Re: Why Weight-Loss Efforts Fail

gedaloda@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:41:07 -0500, willbrink@xxxxxxxxxxx (Will Brink)
wrote:

In article <1172520062.117548.152270@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
"dkw12002@xxxxxxxxx" <dkw12002@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

...there is some evidence that too much protein can be harmful to the
kidneys.

That is wrong. That myth has been 100% debunked. Studies can be listed if
you want.

I'm not doubting you. I just want additional information. Perhaps you
can provide urls on this topic.

What is correct and/or incorrect in this article:

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-99292199.html

Q. What are the inherent dangers of a high-protein diet?

A. If you are eating a high-protein diet and are not getting enough
sugar in your diet, that could lead to ketosis, a process whereby the
body is breaking itself down for sugar.

The writer clearly doesn't know that dietary protein can be converted
into glucose, and when protein intake exceeds metabolic requirements
for amino acids, as it usuaaly does in the US diet, the excess
routinely is converted.

It is not an ideal situation;
the brain's preferred source of fuel is sugar.

Only true for one small part of the brain, where it's not just
preferred but essential.

If you eat a lot of protein, you need more water and more fluid
intake, because it takes more fluid to digest the protein. You lose
more fluids as well with a high-protein diet. Dehydration is a risk.

Only if you fail to do the arithmetic on the quantities involved.

The big thing is the long-term risk; we don't have any long-term
clinical studies on this diet, so we don't know for sure. A
high-protein intake does put a lot of stress on the kidneys because
these are the organs that have to digest it all and cycle it out.

It causes no stress at all to healthy kidneys, only to damaged kidneys.

Since the writer seems to be espousing popular nutritional myths at
the rate of one every few sentences is there really any point in going
further?

Maria Westberg is a Registered Dietitian based in New England

Ah yes, a dietician. These people aren't educated, they're trained.

--
Chris Malcolm cam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]

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