Atkins Diet for rats and humans

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Ulf Persson - 24 Jul 2004 14:05 GMT

"Was Atkins Right? New Study Provides Support For Those Who Advocate A
High Protein Diet For Weight Loss And Better Health"

"A long-term high-protein diet markedly reduces adipose tissue without
major side-effects in Wistar male rats" by Magali Lacroix et al

"This study sought to estimate the consequences of a long-term intake
of high levels of protein in an obesity-prone rat strain. The results
showed that the long-term effect of eating protein at will led to a
markedly reduced food intake and lowered white adipose tissue. At the
same time, basal blood insulin, leptin and triglyceride levels, and
glucose tolerance were improved. Calcium balance was not affected by a
high intake of milk proteins. Moreover, in contrast to what has
generally been admitted, no adverse effects of the high protein diet
were reported, particularly regarding kidney and liver health. After
six months of the experiment, the body weight of rats fed the high
protein diet was 18 percent lower than that of rats fed the
non-protein diet. Body composition measurements revealed remarkable
differences between the two groups, especially concerning the
subcutaneous fat pad.

This study also revealed that the weight reduction in rats fed the
high protein diet was strongly associated with lower basal blood sugar
and insulin levels, as previously described, and improved glucose
tolerance. As the isocaloric exchange between high and low protein
diets was performed on carbohydrate, the flattening effect of the high
protein diet on insulin and glucose basal levels could be attributed
to its reduced carbohydrate content. This contrasts with the results
of many studies that have acknowledged the fact that high protein
intakes induce an increase in glucose and insulin concentrations."

http://www.the-aps.org/press/journal/04/19.htm

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Mark Thompson - 26 Jul 2004 01:30 GMT

> "Was Atkins Right? New Study Provides Support For Those Who Advocate A
> High Protein Diet For Weight Loss And Better Health"
>
> "A long-term high-protein diet markedly reduces adipose tissue without
> major side-effects in Wistar male rats" by Magali Lacroix et al

I'd be interested to know what the unmentioned side effects were, given
rats' problems with high protein diets. I'd also like to see how they coped
on a zero protein diet - not even Atkins cuts it out entirely do they?

Reading the article again I'm a bit sceptical about the methodology.
They've given the rats 3x the recommended levels of protein but rats have
low protein requirements. Were rats chosen because 3x their recommended
amount still isn't very much? Could this be why the study came to a
different conclusion to the others?

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J&S Bouchard - 26 Jul 2004 12:39 GMT

> > "Was Atkins Right? New Study Provides Support For Those Who Advocate A
> > High Protein Diet For Weight Loss And Better Health"
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> amount still isn't very much? Could this be why the study came to a
> different conclusion to the others?

I'd also like to know if they allowed the rat to live after their
experiments. If so... were there long term effects to the high protein
intake. What exactly was the percentage of protein they were forced to eat?
It's obvious this was an experiment to benefit humans, never mind the poor
rat, so would they report any skin conditions or test the liver function of
the rat?

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Joanne
Mom to 12 rats
http://community.webshots.com/user/joanneb70

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Mark Thompson - 26 Jul 2004 15:22 GMT

> If so... were there long term effects to the high protein
> intake. What exactly was the percentage of protein they were forced to
> eat? It's obvious this was an experiment to benefit humans, never mind
> the poor rat, so would they report any skin conditions or test the
> liver function of the rat?

Normal protein diet was 14%, high protein diet was 50%. The study was
over 6 months which is I suppose a fairly long time for a rat. There
were no "major" changes to the high protein rats livers.

Here's the abstract:

A long-term high-protein diet markedly reduces adipose tissue without
major side-effects in Wistar male rats.

Lacroix M, Gaudichon C, Martin A, Morens C, Mathe V, Tome D, Huneau JF.

Physiologie de la Nutrition et du Comportement Alimentaire, Institut
National Agronomique Paris-Grignon, UMR INRA 914, Paris, Cedex, France.

Whereas there is a considerable interest of high-protein, low-
carbohydrate diets to manage weight control, their safety is still the
subject of considerable debate. They are suspected to be detrimental to
the renal and hepatic functions, calcium balance and insulin sensitivity.
However, the long-term effects of a high protein diet on a broad range of
parameters have not been investigated. We studied the effects of a high-
protein diet in rats over a period of 6 months. 48 Wistar male rats
received either a normal-protein (NP: 14 % protein) or high-protein (HP:
50 % protein) diet. Detailed body composition, plasma hormones and
nutrients, liver and kidney histopathology, hepatic markers of oxidative
stress and detoxification and the calcium balance were investigated. No
major alterations of the liver and kidney were found in HP rats, whereas
NP rats exhibited massive hepatic steatosis. The calcium balance was
unchanged and detoxification markers (GSH and GST) were moderately
enhanced in the HP group. In contrast, HP rats showed a sharp reduction
in white adipose tissue and lower basal concentrations of triglycerides,
glucose, leptine and insulin. Our study suggests that the long-term
consumption of a HP diet in male rats has no deleterious effects and
could prevent metabolic syndrome.

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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / July 2004

Atkins Diet for rats and humans