The good news about an Atkins-like diet is that is works: it will help us lose weight. The bad news, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is that it may increase our risk of earlier death from cancer or heart disease. The New York Times reports that the study, which analyzed data from more than 85,000 healthy women in the Nurses’ Health Study, and almost 45,000 men in the Health Professionals’ Follow-Up Study, found that the death rate among people who adhered most closely to a low-carb regimen was 12 percent higher over about two decades than with those who consumed diets higher in carbohydrates. The paper reports that low-carb dieters who got more protein and fat from vegetable sources like beans and nuts were 20 percent less likely to die over the period than people who ate a high-carbohydrate diet. It also found that low-carb dieters who got most of their protein and fat from animal sources like red and processed meats were 14 percent more likely to die of heart disease and 28 percent more likely to die of cancer.
Read an abstract from the study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The findings here make sense to me. Anyone who would eat just certain types of food, and ignore the others though are asking for trouble. The problem with the meat is that it is not the meat we ate say, 40 yrs. ago. That industry has put too much emphasis on extracting a higher profit margin by altering the animal than the quality of the meat as good nutrition. And nobody should consume processed meats, more than very occasionally. Optimum health requires a good balance of many different foods, smaller proportions of the meat, of Organic, non-processed, and unaltered variety, along with as much activity as a person can get. And for goodness sakes, NOTHING ARTIFICIAL!!! This is not rocket science anymore…
I completely agree with Doug, but it creates a dilemma for me and my kids….we are on food assistance, I’m a single mom, and my boys are young teens now – I cannot afford, literally, to be a food “snob” anymore. I’m afraid of the eventual consequences of the foods we eat, but at the same time, I’m so grateful that I can find foods that fill them up and make them strong right now. I am thrilled when I find meats and cheeses on sale, and cheap things like mac and cheese or spaghetti and frozen meatballs are very easy on my food budget. When you have to choose between a salad every night this week or a much-needed new pair of (cheap) shoes, it’s not always about “rocket science”.
You are in a delimma there Lisa. And one where there probably is not going to be the healthiest of answers. Though my comments here, where I am always slamming an industry whom the Government has allowed to slowly destroy all our hopes of living the healthiest and disease free lives, I’m not so different than you. I have noticed with my own pre-teen children though, and there are a number of facts to substantiate, that more wholesome foodstuffs do tend to make us stay fuller longer. An example of what I mean are the fructose sugars that trick our systems into feeling hungry, much sooner than an unrefined raw sugar would. I also believe, that though it does cost more to eat better from the story told at the cash register, by the time I factored in the smaller portions we all should be eating, and the limited amounts of the most expensive things, like meat, and the elimination of junk food for sure, not to mention the savings we realize from not having to be on medicines of any kind, I think for us, it’s close to a wash. I do spend alot more time preparing, and that creates another dilemma at times for all of us, but there is a tradeoff created in every decision made when it comes to food. I wish you well and also that I could help more.
Another worry about meat diets is; how much steroids is added to anamil’s food to make them grow fastwe to be able to carry ro market quicker and moe money coming in?
Just a thought that may enter others thoughts!
Never mind the consumers health…..”just me and my four and no more”.
To those struggling with finance “God Bless” ya’ll and all who care! There is a PAT DAY coming!
I was just talking about such things today with a friend! YEP, folks–sorry to say– GOTTA WATCH what it IS that we choose to eat– if we don’t want to die early.