On Tue, 1 Dec 1998, MS KATHRYN P ROSENTHAL wrote:

>  I'm type A blood and cannot eat red meat without having a huge jump in
> cholesterol.

That's interesting.  Do you find this to be true even if the red
meat is very lean?

> I read a column in my local Michigan paper last night that was written
> by a dietitian.  The article stated that low-carb, high-fat diets were
> unhealthy and that, "Instead of losing just fat, you lose water and
> valuable muscle."  In discussing low-carb diet books she states, "Even
> though these books use terms like "ketosis" and "insulin resistance"
> it's done to fool you and make their claims sound more believeable."

This is utter rubbish.  While it's true that low-carb diets do
cause more water loss than other diets, this is generally not a
bad thing.  In many people, myself included, this water loss
alone can cure hypertension.  As for muscle loss, *any*
diet that is sufficiently restricted in calories will cause some
muscle loss.  There is at least one study that suggests that
muscle loss is less, and fat loss is greater, as carbs are lower.

If you have the time and energy, it probably wouldn't be a bad
idea to complain to the newspaper about publishing such
unsupportable crap, since it only serves to scare many people
away from low-carb diets.

> The author states no research backing up her claims.  I've sent her an E
> -mail asking for supporting evidence, but am not holding my breath while
> waiting for a reply.

She'll probably send you the usual studies of very low-calorie
ketogenic diets, without bothering to mention that starvation
diets of any kind tend to cause similar problems.

> I know that this isn't a low-carb list and that Neanderthin has a more
> balanced approach, but has anyone seen any valid research that supports
> the theory that a low-carb, high-fat diet will cause muscle loss?  I've
> found just the opposite to be true; I don't eat pasta to build muscle.

Have her look at the study by Charlotte Young in Am J of Clin
Nut 1971 290-6.  I think the title is "Weight loss in 1800
calorie diets of varying carbohydrate content," or something like
that.  It's a small study, but about the only one that doesn't
involve near-starvation caloric levels.

Todd Moody
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