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Friday, 22 June, 2007 6:38 PM
The Down Side of Low-Carb Diets
That No One is Talking About
Discover
how to lose weight with eating plan that boosts mood enhancers
Anyone who’s ever
tried to lose weight recognizes the cycle: go on a diet, lose some
weight, hit a plateau, feel stressed, return to old habits and gain
back EVEN more weight. It’s called yo-yo dieting. While low-carb,
high protein diets like the Atkins and South Beach diets have been
popular for years, what most people don’t realize is that
the very diet they’re counting on to help shed pounds is actually
starving their brains; depleting their supply of the mood regulating
neurotransmitter serotonin. The result is that many people can’t
stay on their diet and lose the weight. For others, the damage can
range from loss of sex drive to food cravings and from insomnia
to compulsive behavior.
Dr. Cheryle Hart, author of the new book, “The Feel Good Diet:
The Weight-Loss Plan That Boosts Serotonin, Improves Your Mood,
and Keeps the Pounds Off for Good,” (McGraw-Hill 2007) recognizes
how critical neurotransmitters are—not just for successful
weight loss, but for every aspect of life. “66% of adult Americans
are overweight and many of them truly want to lose the weight,”
says Dr. Hart. “But the dynamics are stacked against them
because low-carb diets rob the brain of precious neurotransmitters.
That’s why it’s so crucial for people to learn how to
eat in a way that will boost those mood enhancers and help them
lose weight.”
A Mayo Clinic-trained gynecologist and weight-loss specialist, Dr.
Hart recognized a pattern in her private practice—she started
noticing that more and more women on these trendy high-protein diets
were becoming depressed. “You’d think they would be
ecstatic with their weight loss,” says Dr. Hart. “But
I was seeing just the opposite. And it really impacted their marriages.
One frustrated husband told me, ‘My wife lost more than weight.
She also lost her mind.’” More than one husband confided
to Dr. Hart that he would rather have his wife ‘fat and happy
than skinny and witchy.’
In “The Feel Good Diet,” Dr. Hart explains the science
of how diets impact the brain and how neurotransmitters affect a
person’s body and their well-being. Simply put, your hormones
and the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine all work in tandem
to help maintain weight control, reduce stress and let you live
in a healthy manner. Including the right foods and supplements in
your weight loss plan can help keep it all in balance. And that
right balance leads not only to long term weight loss, but also
to a happier, more positive outlook because those mood enhancing
neurotransmitters are no longer depleted.
Dr. Hart also shares several common causes of low levels of serotonin
and dopamine that most people aren’t aware of:
- Getting older- 60%
of adults past age 40 have some degree of deficiency
- Prolonged emotional
or physical stress – when stress is severe or prolonged,
adrenal glands become exhausted and can’t keep up
- Hormone imbalances
– hormones influence neurotransmitter release and activity
- Sleeping poorly –
most serotonin is replaced while you sleep
- Certain medications
– long term use of diet pills, stimulants, pain pills and
narcotics can deplete neurotransmitter stores
- So can caffeine, nicotine
alcohol and recreational drugs
“The Feel-Good
Diet” offers yo-yo dieters a chance to break the vicious cycle
of losing and then re-gaining weight; permanently, with complete
step-by-step daily eating plans that increase serotonin production.
Snacks of specific foods shown to raise serotonin levels like chocolate,
certain fruits, bread, and pasta are purposely scheduled throughout
the day and evening. Complete lists of these serotonin-boosting
foods are provided. Full details on the nutritional supplements
proven to raise serotonin levels are also given. Restaurant menus
and even fast-food dieting choices that boost serotonin help dieters
succeed in the real world. Recipes, like the popular “chocolate
S’more Serotonin” dessert, are included as a bonus.
“The true goal of “The Feel Good Diet” is teaching
people how to eat right, exercise right and make more serotonin,”
says Dr. Hart. “That way they can actually enjoy being thin.”
The
Feel Good Diet: The Weight-Loss Plan That Boosts Serotonin,
Improves Your Mood, and Keeps the Pounds Off for Good
by Cheryle Hart, M.D. and Mary Kay Grossman
276 pp., Hardback $25.95 US
Publisher: McGraw-Hill 2007
Available at www.barnesandnoble.com
www.borders.com
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About the author:
Cheryle Hart, M.D. is
board certified in bariatrics, the medical specialty of weight management,
and in obstetrics/gynecology. She completed her specialty training
at the Mayo Clinic and is now in private practices at the Women’s
Wellness Workshop in Spokane, Washington.
She is co-author of the best-selling book “The Insulin Resistance
Diet.”
Source: Event Management
Services, Inc.
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