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The low carb (Atkins) diet has proven to be the bugbear of the official diet movement. After years of promoting low fat diets, comes Dr. Atkins proposing a low carb high protein diet, and obtains results comparable to the ones low fat diets claim.

Not only that but a study in the prestigious New England Journal of medicine shows greater weight loss in the low carb group than in the low fat group; and to add insult to injury, the low carb group had a decrease in cholesterol levels comparable to people taking cholesterol lowering medications.

So the debate is now whether Atkins is safe or not. The opponents of Atkins point out that Dr. Atkins died of heart disease. They fail to note that the condition he died of, cardiomyopathy is unrelated to diet or cholesterol.

So what are the dangers of a high protein diet?

First of all, let's see how a high protein diet works:

The protein that we eat mustr be broken down to amino acids before it can be absorbed. The absorbed aminoacids are then either used to make new proteins or, if there is a need, broken further down into its elementary components to make sugar (glucose and fructose) and from there glycogen (a complex carbohydrate used as a quickly available energy storage) or lipids (fatty acids and glycerol) used for cell membrane construction, cholesterol production (Needed for steroid hormone production and other things) and plain fat needed for long term energyu storage and insulation. The starch we eat is broken down to sugar and burned for energy, combined with other sugar to make glycogen, or strung in long chains of hydrocarbons to make fatty acids. The fatty acids that we eat are either stored as fat, or burned for energy.

Of the three main nutritional sources, the final end products are water and carbon dioxide for fats and carbohydrates, and water, carbon dioxide and urea (A nitrogen compound) for protein. It is the presence of the nitrogen compound in proteins, and nowhere else that makes a certain amount of protein needed in any diet; it is also the reason for the body to attempt protein conservation, and only to burn protein as a last resort. Of course this doesn't apply if a large portion of your calories come from protein, in which case the body burns protein in the liver, to make all the sugar and fats the rest of the body needs.

Urea is really the problem in high protein diets. Urea can accumulate if not excreted, and becomes toxic at high concentrations. Then again, carbon dioxide is also toxic at high concentrations; that is why we have to breathe so often, to blow it out.

Urea is excreted in the kidneys. If enough water is available, it causes no problems at all. The problem arises when the Atkins follower does not drink enough water. The Urea is still expelled by the kidneys most efficiently, however, under conditions of dehydration, the kidneys recover most of the water that they filter through, and the urine becomes more concentrated. Just look at your own urine after a long summer hike, if you have not had enough water. It will be strong and very yellow. If you have been drinking a lot of water, it is almost colorless.

In a highly concentrated urine, the urea can precipitate and form crystals of urate; these can coalesce and form renal stones, that are very painful to pass, and can cause a great deal of trouble if not passed.

This is the real danger of a high protein diet, and an easily avoidable one, by simply drinking adequate amounts of water. Your urine should be your guide. You should go at least six to eight times a day, and it should be almost colorless. If it is more darkly colored: drink more water.

Learn more about this author, Pedro Miranda.
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