Carbohydrate Addict's Diet
What It Is
The remarkable success of The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet -- by Rachael
Heller, MD, and Richard Heller, MD, and first published in 1993 -- led to a
handful of best-selling books. Each is based on a single theory: Many overweight people are "carbohydrate
addicts." Among these people, biological processes that convert food into energy fail to perform as they are supposed to and, the
Hellers say, "for reasons that are not yet clearly understood, sustained high
levels of insulin in the blood result." The elevated insulin,
according to their theory, makes carbohydrate addicts crave food throughout the
day. But a big question -- why does this condition create carbohydrate craving? -- is not
answered.
Given the premise, the Hellers claim that this is not a diet for everybody --
only for those with this metabolic imbalance that they call
"carbohydrate addiction." However, their "documented research" shows that 75% of overweight
adults identify themselves as "carbohydrate addicts," but they maintain that the
actual figure may be as high as 85%. Alas, these theories on addiction and the
related figures are not founded on scientific research.
The diet is based on the Hellers' own theories about
controlling fat-storing insulin in the body. And insulin, they claim, can be
controlled by drastically reducing carbohydrate consumption during most of the day.
What You Can Eat
For the first two weeks, you eat two small Complimentary
Meals daily, consisting of a portion (three to four ounces) of meat, fish, or fowl or two
ounces of cheese, and roughly two cups of vegetables or salad. The third meal is
your Reward Meal, which can be anything you want, in any quantity -- though it
should be nourishing and well balanced. You can have wine or a cocktail or a
glass of beer, promise the Hellers. This meal can be breakfast, lunch, or
dinner. But there's a time limit. The Reward Meal -- from cocktail to dessert --
must be consumed within an hour.
After the first two weeks, the regimen splits into several eating plans,
depending on how much weight you still want to lose, or on whether you just want
to maintain what you've already lost. Some will choose a plan that allows one
prescribed snack a day, made up of the same low-carb foods that you eat at the
Complimentary Meals. You may never choose carbohydrate-rich foods such as
fruits, fruit juices, breads, pasta, snack foods, or sweets as your snacks.
Never. And these snacks are limited to half the size of a meal.
The book gives an extensive list of food to chose from, which covers five
pages, and urges you not to deviate: "If the food is not listed here, don't eat
it during your Complimentary Meals or Snacks. ... When in doubt, save the food
for your Reward Meal."
Other rules: Drink plenty of water. If you have milk or
cream with your
coffee, you can have one cup a day the way you like it. Keep to the rules, say
the Hellers, and you will improve your metabolism and miraculously lose weight,
and all the time you'll feel great.
How It Works
The Hellers claim that by restricting carbohydrates drastically during most
of the day, the body releases far less insulin than if you had been eating a
high-carb diet at each meal. They say that the entire chain of metabolic events
is altered: Less insulin is released, less fat is stored, and more fat is
burned up. Because the body is releasing less insulin, the brain regulates the appetite
better with a release of serotonin, a biochemical that gives that nice, complete
feeling of satiety.
The time limit on the Reward Meal, when you are eating
and drinking carbs to your heart's content, controls the insulin release, which
the Hellers say occurs about one-and-a-quarter to one-and-a-half hours after you
begin eating. If you are still polishing off that apple pie, your body will
compensate for the initial low release of insulin with a big blast of it. But if you've stopped
eating within an hour, "this second phase appears to be kept low," they write.
High insulin in the blood leads to a decrease in the
number and activity of receptor sites in the muscles and fatty tissue that
absorb insulin and glucose. This is called insulin
resistance. Only one carbohydrate-rich meal a day, the
Hellers say, lowers insulin production and leads to an increase in receptor
sites, which then gobble up the insulin and glucose more quickly, removing it
from the blood. This in turn allows the "carbohydrate addict" to feel less
intensely hungry throughout the day, have fewer cravings, and lose more weight.
What the Experts Say
This diet is hardly a favorite of nutritionists or
specialists with a medical background. It is well known that many individuals
have abnormally high insulin levels and insulin resistance, but this is a part
of the medical condition known as the metabolic syndrome, which has a variety of
causes -- notably obesity
itself. "Carbohydrate addiction" has never been shown to be among them.
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