Nov. 25, 1999
For most physicians and dieticians, low carb diets are okay short-term, but potentially dangerous over the long haul.
As we showed you yesterday, Rick and Mary Stewart are doing well on a low carb diet. But they know the limitations and how to modify foods to suit their own weight-loss requirements.
But physicians like Dr. David Jack who specialize in treating obesity - what is called bariatric medicine - believe low carb diets should be used cautiously.
David Jack, M.D. / Bariatric Physician: "The problem with this diet probably extends to long-term irritation to the liver, and the possibility that even though you are lowering cholesterol on this diet, you may be making the cholesterol that is residual more sticky."
LDS Hospital dietician Marty Lamb agrees. Instead of low carb, she believes in a more traditional diet where people eat smaller portions, but still consume a balance of foods.
Marty Lamb/Dietician, LDS Hospital Fitness Institute: "Because it's so low in carbohydrate, your body is in a state of ketosis where fat is used as a form of energy, and from that you get nausea, weakness, and dehydration." "
While Rick and Mary in Roosevelt say they were tired initially on the low carb diet, they've reached a level now where that's no longer a problem.
But many others on a more extreme version of the diet say they're often too tired to work out, and exercise is essential in any weight-loss program.
Unlike many consumers who just want to drop a few pounds to look good, Melvin Gamble - originally at 270 pounds - is peeling the weight off to survive. He has diabetes and is taking one of the new prescription drugs which blocks the absorption of fat in the bowels.
Melvin Gamble: "I've been on it since the 20th of June of this yeaer, and I've lost an average of five to seven pounds per month. "
The fat blocking drugs work well, but unlike low carb diets, users of the new compounds cannot eat a lot of meats or fatty foods. Since the drugs safely block the absorption of fat before it ever gets into the bloodstream, excess fat is simply excreted.
"Actually, it's simple-- a bad case of diarrhea. It diverts all that fat to your bowels and it doesn't take long to get rid of it."
But for patients like Melvin, the Orlistat and Zenecal drugs have other benefits as well.
"In fact, two of the positive benefits other than weight reduction are that Zenical seems to improve diabetic control and it seems to lower cholesterol levels."
New studies show how the weight is distributed on our bodies may be more significant for health or sickness than how much we weigh. That, and corporate incentives to stay fit, as we continue our series "Dying to Diet" Friday on Eyewitness News Live at Five.
Read Special Report Part 3
