Dr. Mercola March 01 2003 2,306 views
A diet with plenty of high-quality protein may promote weight loss by increasing the amount of leucine, an amino acid, in the diet. In turn, this will help a person to reduce body fat and maintain muscle mass during weight loss. Muscle mass is an important part of weight loss, as it helps the body to burn more calories.
The study involved 24 middle-aged, overweight women who consumed diets of 1,700 calories a day for 10 weeks.
The control group ate about 0.36 grams of protein and 1.3 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day, in accordance with the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.
The study group participants ate a diet higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates, specifically about 0.73 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day and 0.95 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight per day. Their diets included high quality proteins, which provided the optimal level of leucine, which has been shown to be a regulator of muscle.
Though some amino acids are made by the body, leucine is not produced naturally and must be consumed through food. Primary sources of leucine include high-quality protein foods such as beef, dairy products, poultry, fish and eggs.
Each day, study group participants ate nine to 10 ounces of meat, of which at least seven per week were beef, three servings of low-fat milk or cheese, and a minimum of five servings of vegetables. They also ate two servings of fruit and four servings of grains, pasta and rice.
Both diet groups lost about 16 pounds, but the study group who followed the moderately high-protein diet lost two pounds more of body fat and maintained one pound more of muscle mass than the control group.
Researchers say that the results challenge the conventional approach of consuming low-fat foods for weight loss. While nutrition experts have voiced concern about high-protein diets because of saturated fat and cholesterol, the study group that consumed the moderately high-protein diet lost fat and maintained muscles. Both groups had improvements in total blood cholesterol levels, however the protein group also had decreased triglyceride levels.
Moreover, women on the higher protein diet reported being less hungry between meals and had more stable blood glucose levels and reduced insulin response following meals than women following the traditional diet.
Researchers plan to conduct a long-term study to further investigate the role of leucine in metabolic control.
Science Blog February 6, 2003
I am a strong proponent of consuming the appropriate amounts of protein, however it is important to look at who funded this study.
The above study was funded by America's beef producers, Kraft Foods, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research.
Now, I don't have to tell you that producers of traditional commercial beef and Kraft Foods are not friends of those who seek optimal health. Kraft produces enormous amounts of processed junk food, much of which is genetically engineered, while the story of beef producers is equally disturbing.
However, even with the study's biased funding, the results are helpful in providing some biochemical explanations of why protein is important for weight loss. I will go into far more detail on this area in my new book The No-Grain Diet, which will be available April 28.
Healthy meat can be an excellent source of protein in the diet--I recommend ostrich or grass-fed bison. Not only are ostrich and bison among the healthiest meats on earth, they are also great tasting and easy to use in recipes. Grass-fed beef is another healthy protein source.
It is important to recognize, however, that not everyone needs large amounts of protein to lose weight. There can easily be a 200 percent to 300 percent difference between a carbohydrate Metabolic Type's protein requirement and that of a protein type.
Some people are just not designed to eat much protein, and they do quite well with small amounts. Unfortunately, many people who are not biochemically suited to vegetarianism decide to become vegetarians. Some of the sickest patients I see are those who are protein types according to nutritional typing who have chosen to become vegetarian for health or spiritual reasons.
If you are not familiar with Metabolic Typing I would strongly encourage you to read the book. I hope to offer online nutritional typing to non-patients in the very near future to help you further advance your health.
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