A High Protein Diet - How Effective is it Really?

If you're looking for diets that work, a high protein diet is often included in lists of best diets, diet meals, or a weight loss system. But is it really as good as some people make it out to be?

A high protein diet - also known as low carb diets - can be effective for weight loss, for building muscle mass, and a surprising range of other benefits. But just how effective, it seems, depends on your time horizon.

A randomized trial of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet for Obesity involving 63 obese men and women randomly assigned them to a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet, or to a low-calorie, high-carbohydrate, low-fat (conventional) diet.

Here's what happened:

The low-carbohydrate diet produced a 4% greater weight loss than the conventional diet for the first six months... but the difference was not significant at one year.

The study also associated the low-carbohydrate diet with a greater improvement in some risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Good stuff. However, the researchers decided that longer and larger studies are required to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diets because participants proved poor at adhering to the diets, and many simply dropped out of the research.

Which tends to go with the dieting territory.

That said, many men and women have had success with a high protein diet weight loss plan. Another study showed that men and women who were on a high protein weight loss plan experienced less hunger, greater weight loss and increased satisfaction when 20% percent of fat was replaced in their diet with 30% greater protein intake.

That's partly because we are less inclined to snack or go on an eating binge because our blood sugar and insulin levels are kept within the normal range.

Many medical studies have reported that high protein eating improves triglycerides, boosts helpful cholesterol (HDL), and lowers blood glucose for diabetics and people with beginning diabetes. A low carbohydrate regime, in fact, is often used to improve insulin sensitivity, reduce blood pressure and lower blood insulin levels.

Low-carbohydrate, high-protein dieters also tend to lose a smaller amount of muscle size than those eating low-fat diets.

One aspect many people tend to overlook is that we have different amounts of carbohydrate acceptance. Some put on weight with as little as only 90 carbohydrate grams a day, but others can eat up to 120 grams of carbs daily. Dr Robert Atkins pointed out the importance of discovering your own individual carb levels.

A high protein diet may not be the best way to lose weight for you, but it helps many in their weight loss campaigns, and it also keeps them healthy. If you are considering going on a high protein diet, remember that first study I mentioned. Stick with it, and stick to the rules. Makes all the difference.

And even before that, discuss your high protein diet plans with your doctor. He or she may have some healthy recommendations to help you select and maintain the most appropriate weight loss plan for you.

Glen Novita has been keeping an eye on the diet field for years, both for weight loss and building muscle mass. And he says there is actually another view on beauty-fitness-lifestyles.com/high-protein-diet.html high protein diet that says two tiny changes can make or break the approach. Click that link for more insight. Beauty-Fitness-Lifestyles.com also includes articles on beauty fitness weight control and beauty-fitness-lifestyles.com/fatloss.html fat loss tricks.