| High Protein Diet Good For Weight Loss |
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Ever since the popularity of the Atkins diet exploded, low-carb / high protein diets have been under fire from critics who say that eating very high levels of protein (three to four times the normal daily amount) would compromise the function of important organs such as the kidneys. Others claim high protein diets don't really help people lose weight. It turns out both are wrong. New research on rats conducted in France and appearing in the American Journal of Physiology shows that a high protein diet not only helped rats maintain a lower body weight (18% lower total body weight than the other group) even while feeding freely on high protein foods, it also resulted in healthy liver and kidney function, outstanding blood chemistry, healthier blood sugar regulation and improved glucose tolerance. No negative effects of a high protein diet were found. The rats fed high protein foods were healthier, weighed less, and showed no abnormal function of the kidneys or any other organs. I admit that even I've been somewhat cautious of recommending extremely high protein diets to other people, even though I do follow a high protein diet myself. But this research helps bolster the wisdom of pursuing these high protein, low-carb diets such as the South Beach Diet and Atkins diet. The most important consideration in all this, by the way, is: where do you get your protein? If you're getting your protein primarily by eating red meat, you're going to cause all sorts of other health problems (like heart disease) in your body due to the saturated fats found in red meat, the additive ingredients such as sodium nitrite, and the high concentration of pesticides and other potentially harmful contaminants such as mad cow disease. If you want to be healthy on a high protein diet, you must choose healthy sources of protein. The best sources of protein are:
Sources of protein to avoid:
The bottom line to all this is that a high protein diet has proven to be safe, at least in rats. But you can still make a high protein diet dangerous if you get your protein from undesirable sources like beef, cow's milk or cheese. So follow a high protein diet wisely by choosing protein sources that support your good health. And as always, you'll be far healthier with any diet if you also engage in a regular physical exercise program. Reference: Natural News |
