the healthiest way for an individual to live and eat; basically, it is a glutton's diet. Clearly, it would be in the best interest of any individual to eat sensibly all the time. What's more, diets that promise big weight loss in weeks are just short-term fixes that fail to keep the pounds off in the long run.

The negative aspects of high-protein diets clearly outweigh the positive. This diet is not a long-term solution to a weight problem - it's merely a quick fix that has some drastic downsides. Kidney stones are incredibly painful. Dehydration severely debilitates runners. Osteoporosis is a major problem for the elderly. With all these marks in the "Con" column, it is hard to understand why so many people nation-wide have been going on high-protein diets. I assume that it's just another fad that will eventually fade out. Hopefully some day Americans will come to the realization that weight loss will only occur with a combination of exercise and healthy food choices.