THE LOW CARB, HIGH RISK MERRY-GO-ROUND

By Marleen M. Quint
Women’s Health and Environmental Advocate

Atkins, High Protein, Stillman, Scarsdale, Hollywood, Ketogenic, Zone . . . Round and round the low carb diets go. Where it all stops, nobody knows. These are all low carb diets. Some have been around for many years. Meanwhile, we’re all still getting fatter and developing more diseases at an earlier and earlier age.

The survival and dominance of the human species has hinged on our ability to consume and thrive on just about anything that grows or moves. Our bodies are designed to efficiently process almost any and every food source available; it’s called being omnivorous. Unfortunately, as flexible as the human body is, it’s being taxed beyond its boundaries by the extreme environmental and dietary stresses we impose on an otherwise beautifully designed system.

What does a low carb diet mean?

Here’s the basic premise: A low carb diet is supposed to reduce the body’s insulin production so that it uses stored fat and protein as a main source of energy. To accomplish this you severely reduce or eliminate foods like pasta, bread, rice and alcohol and you replace them with large amounts of proteins like, meat, cheese and butter.

There are a number of reasons why this is unhealthy. Yes, you can lose weight quickly but only short term. This short term weight loss is also at the cost of potentially raising your cholesterol and eventually cannibalizing your own muscle tissue.

There are other potentially more serious risks. If you increase animal protein in your diet you are also increasing and compounding the amount of synthetic hormones, antibiotics and chemicals already taxing your body. This could contribute to a number of long-term health risks including cancer and endocrine (hormonal) disease.

Let’s examine the previously mentioned meat, cheese and butter. United States beef is so unhealthy it’s already banned in many counties including Britain, China, Russia and, as of June 15, the European Union (EU) will be banning all beef from the US. Most dairy cows in the US are treated with the bovine growth hormone, rBST. This is a genetically engineered hormone by Monsanto that ends up in your milk and in much higher concentrations in your cheese, butter, sour cream, etc. The only sure way to avoid hormone laced dairy is to read the label. Dairy from cows not treated with rBST will usually be clearly labeled. Unfortunately, unless you live in California, that milk is hard to find and no matter where you live, it is certainly more costly.

If you’re thinking about eating fish instead, think again. Many fish contain dangerous levels of mercury and PCB’s. This includes farmed or wild salmon. The only "clean" salmon currently available is Alaskan Red Salmon.

Is there any way to get off this merry-go-round?

Yes, keep it simple. To successfully lose weight and reduce your chemical body burden, you need to reduce your caloric intake and increase your activity level while eating lower on the food chain. Fruits, vegetables and grains may contain herbicide and pesticide residue (unless it’s organic) but at much lower levels than found in animal protein. Unless animals are raised on organic feed, they usually carry a large chemical body burden. It’s safer and often lower in calories to get at least some of your protein from a plant source like beans, nuts, tofu and other soy based products.

There are over 85,000 commercial chemicals used in the United States today. Most are not tested for basic human safety. If you truly want to know what is impacting your body’s optimum function, learn more about the chemicals potentially harming your health and demand accountability for the vast contamination of our environment.

For more information please access the following websites. www.weightlossresources.co.uk www.pesticideinfo.org
The link listed below will allow you to download a new report from Pesticide Action Network, North America. It’s titled, CHEMICAL TRESPASS: PESTICIDES IN OUR BODIES AND CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY. http://www.panna.org/campaigns/docsTrespass/chemicalTrespass2004.dv.html

Marleen M. Quint

Originally from Hawaii, Marleen was also raised in Japan and Guam. Her background is extremely eclectic and ranges from working in the field of cartography to performing as a singer, dancer and actress.

In 1990, Marleen was diagnosed with thyroid disease followed by breast cancer less than two years later. She lost both breasts and her thyroid with no family history that would predispose her to either disease. After much research, Marleen is convinced that environmental pollution played a significant role in the development of her life-threatening diseases.

Since 1995, Marleen has dedicated herself as a women's health advocate. She has served as a consultant for several health organizations including the National Cancer Institute in Washington, DC and UCSF Mt. Zion Cancer Center in San Francisco.

Marleen has combined her skills to develop a women's health presentation which delves into the connections between the politics of gender bias and the level of morbidity suffered by women. Marleen is an active speaker in the San Francisco Bay Area.

e-mail: MQhealthpge@aol.com