Atkins Research Update; Clinical Research on Controlled-Carbohydrate Nutrition From Around the World; Volume 3, Issue III November 2004.

NEW YORK, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- As an ongoing service from Atkins Health & Medical Information Services to practicing physicians and medical and lifestyle journalists, our communications department provides the latest developments in clinical research on controlled-carbohydrate nutritional practices and the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM)(ANA(TM)) as they occur and are reported.

Currently, 38 articles, including 33 separate studies, have appeared in major medical journals, confirming the safety and efficacy of the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM). If you would like any further information or access to our complete library of published controlled-carbohydrate research, please contact Anthony Giordano at (212) 457-9247 or agiordano@atkins.com. You can also find the complete library of published studies in the Science Behind Atkins section at http://www.atkins.com/ .

 
  In this issue: 
 
   --  A Calorie is a Calorie Violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics 
         -  Nutrition Journal 
   --  Long-term Effects of Ketogenic Diet in Obese Patients 
         - Exploratory and Clinical Cardiology 
   --  The National Cholesterol Education Program Diet vs. a Diet Lower in 
       Carbohydrates and Higher in Protein and Monosaturated Fat 
         - Archives of Internal Medicine 
   --  Randomized Study Comparing the Effects of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet and 
       a Conventional Diet on Lippoprotein Subfractions and Reactive Protein 
       Levels in Patients with Severe Obesity 
         - American Journal of Medicine 
   --  Saturated Fats: What Dietary Intake? 
         -  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 
   --  High-Protein Weight Loss Diets and Purported Adverse Effects: Where 
       is the Evidence 
         -  Sports Nutrition Review Journal 
   --  Effect of a High-Protein, Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Blood Glucose 
       Control in People with Type 2 Diabetes 
         -  Diabetes 
   --  Study Presented by Dr. Mary Vernon and Dr. Eric Westman Demonstrates 
       the Atkins Nutritional Approach Can Help Diabetics Without Use of 
       Medication 
         -  Study presented at SMA and NAASO in November 2004 
   --  Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, Weight Gain, and Incidence of Type 2 
       Diabetes in Young and Middle-Aged Women 
         -  Journal of the American Medical Association 
   --  Carbohydrates and the Risk of Breast Cancer among Mexican Women 
         -  Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 
   --  Diet Therapy for Narcolepsy 
         -  Neurology 
 
                  DESPITE THE POPULAR MYTH, ALL CALORIES 
                          ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL 
 
        Researchers Say Low-Carbohydrate Diets Have Metabolic Edge 
 
 

In a recent paper published in the Nutrition Journal, researchers from SUNY Downstate Medical Center show that calorie for calorie, low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets are generally more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets. Their data goes against a longstanding belief in the nutrition community, which for years has held that only calories count in the battle to lose weight.

"There are numerous examples of low-carbohydrate diets being more effective than low-fat diets with the same number of calories. It doesn't always happen but it can happen," said Dr. Richard Feinman of the Department of Biochemistry, SUNY. "The nutritional establishment has been reluctant to accept this, because they say it violates the laws of thermodynamics. However, they have not really looked seriously at thermodynamics. If they had, they would see that these results are possible, and according to the second law of thermodynamics, are also to be expected."

Feinman and Fine reviewed the existing literature on studies that compared low-carbohydrate and low-fat nutritional approaches. In doing so, they found a sufficient number of reports in the literature to establish the existence of a metabolic advantage. Clinical studies from such well-established research facilities as Duke and Harvard(1-2), among others, were reviewed and analyzed. The researchers tabulated results from 10 studies, demonstrating that low- carbohydrate diets can lead to greater weight loss than isocaloric low-fat diets.

To explain this metabolic advantage, Dr. Feinman and Dr. Eugene J. Fine suggest that carbohydrates are more quickly used as fuel for the body, whereas protein "burns" much more slowly. "Your body can make glucose…