Pro Diets...Newsletter 16

Alcohol Linked To 75,000 U.S. Deaths A Year

Alcohol abuse kills some 75,000 Americans each year and shortens the lives of these people by an average of 30 years, a U.S. government study revealed in October, 2004.

Excessive alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It follows only (No. 1) tobacco use and (No. 2) poor eating & exercise habits.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which published the study, estimates that 34,833 people died in 2001 from cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and other diseases linked to drinking too much beer, wine and spirits.

Another 40,933 died from car crashes and other mishaps caused by excessive alcohol usage.

Alcohol dependence, also known as alcoholism, is characterized by impaired control over drinking, compulsive drinking, preoccupation with drinking, tolerance to alcohol and/or withdrawal symptoms. Any man who averaged more than two drinks per day or more than four drinks per occasion is considered to be an excessive drinker. For women, it is more than one drink per day or more than three drinks per occasion.

Surprisingly, men accounted for only 62 percent of the excessive drinking deaths in 2001, and those 21 and younger made up only 6 percent of the death toll. More shocking is the fact that almost 80 percent of all deaths accountable to excessive drinking are found to be in the 35-45 age range.

Smokers Die 10 Years Earlier, Study Finds

Cigarette smokers die on average 10 years earlier than non-smokers but kicking the habit, even at 50 years old, can cut the risk in half.

Findings from a 50-year old study into the dangers of smoking showed that if people quit by the age of 30 they can nearly avoid all of the risk of dying prematurely.

It is clear that consistent cigarette smoking doubles mortality rate throughout adult life – middle and older ages. It is also clear that giving up smoking can eliminate a very large part of the hazard.

The study shows that there are some 25 diseases which smoking seems to cause and that mortality rate is about double with the consistency of smoking.

Additionally, the study demonstrates that with men and women born since the 1920’s who became persistent smokers and did not quit, about two-thirds died from their habit. Nobody has ever before seen a population in which two-thirds of the people gets killed by their habit.

In the last five decades tobacco has already killed about 100 million people worldwide. During the present century there will be about one billion tobacco deaths if current smoking patterns continue.

The bottom line is pretty clear and straight-forward: Smoking kills people and quitting the habit works.

Defining The Success of Low-Carb Diets

For awhile it was a battle without good research on either side: proponents of low-carbohydrate diets claimed they achieved better weight loss than with any other plan, while many health experts kept insisting that calories, not carbs, matter for weight loss.

Now we have some good studies on the effectiveness of low-carb diets.

The results: Both sides were right. For short-term results, low-carb diets do seem to offer some advantages. However, in the long run, it’s calories that count.

Three well-controlled studies now show that after following a low-carb diet for six months, people have generally lost more weight than those on more traditional low-fat diets. In fact, average weight loss of those on low-carb diets is two to three times as much after six months, though a large percentage of the weight loss was water weight instead of fat loss. These diets also offered the advantages of producing greater drops in blood triglyceride levels. They improved blood sugar and insulin function in people who generally showed abnormalities which is also understandable due to the reduced amounts of carbohydrates. The increased blood cholesterol that experts expected generally did not show up. Fewer people dropped out of the low-carb diet groups at six months, too, maybe partly because of the encouragement they received from rapid early results.

However, two studies have now addressed the more crucial question of long-term results. Both studies show that one year from starting, there is no significant difference in the weight loss achieved by people on low-carb diets and those on conventional low-fat, low-calorie diets. These reports suggest that once the six-month mark has passed, many people on low-carb diets begin to regain the weight they have lost. Also, the improvements in insulin function that were the strongest with the low-carb diets at six months were equal for both diet groups after one year, and were strongly related to how much weight was lost, not the type of diet.

Looking at the average weight loss, which was higher for the low-carb dieters, can be misleading. Although their average weight loss may have been greater at six months, not everyone on low- carb diets lost weight. In fact, there was more difference in weight loss within each of the two groups than there was between them. In other words, what works for some people is different that what works for others.

The real challenge is to find how you as an individual can best reach and maintain a healthy weight, while also achieving good health. Some people may do best in the short-term with a highly structured diet. Clear rules eliminating certain foods actually makes it easier for some people, because it avoids the tendency for eating “just a little bit” to slip into over-eating. Other people find such rules intolerable.

Research suggests, however, that even people who like the black-and-white rules at first eventually find that they cause feelings of deprivation and a tendency to binge. Eventually, we need to find the degree of structure and flexibility that works best for us.

Low-carb diets can also promote early success because their higher level of protein intake tends to keep people’s appetite satisfied for longer periods of time. This can be especially helpful for people who previously omitted protein at meals and snacked on carbohydrates every couple of hours. For long-term weight control and good health, people need to satisfy their hunger by eating meals that have moderate amounts of lean protein and adequate, but not excessive, portions of whole grains, plus sufficient amounts of vegetables and fruits.

This kind of balance meals provides the fiber and nutrients we need for lower risk of chronic diseases like cancer and better overall health.

The bottom line: For long-term weight loss success, even low-carb diets can allow a person to gain weight if they do not take into consideration the total amount of calories consumed.

You can contact Dr. Diet via e-mail with any questions at drdiet@prodiets.com.