Dieting has been in the spotlight since mankind began living in societies. Everyone has had some exposure to it either personally or through a friend or relative. I was once shocked at meeting an old friend who had lost thirty pounds in just three months on the Atkins Diet. However, none of us are naive enough to believe life will ever hand us a quick fix without consequences. When negative news stories regarding the Atkins Diet began to break, most of us had an 'I knew it' moment, but what is the whole truth?

Low Carbohydrate Diets and Fasting

The significant absence of carbohydrates combined with a high intake of protein or outright fasting will cause a physiological response called ketosis. The media has thrown this word around a lot recently due to the highly controversial Atkins Diet, but what is it? As we all know, our bodies cannot use food in the form in which it is eaten. The food must be digested. Normally the digestive system combines the molecules of carbohydrates with the molecules of proteins on the chemical level to form a usable product. One important side effect of this is the successful generation of glucose, which is used to fuel the brain. In other words, the successful production of glucose allows us to stay alive. When carbohydrates are absent, the body is forced to combine proteins with self produced compounds called ketones.

Our body's ability to produce ketones is a short term self defense mechanism designed to defend us against a famine. Although our bodies produce these compounds daily, under normal circumstances, they only generate minute quantities. In a famine situation, we produce large quantities to function as a carbohydrate stand in. When the body is initially faced with a nutrient crisis, it will consume any usable resource. However, after approximately ten days of fasting the body will be completely geared up to run with ketones. At this point, the body is able to run on only fat stores, which allows the muscles and other vital tissues to be spared. It is at this ten day point that people begin to experience dramatic weight loss.

Before you begin looking for your skinny pants note this; the long term presence of ketones in large quantities upsets the acidic balance of the blood. The body is effectively poisoned. Additionally, while the body is revving up ketone production it will use any fuel source. After 24 hours of fasting the intestinal lining begins to loose integrity. All of our nutrients are absorbed through the intestinal walls. Intestinal damage renders the body less able to utilize food eaten later.

The Best Plan

All of the nutrients needed by our bodies are combined and work together in one way or another. The necessary vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins and carbohydrates function together like a fragile house of cards with consequences to the long term removal of any one. The best weight control method will always be a balanced and varied diet combined with regular exercise.

More information about planning a balanced diet can be found at the Food and Drug Administration's web site: http://www.fda.gov. Eat well. Live well.

1 Sizer, Frances, Eleanor Whitney. Nutrition Concepts and Controversies 9th. Edition. U.S.: Thomson Wadsworth, 2003.