Mitigating intractable differences
Like Republicans and Democrats, the respective advocates of low carb and low fat diets actually have a lot more in common than appears on the surface. It can be helpful to those of us looking for the "right" diet to examine what those similarities may be.We can begin mitigating differences in these two dietary approaches right away by stating a truth that neither party can deny: if a person takes in more calories - whether in the form of fats or carbohydrates - than he or she burns up, that person becomes obese. Thus, on one hand, eating lots of low fat food will absolutely make you fat; on the other hand, eating lots of low carb food will also do the same. Dr. Atkins' claim that a person on his diet does not need to count calories (only grams of carbohydrates) is not strictly correct. (That his statement often appears to be true is probably because eating fat quenches the appetite while carbohydrates - as we have seen - can stimulate the appetite, so a diet high in fat can result in fewer calories consumed overall. But the fact remains - if you eat more calories than you burn up, you gain weight.)
Second, in recent years most proponents of low carbohydrate diets have recognized the health benefits of eating certain foods that are relatively high in carbohydrates - especially vegetables and certain fruits. Such foods not only supply necessary vitamins that one misses on a strict no-carb diet, but also supply the "roughage" that aids digestion (constipation, sometimes severe, is an admitted problem with low carb diets) and may help prevent some types of cancer.
Third, also in recent years, even the strictest fat-limiting advocates have had to admit that evidence is now strong that not all fats are alike. Some - the saturated fats and transfatty acids - are bad for you, but other fats - the omega-3 fats and other varieties found in fish, nuts, olives and avocados - are actually healthy, help prevent heart disease, and ought to be included in the diet. Indeed, most low-fat diets - when you look at the small print - now advocate up to 30% of calories from fats, the right kind of fats, of course.
Fourth, the most radical low-fat diets (such as the Pritikin and Ornish diets) strictly limit the same kind of "rapid" carbohydrates (i.e., the rapidly absorbed carbohydrates that stimulate rapid rises and rapid falls in insulin levels) most abhored by the low-carb advocates. Thus, under Pritikin and Ornish, you'll be staying away from the same bread, potatoes, rice and pasta as with the Atkins diet.
Four rules everyone can agree to
At the end of the day, we can state four general rules that all parties - both low fat and low carb - would agree to:- 1) Avoid the simple carbohydrates that cause rapid rises and falls in insulin levels - pasta, potatoes, rice, and products made from refined flour.
- 2) Eat the more complex carbohydrates - vegetables and fruits - that supply necessary vitamins and roughage, without stimulating rapid rises and falls in insulin levels.
- 3) Eat foods that supply the "good" fats - fish, nuts, olives, avocados .
- 4) Avoid processed foods of any type that contain transfatty acids - possibly the worst kind of fat you can ingest.
But for those of us who aren't intent on defending a position - just trying to do what is best - these are differences we can probably live with. These four rules of agreement ought to be enough to get us started. Those, and common sense, should steer us in the right direction.
