Weight control is a very big
issue for most Americans. At any given time about 25% of America's men
and 44% of America's women are trying to shed some of those unwanted
pounds. In fact, studies done by the diet industry show that as many as
50 million Americans are on a diet. It is easy to see how the weight
loss industry has become such a large source of financial profit,
pulling in nearly $27 billion yearly. Most often at the expense of
consumers who are looking for a fast and easy way to shed that excess
fat. Most of these diets do not work and only offer the dieter a quick
fix for their problem. Some are actually harmful and contain blatant
misinformation.
To make the problem much worse we have become overrun with unethical
salesman who use science and pseudo-science to dupe us into believing
in their magic. Worse yet---- athletes are very gullible people! We
want so bad to have that little extra edge so we can achieve more
muscular growth or better performance in what ever sport we participate
in, that we often fall prey to those who deal in myths and magic.
Because most of us today feel we possess more than our fair share of
fat, we are too elated to try any fad that may offer the slightest
chance of obtaining our goals in weight loss. The most recent fad in
diets is the high fat or ketogenic diets. Many are under the assumption
that if we take in high percentages of dietary fat we will be able to
increase the amount of fat we burn and increase the amount of muscle we
put on. All with out quite as much diligence in the gym. Now to further
complicate matters, a few research studies and popular books have
suggested that high fat diets might actually help to improve physical
performance. Is there any real truth to these theories? Lets see what
the experts have to say:
Andrew Coggan, Ph.D.,of the Metabolism Unit at the Shriners Burns
Hospital and Assistant Professor University of Texas Medical Branch in
Galveston, Texas says, "Despite the recent hullabaloo, there is really
no good evidence that performance can be improved by increasing dietary
fat intake (or by decreasing carbohydrate intake, which is actually
what has been proposed). The stories presented in the popular press are
simply anecdotal, while the handful of laboratory studies purporting to
show a benefit suffer from serious methodological flaws."
"The majority of the support for high-fat diets is based on personal
experience and anecdotal information," says Lawrence Spriet, Ph.D.,
Dept. of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences at the University of
Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. "The studies cited to support these
diets suffer serious methodological flaws and therefore do not
constitute sound scientific evidence." Dr. Spriet adds: " I could never
advocate that any athlete consume 60-70% of the day's caloric intake as
fat. Much of the information in popular books and magazines has not
undergone the peer-review process, so it is difficult to support the
validity of these claims."
Ellen Coleman, R.D., M.A., M.P.H., Nutrition Consultant for The Sport
Clinic Riverside, California cautions: "A high-fat diet also
contributes to obesity and increases the risk of developing coronary
heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers."
After reading the advice of the experts, it soon becomes evident that
we should keep our money in our pockets and not be so quick to be duped
into this high fat diet theory. In any case, the jury is still out and
the verdict doesn't look good. So what do the experts advise that we do
in the future to protect ourselves from the purveyors of snake oil and
magic diet formulas? The following are a few tips from the
experts:
Dr. Coggan advises, "Ask yourself, is somebody trying to sell me
something, e.g., a product, book, or "system? Is the claim or product
being promoted as "revolutionary", with sweeping and widespread
benefits?"
"The athlete should beware if: 1) the claim sounds too good to be true;
2) the suspected "quack" encourages distrust of reputable health
professionals such as medical doctors, exercise physiologists, and
registered dietitians; 3) a preponderance of case histories,
testimonials, and subjective evidence are used to justify exaggerated
claims," Coleman adds.
"I would further recommend staying away from some of the fad magazines
and books that abound in today's society," Dr. Spriet warns. "Look more
to the science and educational materials that contain opinions of
several researchers in a particular area."
So with weight control and human performance being such a big concern
among many Americans, we should all be aware that there are NO QUICK
FIXES. It still takes less calories than what you are burning, exercise
and lots of dedication to changing your lifestyle and training habits.
There are NO MAGIC PILLS, NO MAGIC FOODS and NO MAGIC NUTRIENT RATIOS!