newlifeforhealth.com -- High Protein Diets

	Ketosis is NOT healthy, especially for diabetics and individuals with pre-existing kidney or liver disease.
	There is a kernel of truth in the high-protein diet proponents' claims that carbohydrates in the diet are problematic. However, they neglect to distinguish between the real culprits, simple carbohydrates, and healthy complex carbohydrates. Face it--Americans eat junky carbohydrates. We should be focusing on the nutritionally-inferior refined carbohydrates which Americans consume in excess. *There is no evidence to date that complex carbohydrates are to blame.* Furthermore, in insulin resistant individuals, refined carbohydrates should be replaced with monounsaturated fats, NOT PROTEIN, because protein stimulates insulin secretion (hyperinsulinemia is the problem!), monounsaturated fats do not. The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is based on a preponderance of *refined* carbohydrates and *animal* protein (accompanied by saturated fat and cholesterol which raises the risk for cardiovascular disease further). The popular diet book authors got a kernel of the truth right--replacing excess refined carbohydrates--but in the not-too-long run will likely prove to be critically wrong!
	An estimated 1 in 5 Americans may be "hyperinsulinemic". These individuals have an exaggerated insulin response to simple carbohydrates (insulin resistance) which results in a constellation of risk factors for cardiovascular disease called "Syndrome X", including high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, low-HDL cholesterol, small/dense LDL-cholesterol, high triglycerides, and glucose intolerance (but not diabetes). Dr. Gerald Reaven from Stanford University, who discovered the syndrome, recommends a *slightly lower carbohydrate intake* (45% calories from carbohydrate, NOT carbo-phobic popular diet book recommendations of 30-40% carbohydrates!), 15% protein, 40% fat, but with a preponderance of healthy plant and fish fats. Note the similarity to the "Mediterranean Diet" (with such strong evidence and time supporting it that no one questions its virtues), the hugely successful D.A.S.H. (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet issued from National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute and ongoing studies at Harvard Medical School, and the overwhelming evidence for the "more plant:less animal" axiom which supports the N.E.W. LIFE "Optimal Diet" recommendations. Reaven became frustrated with popular high-protein diet book authors who have misused his research, so frustrated, in fact that he decided to write his own book to set the record straight--

High-Protein Diets