Low-Protein Diet May Extend Lifespan 459
sciencehabit writes "A new theory about the foods that can extend life is taking shape, and it's sure to be a controversial one. Two studies out this week, one in mice (PDF) and another primarily in people (PDF), suggest that eating relatively little protein and lots of carbohydrates — the opposite of what's urged by many human diet plans, including the popular Atkins Diet — extends life and fortifies health."
Yeah...whatever you believe today... (Score:3, Informative)
Low Fat, High Carb...okay...
Low Fat, Low Carb...oooh...hardcore...(thats what I did)...nearly died from that one...
Whatever diet you're on...make sure your body is ready for it, I
Yeah. It does work, but you need to be disciplined. Low protein? Nah...make sure you get enough B12...and You'll be fine.
Re:Tried it already. It kind of flopped. (Score:3, Informative)
"lots of carbohydrates" doesn't mean "lots of bread, grains and pasta" - fruits and vegetables are a source of carbohydrates.
Basically, this is just confirming what we have already known for many years, but some of us refuse to admit: the best diet is one that is high in fruits and vegetables, and meat should be eaten in small portions (if at all).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_diet
Re:Atkin's Diet (Score:5, Informative)
I'm pretty sure the Atkin's diet was ruled out by anyone with any knowledge of actual human health. The man died a fat, bloated fuck and doomed many of his blind followers to live the same.
Um, I'm not an Atkins proponent (been vegetarian since the seventies) but part of that was marketing by Atkins detractors. He slipped on ice and suffered a severe blow to the head. In the hospital, he contracted another condition (which escapes me at the moment) which caused bloating. There is an urban legend that militant vegetarians (which always struck me as an oxymoron, but never mind...) snuck in and got photos of Atkins on his deathbed as rather disingenious "proof" that his diet killed him.
Re:Yeah...whatever you believe today... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Atkin's Diet (Score:2, Informative)
Please don't confuse your opinions with facts. It's clear the only science you know is 'bro'.
Your body doesn't make carbohydrates it makes glucose and glycogen, which fuel the brain and muscles. There is lots of literature about how this works. It's easy for the body to use dietary carbohydrates to supply all the energy needs of the body. It's also *very* easy to eat more than you need when you throw refined sugars into the mix. Your body can only store so much glycogen/glucose - in fact it is toxic in high concentrations. So thats where insulin kicks in an converts it to fat. Fat is an incredibly good energy storage mechanism. It's energy dense and you can carry loads of it around. Though I'm not sure that was the intention when it was 'invented'. Your body is of course wired up to be able to use these energy reserves when there is no dietary energy source. That never happens though really. Now if you take something that is designed to be hungry sometimes, and you make sure it is always fed, then of course stuff is going to start going wrong.
One of the reasons we are constantly fed, is because we are constantly hungry. Our "am I hungry" sensor was invented before calorie dense refined foods. One of the things that sets it off is low blood sugar, and one of the things that eating lots of sugar does is make your body release insulin. The quicker that sugar gets in your blood, the more insulin your body makes, and because it can't afford to risk letting your blood sugar get too high, it will keep pumping out insulin until it gets blood sugar under control. As your blood sugar lowers, it will reduce insulin secretion but there is a lag in this feedback loop. Depending on how fast and how high you went (and how may times you have done this before), will depend on how hard you crash. Then your blood sugar will end up low, then you'll be hungry again. You can eat 1000 calories of ice cream, and go right back fro 1000 more after as little as half an hour. So clearly something isn't right.
Not eating refined sugar doesn't leave you 'malnourished'. On the contrary, you end up eating far more nutritious sources of carbohydrate such as fruit and vegetables. You do know that one of the main premises of atkins is eating vegetables?
Another fact is that Low carb != Zero carb. Once again I refer you to the fact that you are supposed to eat vegetables. You can eat fruit as well, just don't eat too much (although if its a choice between that and ice cream...)
One of the greatest benefits is regulation of appetite. All that veg makes you feel fuller for longer. I absolutely dare you to push through the withdrawal symptoms you will get coming off sugar and see what 'sobriety' is like.
I'm going to need you to cite a source that says the human body *requires* carbohydrates to survive. It doesn't, it hasn't been proven, it cannot be proven because it is patently false.
You are also confusing low carb with high protein, and thusly drawing invalid conclusions about what might be causing kidney problems. Yes, eating high protein has been proven to have negative effects. Thats not the same as eating low carb though.
You don't *eliminate* carbs, you stop eating junk food. Most of you don't eat that way because you don't want to. When you try to stop eating high sugar your body experiences withdrawal symptoms. That deep and aching hunger you feel. It isn't actual hunger, it's craving. If you could get off it then you would find out what *actual* hunger feels like. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't make you feel like you could consume your entire bodyweight in oreos. It's more like a gentle tap on the shoulder from a polite english gent, who is informing you that its probably meal time "but if you don't want to eat sir, then thats no problem, I can come back in an hour or two"
If you actually knew what 'atkins' was you would know all of this. Your second hand opinions prove that you know nothing of it.
Re:Misleading Summary; Less than exhaustive resear (Score:4, Informative)
Any reasonable recommendations can only come from large, longitudinal studies, over multiple generations. You know, those that shape the food pyramid / WHO guidelines.
Bullshit. Look at the actual science. Endocrinologists can tell you how your body processes nutrients based on hormones. Hormones COMPLETELY control fat storage and use. Diet dramatically affects hormone secretion. As one put it: "Carbohydrate drives insulin drives fat storage"
Re:Yeah...whatever you believe today... (Score:2, Informative)
Yep, it's long been known that extremely high protein diets are bad for humans. [wikipedia.org]
Hmmm....Have to disagree with you there, to some extent. Rabbit starvation is really about the lack of fat in the diet, not the amount of protein (wild rabbit being very lean meat).
Most people with good renal function (and without liver disease) will have a hard time doing a lot of harm [wikipedia.org]. The funny thing is, and the reason there is some science behind Atkins, is that carbohydrates are the one food source you can omit the most. Protein and to some extent fat [wikipedia.org] are very difficult to synthesize from carbohydrates. Most proteins are easily converted to glucose [nih.gov], lipids, or more specifically the glycerol backbone of trigylcerides can also be converted to glucose [pearsonhighered.com]..