Does eating meat make you fatter or leaner?....

Today's Post: Tuesday, 7-20-2010

The Atkins diet and similar diets make high protein and to some degree eating lots of meat and poultry for that protein part of their overall fatloss efforts.

They seem to have some success at helping people lose fat and weight with this approach.

But, recently a study came out showing that the people who ate the most meat and poultry tended to be fatter and heavier than people eating the same amount of calories but less meat and poultry.

At first this seems impossible since both sources seem to have evidence supporting their claims.

Here’s my take on why they both are likely correct and how they differ to explain how the comparison is not quite what it seems.

1. The Atkins diet and similar diets make high protein and to some degree eating lots of meat and poultry for that protein part of their overall fatloss efforts.

However, there are several things to keep in mind. These diets also stress eating virtually no sugar or refined grain foods. And, the more recent and health upgraded versions also suggest adding a lot of green and unstarchy vegetables.

So, because those two things help fat loss and weight loss so much, even if the meat and poultry is a bit more fattening than other protein sources, the net result is still good.

2. It depends on what kind of meat and poultry you eat.

Naturally or pasture fed poultry and animals fed only grass and NOT penned up tend to be lean, to have less saturated fat in their meat, and have very little omega 6 oils.

The same weight of meat or poultry from poultry and animals that have been penned up and overfed grain is cheaper to buy but DOES tend to make you fat.

Any hormones in the animal that make it fat from being penned up are in its meat. Such animals have more fat in their meat, more saturated fat, and dramatically more omega 6 oils. So their meat has more calories; and the omega 6 oils in it begin to look like they may be as effective a fattener as sugar.

3. Protein from sources other than poultry and meat either is usually leaner and lower in calories or it comes with fiber or both.

So, while eating some poultry and meat from naturally fed animals may be OK as sources of protein, plant sources of protein such as beans, lentils, nuts, and to some extent vegetables that contain protein may be critical for fat loss. If you eat an abundance of those, you will tend to eat less meat and poultry than you otherwise would have done. And, since plant sources of protein have both protein AND fiber, you’ll take in fewer calories and be less hungry too.

Similarly, animal protein sources such as shrimp, crab, lobster, nonfat dairy products, very lowfat dairy products, egg whites, & whole eggs to some degree, have more protein and less fat and thus more protein per calorie than meat and poultry.

Mushrooms and wild caught fatty fish are other choices besides meat and poultry that may be less fattening also. Mushrooms have very few calories and wild caught fatty fish tend to be reasonably lean and their omega 3 oils help balance normal intakes of omega 6 oils and make them less fattening.

So where does that leave someone who wants to get and stay lean?

Do eat a moderately high or high protein diet and virtually no sugar or refined grain foods. Avoid all omega 6 oils and go easy on whole grains.

Eat mostly these other protein foods besides meat and poultry.

And, when you do eat meat or poultry, eat it a third as often but with three times the quality.

For example, instead of eating hamburgers made with meat from grain fed cattle six times a week, have meat loaf made from grass fed beef and some added extra virgin olive oil once and a serving of Crockpot-cooked lamb stew made with lamb fed only grass once.

In short, to get and stay lean, entirely avoid eating meat or poultry that has been grain fed or only eat the very leanest versions but not very often – once a month perhaps.

Do eat a moderately high or high amount of protein but eat more of the kinds besides meat and poultry particularly plant proteins and very lean animal protein foods other than meat and poultry.

And when you do eat meat or poultry or fatty fish, do your best to only eat the naturally fed kinds, meat from grass fed animals, poultry from birds that are pasture fed on unpolluted pasture, and wild caught fish.

The two diets with definite and proven health benefits, the DASH II diet and the Mediterranean diet, follow these guidelines in somewhat different ways but both do so.

A combination of them may work best. Eat more nonstarchy vegetables and less pasta in Mediterranean foods; and add extra virgin olive oil, garlic, basil, oregano, and other spices to DASH II foods along with drinking a moderate amount of red wine, for example.

So both statements about eating meat are true but in slightly different ways.

Do eat a higher protein diet extremely low in sugars and refined grains.

But come close to eliminating fats from grain fed animals and poultry and eat their meat rarely.

And, although it IS OK to have some meat and poultry, a LOT more is not good and some kinds are much safer and helpful than others. Even eat the safer kinds in moderation and you will be healthier and leaner.

Higher protein lower carb diets DO help....

Today's post: Friday, 3-20-2009

Recently there was a report that you could be successful in losing fat whether you ate a lowfat higher carb diet or low carb higher protein diet.

