Why Live Large: Live Healthy

Risks of a High Protein, Low Fat Diet

There are some diets in the health and wellness world today that promote eating a high protein, low fat diet to the exclusion of carbohydrates. These diets are not healthy for the individual to use in the long run, and can often cause health issues even when used for a short amount of time to lose weight. These diets are based on research that shows when the body can not gain its energy through carbohydrates like it normally does for brain and organ functions, then it will begin to burn the fat stores of the body in a process called ketosis, which means the body is burning fat instead of glucose from the carbohydrates. While this is beneficial to losing fat stores that are hard to get rid of by other means, it is not as healthy for the body as a low fat, high fiber diet would be, which is much more balanced.

Problems

It is very difficult to have a high protein, low fat diet and not obtain too much cholesterol, since there is a lot of cholesterol in high protein foods. Even if using products that are reduced fat and lean meats, there is still too much cholesterol that is obtained in a person’s diet if the majority of what the person is eating is protein. High cholesterol leads to a variety of different issues, the main ones being heart disease, strokes and even cancer.

Another problem with a high protein, low fat diet is that the calcium that is taken in through the different dairy products does not have the vitamins and minerals that are needed to bind with to maintain that calcium level. Instead, people on a high protein, low fat diet tend to excrete more calcium from their bodies which can lead to health problems such as kidney stones and also osteoporosis if the diet is consumed over a long period of time.

Other effects of a high protein, low fat diet are that the person can feel nauseous while on the diet and it can also cause bad breath. More serious issues are that, besides kidney stones and heart disease, other organs can start to fail, such as the kidneys as a whole, and it can also cause gout. The risk of cancer mentioned above is also escalated by the lack of fiber in a high protein, low fat diet, which means that there are not the vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants that the body needs to fight cancer.

A Healthy Choice in Dieting: Low Fat, High Fiber Diet

Creating a low fat, high fiber diet usually just takes the individual making a few small changes to their choices in food and how they prepare their meals. Often, these low fat diet menus consist of taking the foods that the individual already enjoys, reduces the amounts of foods that contain harmful fats, changes the oils used to cook those foods, and adds more of the vegetables and fruits that contain high fiber content to create the low fat, high fiber diet. Many people worry that creating this type of diet will reduce their enjoyment of the foods that they eat. Nothing could be further from the truth. These diets are very flavorful and only require the individual to become educated on the types of foods and ways to prepare them that will create this type of diet without sacrificing taste.

Benefits

There are many benefits of a low fat, high fiber diet, such as preventing constipation, helps reduce the effects of digestive disorders, lowers blood cholesterol, and may also help to prevent colon cancer and other types of cancers, although the research is still unclear. In addition, a low fat, high fiber diet can help people with diabetes since it helps to control the blood sugar levels which are so dangerous to those with the disease. In addition, because the high fiber foods require more chewing time in most cases, the individual often does not eat as much, feeling full more quickly, which helps in weight loss. These foods are also usually lower in calories which also help individuals to control their weight while still maintaining a healthy body.

Creating a low fat, high fiber diet can start with a few simple changes. One change is in the way that the foods are cooked, using cooking sprays instead of cooking oils or other fats as much as possible. The choice in meats should also be as lean as possible, removing skin from chicken before cooking, cutting off extra fat on steaks, using fish as much as possible, and buying hamburger that is as lean as possible. Grilling meats is another good way to reduce fat because all of the fat drips off the meat while cooking instead of soaking into it. High fiber can be gained by buying cereals and breads that are made of whole grain rather than processed grains. Green leafy vegetables like spinach are also full of fiber, in addition to different types of beans and nuts.