Community Magazine February 2003

The Beef on High Protein Diets Diet moguls like the famous (or infa- mous) Dr. Atkins have found a way to burn excess fat by fooling the body temporarily. While it may not be bad for the short term, over time there could be a hefty price to pay in terms of general health if these unbalanced diets continue to proliferate. A study done by the USDA – Depart. of Agriculture found that the average con- sumer of animal products gets more than 165 percent of their recommended daily allowance for protein. Too much protein can be carcinogenic; too much for too long a period is very toxic for the body. For a very short period of time however, a temporary state of ketosis may in fact be beneficial for the very overweight. Being in ketosis means your body has burned a large amount of fat in response to the fact that it didn’t have sufficient glucose avail- able for energy needs. So the body will use fat instead for conversion. Under everyday conditions, the carbohydrates you eat are converted to glucose, which is the body’s primary source of energy. When intake of carbohydrates is limited to a certain range for a long enough period of time the body will begin to draw on its auxiliary energy source – fat stores, for fuel. This condition called dietary ketosis, means your body burns fat and turns it into a source of fuel called ketones. Ketones are produced whenever body fat is burned. When you burn a larger amount of fat than is immedi- ately needed for energy, the excess ketones are discarded in the urine. In the long term this could be dangerous for the kidneys. Protein Pollution An ultra high-protein diet is too imbal- anced to provide a healthy mix of nutri- ents. Too much protein has been implicat- ed in numerous health problems including osteoporosis and other types of bone dete- rioration, calcium deposits, dental caries, stomach and digestive troubles, stiff joints, gout, circulatory and blood pressure trou- bles, kidney and bladder Stones. Several studies have shown that people who ate high-protein diets had more heart disease compared with those who ate less. In addition, these diets are also rich in sat- urated fat (usually as the result of animal protein and dairy product) which has long been known to promote heart disease. Researchers have long fingered a pro- tein called ß-catenin as a prime suspect in colon cancer. Two expert teams of researchers have clinically shown how ß- catenin conspires with other proteins to wreak havoc in the genes of cells lining the colon. A third team incriminates the pro- tein in melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Researchers have identified a protein fragment that keeps at least one major tumor suppressing gene from preventing cancer as it should. The fragment belongs to a class of proteins known as apoptotic enhancers (ASPP), named for their ability to stimulate programmed cell death, or apoptosis, by the P53 gene. A Protein Overdose for Muscle? Fat Chance Many people still believe that consum- ing exorbitant amounts of protein will put muscle on their bones and take pounds off their waist. This is simply not true, even excess protein turns to fat. What is the real cause of weight gain? Not surprisingly, it’s eating too much food! No matter what you eat, your body sends whatever it can’t use to fat cells. If you don’t burn it off, it hangs around in your body as fat. If you want to lose weight, don’t eat too much of any- thing –follow the advice of Maimonides - and exercise regularly. Recommendations Limit your protein intake to recom- mended daily allowance (RDA) of 0.36- 0.45 grams per pound (0.8-1.0 gm/kg) of body weight per day unless you have a daily strenuous exercise routine. Base your calculation on your ideal body weight, not on your actual weight if you are over- weight. Example: If you weigh 150 lb., however, your ideal body weight is 120 lb., your protein need will be 43-54 grams per day, which can be met with just 5 to 7 oz of white chicken meat, equivalent to one piece of chicken breast. Permanent weight loss is best achieved when approached in terms of total lifestyle enhancement. Find out your nutrition needs and develop natural wholesome eating habits and set up a long term program that makes healthy sense for the whole body. David Massry BS, MH, CNC, is a Nutritional consultant in the Mednet building on Coney Island Ave and owner of downtown natural mar- ket. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Naturopathy at Clayton College of natural health. 42 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE s ” xc CM M A N Y P E O P L E S T I L L B E L I E V E T H AT C O N S UM I N G E X O R B I TA N T A MO U N T S O F P R O T E I N W I L L P U T MU S C L E O N T H E I R B O N E S A N D TA K E P O U N D S O F F T H E I R WA I S T . T H I S I S S I M P LY N O T T R U E , E V E N E X C E S S P R O T E I N T U R N S T O FAT .