As we’ve posted on however, this study was quite misleading in a way. Every one of their groups ate more vegetables; had virtually eliminated the junky semifoods that tend to be most fattening; had virtually eliminated eating lots of fatty meat; and they all ate less total calories each day and exercised regularly.

So this study didn’t really prove no food group was best or worst for fat loss as the related headlines claimed.

What they proved is that if you do a great job on all the basics of fat loss and eating right to support your health and do regular exercise, it matters much less on the scale how much weight you’ll lose with what food components you eat most of within those guidelines.

But there is a lot of evidence that leaning towards a higher protein, moderate intake of health OK fats and oils, and lower carbohydrate intake is better.

Day before yesterday, Weds, 3-18-2009, a study was announced that I think supports that well enough to be the definitive word on the subject!

An article they titled. “Moderate-protein diet may beat high-carb diet” by Amy Norton, Reuters Online Health news on Weds, 3-18-2009 announced some research that had been reported in the Journal of Nutrition, for March 2009.

This study found that a reduced calorie diet with some extra protein was most effective at fat loss. And, even more important, it was best at producing the key improvements in increasing HDL and lowering triglycerides.

And, as our readers know, THAT means it was dramatically the best at reducing the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases.

(In case you’ve missed it here or elsewhere, researchers have found that the ratio of HDL to triglycerides is an extremely accurate measure of the small particle LDL that causes heart disease because they literally are small enough to fit into the tiny molecular spaces in the walls of your arteries where they build up over time like layers of glue and reduce blood flow and can have pieces break off that then close the narrowed artery which causes a heart attack or stroke. To simplify, high HDL and low triglycerides means your small particle LDL is quite low as is your cardiovascular disease risk. And, if your HDL is low and your triglycerides are high so is your risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular disease because you have enough small particle LDL to be sticking into your arteries and creating cardiovascular disease in you.)

That means that this finding that lower carb and higher protein, reduced calorie diets do BOTH of these at the same time means that in addition to helping you lose fat and reduce your belly fat best, lower carb and higher protein, reduced calorie diets are dramatically the best for protecting your heart and lowering your cardiovascular disease risk.

The findings, reported in the Journal of Nutrition, suggest that trading in some carbs for protein may do dieters good.

In the study, the higher-carb, reduced calorie diet, aimed for 15 percent of calories from protein; 55 percent from carbohydrates; and & percent from fats. The higher protein one aimed for 30 percent of calories came from protein -- including lean meat, low-fat dairy and nuts; 40 percent came from carbohydrates; & 30 percent from fats.

After one year, the average weight loss in pounds was only a bit higher for the higher protein & lower carb diet 23 pounds while the people in the lower protein & higher carb one lost 19 pounds.

But of far more value and importance was that this study found that, the higher protein group lost significantly more FAT, & had greater increases in HDL & decreases in their triglyceride levels.

They quote lead researcher Dr. Donald K. Layman, of the University of Illinois in Urbana as saying, “The extra protein at each meal helps dieters preserve "metabolically active" muscle mass.” . He also told the Reuters Health reporter that, the diet's lower carbohydrate content means lower levels of the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin. And that was the reason more actual fat was lost.

They report him as also saying that the greater reduction in triglycerides was mostly the result of cutting carbs, raise triglyceride levels.

That’s quite important because to reduce calorie intake over what you were eating before, you have to reduce something. This fact means that reducing carbs instead of protein, not only helps you lose more fat and a bit more weight, it gives you dramatically better protection for your health.

Dr Layman also noted that a high protein lower carb diet made it much easier to not eat between meals while the lower protein and higher carb people had to eat many small meals as they were virtually always hungry in between meals if they didn’t.

In the real world where people have to work in between meals and can be tempted to eat really fattening stuff if they are quite hungry between meals means that a higher protein lower carb style of eating is much more practical and easier to stay on.

The article also pointed out that since most people eat a protein food at dinner, the higher protein plan added more protein at breakfast and lunch.

Bonus point. Strength training and interval cardio exercise have very similar effects to eating a higher protein diet. They build and preserve muscle mass so the pounds you lose are fat instead of some fat and some muscle. They increase HDL, lower triglycerides, and directly reduce small particle LDL. Even better, they burn enough calories while you do them, and for up to several hours after you stop doing them, that you get similar fat loss results with less calorie restriction so you can eat more and still lose fat.

That makes it much more likely you can keep doing it which means you’ll lose more fat and be much more likely to keep it off.