Low-Carb Diets and Fat

A low-carbohydrate diet doesn't necessarily mean a high-fat diet. Low-carbohydrate diets can be either low in fat and high in protein, or high in fat and low in protein. Regardless, low carb diets like Atkins are popular. Part of the reason is because the Atkins diet is so simple: Participants drastically reduce carbohydrates and completely eliminate any high-fructose corn syrup, white bread or white rice.

Researchers believe other factors play into its popularity. It could also be that the Atkins diet keeps you full longer, says Walter Willett, a medical nutritionist at Harvard's School of Public Health. "When people eat a large amount of carbohydrates," Willett says, "those kinds of foods leave you hungry. And within a few hours of eating, we're usually looking for something to eat again."

Food with protein and fat keeps dieters satisfied for a longer period of time. Dieters in the Atkins group ate higher levels of fat — even saturated fat — than dieters in the three other groups. It appears that for study participants, the benefits of losing weight outweighed the harm of eating saturated fat.

New research finds that the key to losing weight boiled down to a basic rule - calories in, calories out. Dr. Elizabeth Nabel, director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, reminds people that losing weight is simple arithmetic - limiting the calories you consume and burning off more calories with exercise is key, she said.

 

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