http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/health/article.jsp?content=20050422_101349_4828
Carbs encourage over-eating
Diabetes patients on low-carbohydrate diet eat less and lose weight
Which would you eat after a three-course meal -- a slice of apple pie
or a pork chop? Probably the apple pie, according to the author of a
recent study claiming carbohydrate-rich foods induce people to push the
boundaries of their optimal eating habits.
"Most people, by the time they get to dessert, don't need anything.
They are satisfied," says Dr. Guenther Boden of Temple University in
Philadelphia. "But then comes dessert and you eat another 500 to 600
calories."
Boden and his colleagues investigated the eating habits of 10 obese
people with diabetes. When participants went on a two-week
ultra-low-carbohydrate diet, they spontaneously ate less.
"Taking away the carbohydrates eliminated their excess appetite," Boden
says. "Or, if you want to turn it around, you could say it's the
carbohydrates that induce you -- and seduce you -- to eat more than you
really need."
During a one-week period when participants were allowed to eat whatever
they wanted, the group consumed an average of 300 grams of
carbohydrates and 3,100 calories each day. In the following two-week
period -- when daily carbohydrate intake was reduced to 21 grams (about
two-thirds of a cup of cooked pasta) -- the same patients consumed an
average of 2,100 calories each day.
"It turned out that for their height, 2,100 calories was exactly what
they were supposed to eat," Boden says. "You cut out the carbohydrates
and your body reverts back to the fuel intake it really needs."
Patients were allowed to eat as much as they wanted from any other food
group, but they didn't appear to compensate for the carb loss by
substituting fats or protein.
Study patients lost an average of 1.65 kilograms over the course of the
low-carb portion of the study, which could be completely accounted for
by the reduction in calorie intake.
The case for cutting carbs is bolstered by an absence of evidence that
the drastic diet has negative side-effects, Boden says. Despite
concerns that a diet high in fat and protein would lead to increased
risks of heart disease and stroke, long-term data on the subject hasn't
materialized. "So far, no adverse effects have shown up."
But that doesn't mean they won't, says Sharon Zeiler, senior manager of
nutrition initiatives and strategies at the Canadian Diabetes
Association. "A lot of the foods with high carbohydrates are the most
nutrient dense. It's really a concern that (dieters) could become
depleted of nutrients."
With files from The Medical Post.
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TC