Diet has no Effect on Weight Loss

Monday, May 18,2009, 11:31:01 AM Click:

When it comes to losing weight, the number of calories you eat, rather than the type of carbohydrate, May be what matters most, according to a new study.

The concept of glycemic load is based on the fact that carbohydrates have different effects on blood sugar. White bread and potatoes, for example, have a high glycemic index, meaning that they tend to cause a rapid rise in blood glucose. Other carbohydrates such as cereals high in fiber, and beans to create a more gradual change and are considered to have a low glycemic index.

The results, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that diets low in "glycemic load" are no longer to take the books that most traditional - and more carbohydrate-friendly - approaches to reduce calories.

The measurement of glycemic load takes things a step further by considering not only one of the glycemic index of foods, but the total number of carbohydrates. A sweet juicy fruit may have a high glycemic index, but it is low in calories and grams of carbohydrates. Therefore, it can fit into a diet low in glycemic load.

However, the effort to understand what is allowable carb might not be punishment if the new study is an indication.

Principal investigator Dr. Susan B. Roberts, Tufts University, Boston, and colleagues found that reduced calories, while the glycemic load is high or low, has been effective in helping overweight adults shed 34 pounds in a year.

Study participants who followed a low glycemic load food lost approximately 8 percent of their initial weight, as well as those with a high-glycemic load diet.

"The bottom line is that in this study, we do not see a single way of eating that is best for weight loss, on average," Roberts told Reuters Health. Of course, this does not mean that "anything goes" as long as you cut calories. "

A super-sized portion of fries is not any good dieter, she said.

The two regimes of his team used in the study were carefully controlled. For the first 6 months, participants were provided with all the food they need, and the two schemes were designed to reduce their calories by 30 percent while providing the recommended amount of fiber, reduce fat in healthy foods and encourage such as fruits and vegetables.

The comparability of results suggest that between a healthy diet, not one stands out as better, according to Roberts. Thus, emphasis should be placed on calories rather than foods to avoid or include.

"Focusing on calories is something we need more, especially when portion sizes are so absurd," said Roberts, referring to the party has served in many restaurants in the United States.

This does not mean, however, that there is no room for plans that focus on glycemic load, according to the researcher. Some studies, for example, found that low glycemic index foods may help control blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.

And in their own research, Roberts said she and her colleagues found that low glycemic index schemes seem more effective for overweight people who naturally secrete high levels of the hormone insulin that regulates blood glucose.