Do Protein Diets Work – Protein diets like the 17 Day Diet or Dukan Diet work but the key to weight loss is getting right level of protein rather than cutting calories.
Including enough protein in our diets, is the key to weight loss and the correct amount will curb appetites and prevent excessive consumption of fats and carbohydrates, a new study from the University of Sydney has found.
High protein only diets with low caloric intake like the Dukan Diet or 17 Day diet can put a dieter on a see-saw eating regimen, perhaps erring on the side of offering to much protein. The study found a protein diet of 10 (low) percent will have the dieter eating more snacks and food between meals, consuming more calories per day than dieters on a 15 (medium) or 25 (high) percent protein diet.
The protein diet study results, published in the online journal PLoS ONE, concluded that protein is the driving force for appetite in animals. Humans have a strong appetite for protein and when this is lacking in the diet it can drive excessive eating in an effort to make up for the shortage.
The theory called ‘protein-leverage’ first proposed by study authors Steve Simpson and co-author David Raubenheimer, suggests that animals have a fixed protein target, which they will defend at the expense of other nutrients. In short, if protein in the diet is diluted, even by a small amount by extra fat and carbohydrates, the appetite for protein is so compelling humans will keep eating in an attempt to get to the level of protein the body is craving.
The researchers took a group of 22 healthy weight people and divided them up into three protein diet groups of 10, 15 and 25 percent. With the exception of protein content, the three diets were similar in food presentation, taste and variety. The study called for monitoring energy intake over each four-day period and hunger ratings on day four.
The protein dieters in the 10 percent group were driven to consume 12 percent more energy food over four days than those eating a 15 percent protein diet. Moreover, 70 percent of the increased energy intake on the lower protein diet was attributed to snacking. Of interest to those on high protein diets like the Dukan or 17 Day Diet, the study notes that those on the 25 percent diet did not increase or decrease their eating habits, but maintained at the same levels as the 15% group.
From the findings: “This result confirms the ‘protein-leverage’ effect in humans and importantly, shows counting calories is not enough to manage appetite and body weight. In the western world, where food is abundant, if you reduce your calorie intake but fail to reach your protein target you will find it hard to resist hunger pangs.”
Protein dieters beware – there is a reason that the World Health Organization recommends people eat 15 percent protein diets. More is not necessarily better.
News-In-Review Do Protein Diets Work?
