|
I wanted to share some information I read from "Nutrition Concepts and Controversies" by Frances Sizer and Eleanor Whitney in my BIO 204 (nutrition class) from a while back. I had read an few paragraphs of Dr. Atkin's book where he put an inaccurate spin on the whole issue of Ketosis, but unfortunately I do not have it present for reference. However, I do have my reply that I wrote after reading Dr. Atkins information (used the information for a similar discussion on the Atkins Diet). I want you know that I am not saying that these authors are correct, and Dr Atkins is not; rather, I think that you might be interested in the information from a biological perspective. I will just retype a section in the book concerning this issue.
"Although glucose can be converted into body fat, body fat can never be converted into glucose to feed the brain adequately. This is one reason why fasting and a low-carbohydrate diets are dangerous. When the body faces a severe carbohydrate deficit, it has two problems. Having no glucose, it must turn to protein to make some (the body has this ability), diverting protein from critical functions of its own such as maintaining the body's immune defenses. Protein's functions in the body are so indispensable that carbohydrate should be kept available precisely to prevent the use of protein for energy. This is called the protein-sparing action of carbohydrate.
Fat fragments have to combine with carbohydrate before they can be used for energy. Using fat without the help of carbohydrate causes the body to go into ketosis, a condition in which unusual products of fat breakdown (ketone bodies) accumulate in the blood, disturbing the normal acid-base balance. Ketosis during pregnancy can cause brain damage to the fetus, resulting is irreversible mental retardation after birth.
The minimum amount of carbohydrate needed to ensure complete sparing of body protein and avoidance of ketosis is around 100 grams of digestible carbohydrate a day for an average sized person. Three of four times this minimum is recommended. "
Furthermore, they define ketosis as "an undesirable high concentration of ketone bodies, such as acetone, in the blood and urine."
Ketosis is abnormal, the body is not meant to go into that state. Unfortunately, after only a couple years of research, significant studies are showing that Atkins really is not safe. If these studies were being performed by rival diet plan companies, I wouldn't believe them, but discounting Atkins for the sake of the nations health really serves to benefit nobody financially.
From reading Dr. Atkin's description of ketosis (which I don't have now, once again, this was previously written by myself) and how it relates to the body, I think that he is trying to downplay the severity and abnormality of ketosis in the body.
|