July 23, 2008

Weight Loss Diets

What diet do you recommend for weight loss?

 

We do not recommend any particular “weight-loss” diet. The interest in the high-protein Atkins diet has actually had some benefit. While requiring high-animal-protein intake, it does result in weight loss! After a year, however, studies show no sustained weight loss, and its high saturated fat content is not recommended. Out of this diet, though, came experimentation with vegetarian diets higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates. Researchers in Toronto demonstrated that diets higher in vegetable protein resulted in greater weight loss.

 
2008 1521 page17We would be remiss if we did not stress that any successful weight-loss diet must be sustainable. Weight loss requires reduction in total calories; sufficient protein to satisfy hunger helps control appetite. Additionally, the intake of whole foods results in a lower glycemic load, and this may reduce the insulin production stimulation. Diets containing whole, natural foods also have more viscous fiber, helpful in lowering cholesterol.
 
Increased urinary calcium is a potential problem of increasing protein. Evaluating this finding is problematic, because higher protein intake results in higher calcium absorption in the gut, so the increased calcium in the urine is likely from increased absorption, not from bones. Because most vegetarians obtain borderline calcium, we would suggest that people seeking to lose weight be aware of the concern over increasing their calcium intake. Chronic dieters become osteoporotic unless they pay attention to calcium.
 
The simplest approach to weight loss is a total plant-based diet (TPBD) that includes vitamin D, vitamin B12, and calcium supplementation. A TPB diet tends to have fewer calories than the average lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, and for those concerned with weight it is a simple approach to weight loss. We cannot recommend a TPB diet to people with dietary deficiency, but for obese individuals a TPB diet could answer their need.
 
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Allan R. Handysides, M.B., Ch.B., FRCPC, FRCSC, FACOG, is director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department; Peter N. Landless, M.B., B.Ch., M.Med., F.C.P.(SA), F.A.C.C., is ICPA executive director and associate director of Health Ministries.
 
Send your questions to: Ask the Doctors, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904. Or you may send your questions via e-mail to [email protected]. While this column is provided as a service to our readers, Drs. Landless and Handysides unfortunately cannot enter into personal and private communication with our readers. We recommend that you consult with your personal physician on all matters of your health.

  

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