POSTED ON 23 JUNE 2010 BY BRODRICK KENT

Currently we are spending more money on healthcare than ever, yet we are gaining more weight and getting sicker and sicker at an alarming rate. In fact, government elections are now being won on health care issues. This is costing tax payers millions of dollars each year to control this spiraling issue that state governments clearly can’t manage. It is estimated that 25% of children are currently overweight or obese, a huge jump from 5% in the 1960’s. Recent studies estimate that more than half of all women and two-thirds of men are overweight or obese. That is almost 60% of the adult population ( www.abs.gov.au).

This now makes weight loss big business ($$). Reality Tv, magazines, diet books, celebrities and self proclaimed experts all have the secrets to the battle of the bulge. Even McDonalds has ‘the tick of approval’ from the Heart Foundation and reality TV shows like ‘The Biggest Loser’ are partnered with pizza outlets. This sends mixed and conflicting messages that contribute to the total confusion currently circulating on diet and health. 

Many messages are just advertisements disguised as health messages and take a kernel of truth and wrap it up in a tall tale, unsupported by any scientific facts. They also rely on the fact that you don’t know a lot about physiology, health or nutrition. Furthermore, many health care professionals make quite lucrative deals out of selling health concepts, such as weight loss, muscle gain, strength, and physical appearance. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that an individual is healthy.

Some of the most popular diets out there include, The Atkins, Protein Power, The Zone, The South Beach Diet, The Paleolithic Diet, Body For Life, The Flavour Point, Eat Right For Your Type, The Weight Down Diet, The Macrobiotic Diet, The Mediterranean Diet, Reduced Calorie diets and many more. There is an extremely large incentive to develop a ‘different theory’ since it seems that the more out there the theories are, the more books and DVD’s about the theory are sold. Additionally, many of these ground breaking theories may result in weight loss, but do so at the cost of overall health. In contrast, good weight loss plans should build health as you lose the weight as well as being sustainable in the long term. Many fad diets manipulate short term bio-markers whilst ignoring the mechanisms that cause aging and disease.

One of the worst offenders are the high protein low carb diets. In terms of weight loss, high protein diets work because your body thinks it’s starving. When the primary fuel source isn’t present I.e. carbohydrates, your body will use the next and most efficient fuel source being fat. The diet composes of filling up on our bodies least preferred form of energy, protein. Protein consists of the majority of total calories, then you significantly reduce or eliminate carbohydrates. Doing this will cause your body to produce ketone bodies an emergency fuel produced in times of scarcity or famine. This survival mechanism has helped keep the human race alive historically in harsh times.

The high protein diets prey on this survival mechanism. However, aside from being nutrient deficient using this method is extremely stressful on the bodies organs such as the liver and kidneys. Because protein isn’t an efficient fuel source, excess protein must be excreted from the body and the organs for excretion are the liver and kidneys. Additionally, these diets increase total blood acid levels and cholesterol all favoring chronic conditions such as kidney disease, osteoporosis, heart disease and cancer.

“If the justification for using a diet is ‘because it works’, well there is no need to be concerned about health outcomes. If this is the case, chemotherapy or a drug habit will result in weight loss, yet no sane person would recommend using these options”. Dr. Pam Popper PhD ND Founder and director of The Wellness Forum USA

The features of a good weight loss plan are as follows;

• It should be based on sound science
• It should be easy to follow
• It shouldn’t make you feel hungry as a result of following it
• It should result in permanent weight loss
• It should be sustainable long term
• It should build health as you lose the weight
• It should positively effect all aspects of physiology, not just the waist line
• You shouldn't have to count calories or practice food combining

The diet that is most ideal for human health is a diet high in complex carbohydrates with 90% of calories coming from unrefined plant based material with the remaining 10% of calories coming from organic animal foods and minimally refined grains. Study after study has continually shown that when refined carbohydrates and animal products exceed this threshold (10% of weekly calories) the rates of degenerative conditions such as heart disease and cancer significantly increase as well, indicating that human beings are genetically and structurally designed to thrive on a high fibre, low fat, plant based diet. 

Dr. Cardwell B Esselstyn Jr. MD has published original research demonstrating how a low fat plant based diet not only stopped the progression of heart disease, but reversed it in his patient base. This parallels research conducted by Dr. Dean Ornish on heart disease as well as studies done by Dr. Neal Bernard who has reversed type 2 diabetes. There is no drug or pharmaceutical in the medical literature that has been proven to do that! 

Other extensive research conducted in China by Dr. T. Colin Campbell and his colleagues found that the people who consumed the most animal protein had the most cancers, heart disease and chronic illness, while those who lived on locally grown plant foods had next to no diseases associated with dietary excess. Plant strong diets continually demonstrate their protective effect on human health and these quality controlled studies only add to a wider and growing body of credible evidence regarding nutrition and it’s relationship to degenerative disease. 

“Nutrition is a complicated subject, and it takes familiarity with a comprehensive body of scientific studies and articles to devise recommendations to prevent disease and promote health longevity. Science is not a perfect, but evidence builds on prior studies, and ongoing research attempts to test each hypothesis and check validity in an unbiased manner. Today we have a comprehensive body of knowledge with over 15,000 articles written since the 1950’s documenting the link between a diet high in saturated fat and low in fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, vegetables and beans and the increased risk of cancer and heart disease.” Dr. Joel Fuhrman MD

Summing up

For stable weight loss and health longevity 90% of calories should come from a wide variety of unrefined plant based material with the remaining 10% of calories consisting of organic animal foods and minimally refined grains (used as condiments). It is of vital importance to improve the totality of your diet and lifestyle in order to achieve ideal health outcomes.

In addition to a plant dominate diet the inclusion of a moderate exercise plan, filtered water, adequate sleep and a plan to manage stress will set a blue print of optimal habits to follow. Adhering to these principles will promote balance of the endocrine system, supporting all organs, secretions, optimise blood, liver and cellular health. Not only will you lose weight and maintain ideal body composition, but you will look better, feel better, think clearer and live longer.

Brodrick Kent 14/11/10