Elizabeth Miller wrote:

>Yes, protein will produce more heat to digest and is wasteful, but not as
>'wasteful' as DIT-- in DIT you initiate BAT. Above 12% protein, DIT is turned
>off completely. Blumberg says: "Thus the 12% (humans) and 20% (rats) for the
>two species repressent ideal concentrations of protein for maximally
>efficient utilization of energy.
>

I am confused.  At 12% protein, Blumberg says, DIT is "minimal" and
above that it is nonexistent.  Below 12% it "steadily increases."  From
a fat-loss standpoint, we want as much DIT as we can get, right?  That
implies that we should keep protein intake substantially *below* 12%,
according to Blumberg.

> But such ideal dieets are not always
>available, and many species that typically encounter low protein diets
>possess copious amount of BAT to burn off excess fat and achieve nutrient
>balance." (p.186) By eating too much protein we may be turning off the best
>energy burner we have. Protein can take metabolic pathways similar to carbos
>and does invoke insulin.
>
This is true, and it is why people like Sears and the Eades recommend an
upper limit to protein consumption at one meal: about 40g for the Eades,
35g for Sears.  Of course, protein stimulates glucagon release as well,
which carbs do not.

>The fact that high fat/low protein meals will
>initiate DIT gives us a clue as to why the Keckwick and Pawan (1000 calories,
>90% fat) experimental diet was so successful. Actually Atkins suggests such a
>diet for those that he calls metabolically resistant. Atkins also cautions us
>not to do a high protein/low fat diet. Another thing that initiates DIT is
>cold temperature (turn down those furnaces). Maybe the ideal (weight loss)
>diet is one that is  80% fat, 12% protein and 8% high nutrient carbs under
>winter conditions. (Actually this may have been just about the diet our paleo
>ancestors had during the winter when they burned down their own fat they put
>on during the summer) Anyone game to try it?
>
>
But if DIT is minimal at 12% protein, this can't be ideal for weight loss.

To make this work, you'd have to use some liver as a dense nutrient source.

Todd Moody
[log in to unmask]