Physicians Offer 10 Points in Rebuttal of Low-Carb Attack Report in Whole Foods Magazine

Michael R. Eades, M.D. and Mary Dan Eades, M.D., husband-and-wife physicians whose books, lectures and television appearances have helped millions lose weight, recently mounted a defense of the low-carbohydrate approach to weight management against a major attack by a group called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM).

In its report on low-carb diets, released November 20, the PCRM, located in Washington, DC, questioned the safety of this approach and called for an investigation by the federal government.

In his dual capacity as executive editor of the Denver, CO-based LowCarbiz, a weekly newsletter, and chairman of the Low Carb Summit, a business conference scheduled to be held in Denver January 22-23, Dean Rotbart said he had contacted the doctors Eades, among whose books are Protein Power and The 30-Day Low Carb Solution, and asked them to address the PCRM arguments.

According to Rotbart, the Eades turned out a "brilliant rebuttal" to the PCRM report, which has been posted on the front page of the LowCarbiz website (no subscription required to read it all). Portions of the Eades' remarks are reproduced below, courtesy of the authors and LowCarbiz.

The physicians lead off with 10 rebuttal points:

1. PCRM uses what is at best anecdotal information and presents it in the guise of a scientific investigation.

2. At least a dozen studies have been conducted recently in major medical and scientific research institutions and published in top-notch journals that confirm the low-carbohydrate diet is superior to the low-fat diet in multiple respects.

3. The respondents to the PCRM poll would represent only 0.00001125% or one one-thousandth of one percent of individuals following a low-carbohydrate diet.

4. Researchers from Harvard recently reported that subjects could eat 300 calories more per day on a low-carbohydrate diet than those following a low-fat diet and still lose the same amount of weight over a 12-week period.

5. Dieters would prefer to lose fat rather than lean tissue, which is precisely what happens with low-carbohydrate diets.

6. Virtually every study done on low-carbohydrate diets shows that weight loss is accompanied by either an improvement or no change in heart disease risk factors.

7. Low-carb dieters who consume green leafy and colorful vegetables and low-glycemic fruits are not at risk of osteoporosis (long-term bone loss).

8. The whole idea that protein in the amounts eaten in modified low-carbohydrate diets damages kidneys is a vampire myth that refuses to die no matter how many stakes have been driven through its heart by a multitude of medical studies.

9. Overall, there is no evidence that meat causes colon cancer, or any other cancer, for that matter. Actually many cancer-fighting nutrients are in meat and a reduction in meat intake might be more likely to increase cancer risk.

10. As the data continue to accumulate and the studies increase in number, the efficacy of the modified low-carbohydrate diet will finally be established to the satisfaction of all.

The Eades find a "delicious twist of fate" in charging that the PCRM is using "the worst kind of anecdotal reporting" to justify its claims - after years in which low-carbohydrate advocates were accused of the same offense.

"In the last couple of years, however," they assert, "at least a dozen studies have been conducted in major medical and scientific research institutions throughout the world and published in top-notch medical and scientific journals that confirm what we and others have been saying for years-the low-carbohydrate diet is superior to the low-fat diet not only for weight loss but for improvement of virtually all of the components of the metabolic syndrome as well."

The Eades note that "PCRM and other groups and individuals who are anti-low-carbohydrate diet typically define the low-carbohydrate diet as the Atkins Diet, which in its original form was an extremely low, almost no carbohydrate, very high-fat diet that bears little resemblance to the low-carbohydrate diets recommended by us and others (including the current Atkins plan). Most people on low-carbohydrate diets focus on limiting their intake of carbohydrates to 30-70 grams per day and let the fat and protein content of their diet fall wherever it may within this carbohydrate restriction."

They continue, "Compared to the standard American diet, most people following a low carb diet end up consuming significantly fewer carbohydrates, about the same or marginally higher amounts of protein and fat, and a smaller number of total calories." The Eades concede, "There is little question that the reduction in calories drives the weight-loss engine of the low-carbohydrate diet " Nevertheless, they imply that this is in no way a "slight" to the validity of low-carbohydrate food plans.

On the contrary, in highlighted sections near the end of their rebuttal, they offer their take on how low-carb eating can prove beneficial against various disease states. For example, with regard to cardiovascular disease, they say, "Virtually every study done on low-carbohydrate diets shows that weight loss is accompanied by either an improvement or no change in heart disease risk factors. Few, if any, studies of low-carbohydrate diets show a worsening of heart disease risk factors. Most authorities agree that excess body fat is a risk factor for heart disease; so even the studies that show no improvement in other risk factors in subjects on low-carbohydrate diets actually do demonstrate a lowered cardiovascular disease risk implicit in the weight loss they bring about."

Renal function is another area in which the Eades have something to say. "Fear of kidney damage has long been the bugaboo of people following low-carbohydrate diets. It's doubtful that anyone pursuing a low-carbohydrate diet for any length of time hasn't been told at least once that his or her kidneys are in danger. Here again the PCRM doesn't disappoint; the group is right there leading the chorus. And PCRM doesn't beat around the bush: 'High-protein diets are associated with reduced kidney function,' so says its report. No equivocation there. But once again PCRM has missed the boat.... Studies from around the world have shown that the amount of protein contained in the modified version of the low-carbohydrate diet does not harm the kidneys. Even studies in patients with diabetic kidney disease show they will harm their kidneys more by increasing their carbohydrate intake and running up their blood sugars than they do by increasing their protein intake."

The Eades close their rebuttal by noting PCRM's own admission that the "weakness" of its data is that "adverse health effects were self-reported and are not likely to have the same prevalence in the general population. Data collection was Web-based and no attempt was made to assure a representative sample." Why, then, the doctors ask, does PCRM find these data of a magnitude to require the "urgent need for monitoring" by our "public health authorities?"¹

1 Whole Foods Magazine, January 2004

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