To be fair, there are significant and many research papers that support and argue against low carb revolution, as yet wider medical community has not fully made it’s mind up as to whether diets are something that is favourable in long term.

Recent research by Layman et. al., and Saris have found that low carb and high protein diets provide little benefit to dieters. Researchers found that when protein was moderately increased and carbohydrates proportionately decreased, insulin levels stabilised but no significant weight was lost. Saris in his review concluded that it is probable that a low carb, high fat diet will increase likelihood of weight gain.

While there is a lot of evidence against low carb philosophy, there is also a lot of evidence to support it. Research published in May, 2004, found that when patients on a low carb diet were compared with patients on a low fat diet, those patients who had consumed a low carb diet had a greater weight loss, decreased triglyceride levels and increased levels of HDL's - in other words their cholesterol levels had improved. To put icing on cake research has just been published to support long term efficacy of eating a low carb diet.

Despite evidence to support low carb diet plans, mainstream medicine still does not recommend them. The main points of contention with low carb, high protein diets is that they don’t offer balance and variety and could prove dangerous for people at risk of heart disease. Particularly with low carb diet plans such as scarsdale diet, they are not realistic and cannot be maintained in long term causing yo-yo dieting and no one wants that !

References:

Wim HM Saris Sugars, energy metabolism, and body weight control Am J Clin Nutr 78: 850S-857S

Donald K. Layman, Harn Shiue, Carl Sather, Donna J. Erickson and Jamie Baum Increased Dietary Protein Modifies Glucose and Insulin Homeostasis in Adult Women during Weight Loss Nutrition.org

Yamashita T, Sasahara T, Pomeroy SE, Collier G, Nestel PJ. Arterial compliance, blood pressure, plasma leptin, and plasma lipids in women are improved with weight reduction equally with a meat-based diet and a plant-based diet. Metabolism. 1998 Nov;47(11):1308-14.

Yancy WS Jr, Olsen MK, Guyton JR, Bakst RP, Westman EC. A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004 May 18;140(10):769-77.

Copyright © 2004 Jenny Mathers. All Rights Reserved.

1) Medline Plus - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodnutritionandmetabolism.html

2) Food and Nutrition Information Center - http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/

3) McKinley Health Center - http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/

4) USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory - http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/

Remember, key to weight control is to be healthy, happy and fit. You must understand which foods will provide these three, all-important elements. Believe it or not, there are foods which you enjoy that are actually good for you!

Incredibly, many overweight people actually do not eat enough! Listen to your body, not your mind. Your body knows when it has had appropriate amount of food and, more importantly, appropriate amount of nutrition. Because many people do not understand nutrition, they eat food that does not supply sufficient nutrients to body. They will feel hungry even after a large meal because theirs bodies are "starving" for proper nutrition. For this reason, most diets do not work or individual cannot stay with diet because it is an unnatural way of eating. Your body literally believes it is starving; therefore, it will take actions to survive famine. It is a self-preservation mechanism, if you will. The body begins drawing off your muscles and stores fat for later use in event that it does not receive necessary nourishment for an extended period of time. When a person finally falls off diet (which is inevitable), they gain back all lost weight and, in many cases, even more! The reason is because it takes body sometime to adjust from its self-preservation mode, so all food that is consumed is stored as fat while your body continues to draw from muscle.

There is no such thing as losing weight fast. It will take 3 to 6 months (or more depending on amount of weight loss needed),to lose a significant amount of weight. The good news is that once you have lost weight, you should not gain it back because you will have learned about food you eat.

Yes, you have heard it before and you are now going to hear it again - exercise! Even a small amount of exercise (1/2 hour per day, 3 days per week) will greatly accelerate weight control.

If you feel like having a snack or something sweet, have it. Your body is telling you it needs something. Of coarse, it would be better to eat a piece of fruit rather than a candy bar. However, either is preferable to over-eating at your next meal or agonizing over decision to indulge urge.

Dr. Parsons reveals keys to successful weight loss in remainder of this article, which you can receive absolutely FREE,by visiting Health Products USA (http://www.healthproductsusa.net