The debate continues about whether consuming a low carbohydrate diet will hinder muscle and strength gains. Much of the research that shows the importance of carbohydrates for exercise are based on studies that have involved endurance athletes. This is important because endurance … [Read more...]
A Calorie is A Calorie–or is it? by Jerry Brainum 3/22
The most basic concept of all diets aimed at body fat loss is that calories are what counts. That is, conventional wisdom, as well as most "experts", declare that no matter what type of diet you follow to lost body fat, in the end what counts is not the nutritional composition … [Read more...]
The First Study to Analyze a Ketogenic Diet in Bodybuilders by Jerry Brainum 6/21
In a recent issue of Applied Metabolics, I discussed the best diet to achieve an ultra-low body fat level of 5%. The diet I described in that article goes under various names, such as the "Anabolic diet," and the "Metabolic Diet," but the most common name and the most … [Read more...]
Is Creatine Essential for Low Carbohydrate diets? by Jerry Brainum 3/21
Creatine is, without question, the most effective single sports supplement available. No other food supplement can match the research data showing that creatine works for 80% of those who use it. The 20% that creatine doesn't work as well for are usually those who consume … [Read more...]
Is the Carnivore Diet Sustainable? by Jerry Brainum 12/20
A carnivore is defined as consuming only meat and based on that, the Carnivore diet is appropriately named. While there are varied types of low carbohydrate diets, ranging from low carb diets that allow 150 grams of carbohydrates or more a day to the ketogenic diet that … [Read more...]
The Best Weight-Loss Diet: What Does the Science Show? by Jerry Brainum 11/19
Those who seek to lose excessive body fat are faced with a plethora of diet choices. Each diet has its advocates who proclaim that their diet is the most effective at promoting body fat loss. And there is rarely a time when another new fad diet surfaces, often promising to be the … [Read more...]
Insulin, Carbohydrates, and body fat: An Update by Jerry Brainum
What was Gary Taubes thinking? Taubes, an esteemed science writer and staunch advocate of low carbohydrate diets, felt that ingestion of excess carbohydrates, especially processed carbs, such as carbs minus the fiber content, was the primary cause of the … [Read more...]
Easing Ketogenic Diet Pain: What works? by Jerry Brainum
The ketogenic diet, so-named because of the higher production of ketone bodies produced by the diet, first appeared in the 1920s. The original use was to treat children with epilepsy. Although doctors didn't know why eliminating most carbohydrates from the diet could … [Read more...]
Does Insulin Make You Fat? by Jerry Brainum
Although low carbohydrate diets come in various guises ranging from Dr.Atkin's diet to the South Beach diet to the Protein Power diet and many others, the one commonality in all of them is the absolute need to control insulin. Insulin is a hormone … [Read more...]
Low fat versus low carbs: Which is best for fat loss? by Jerry Brainum
As I noted in the August 2015 issue of Applied Metabolics, the preponderance of published studies that have compared low fat, high carb diets to low carb, high-fat diets has found that the low carb diets invariably result in far more rapid losses of body fat, along … [Read more...]