This diet plan helps increase energy, improve concentration and attention span, increase lean muscle mass and curb food cravings.  Everyone from 18 to 80 years old will discover how cutting down on carbohydrates and upping the right fats will turn your body into a fat-burning machine by accessing stored body fat for fuel.

You will begin to look at food from a whole new perspective - as fuel for both the body and the mind.  You will be introduced to the concept of the hormonal effect of food and its power to impact peak performance, mood and overall health.   Knowledge is power.  Staying in optimum shape and achieving great overall health takes know-how.

Cut The Carbohydrates, Add The Fat?
Yes! It works most of the time and can be modified to meet individual needs.  This formula is a special mix of fats, carbohydrates and protein, designed to switch the body into a fat-burning mode.  It calls for 40 percent of one's total calories to be derived from carbohydrates (like bread, pasta and potatoes), 30 percent from natural and unprocessed fats (such as butter and olive oil), and 30 percent from protein (like low-fat cottage cheese, turkey, water-packed tuna, eggs, fish, chicken, lean beef).   You can expect to improve lean muscle mass on this program in as little as 30 days, trimming body fat to the ideal 14-18 percent range.

Independent studies from Pepperdine University and Sansum Medical Research Foundation in Santa Barbara, California, have demonstrated that the 40/30/30 formula not only improves athletic performance significantly but also raises the level of the "good" cholesterol (HDL), is safe for diabetics and aids in weight loss. 

Cut the carbohydrates; add the fat.  Over the last decade "expert" advice has directed us to do just the opposite and during that time, the average weight of Americans has increased by 10 pounds.  Nonetheless, the "eat more / weigh less" mantra continues to echo throughout our homes, offices and gyms.  It has led to excessively high-carbohydrate diets, with sometimes as much as 70 percent of the calories coming from carbohydrates.  We appear to be growing fat on the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, with the average person carrying around 21-28 percent body fat.   I'll show you why such a diet, while it might work for some people, will likely lead the majority not only into a condition of overweight but also one of blood sugar instability that can sap vital energy and dull the mind.

No one diet will work for everyone all of the time simply because humans are biochemically unique.  That uniqueness is shaped by ancestry, genetic heritage and metabolic rate, all of which must be taken into consideration in personalizing a diet plan.

Whether a weekend warrior, professional athlete, sports enthusiast or couch potato, everyone wants to be strong and solid.  Most believe that the best way to achieve an ideal body is through exercise.  While exercise certainly has numerous benefits and can indeed be valuable adjunct tool in body shaping, it may surprise you to learn that diet is just as important, for two reasons:

1. Food consumption triggers release of the hormones that determine whether we will store excess body fat or burn it.

2. Due to their hormonal effect, food choices can reduce or enhance the benefits of exercise.

While over consumption of carbohydrates, due to their sugar component, may have the immediate effect of increasing energy by raising blood sugar, the long-term result will be the lowering of sugar levels, with the resulting fatigue that is characteristic of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).  The ultimate consequence can be development of a more severe blood sugar disorder, like diabetes.  In fact, the incidence of Type II (adult onset) diabetes has increased alarmingly in recent years, especially among blacks and Hispanics.  America has been growing sick and tired - and fat - as a result of the low-fat, high-carbohydrate craze.

Hormonal Effect Of Food
Weight lose on the high-carbohydrate diet can be difficult for some people and keeping it off even harder.  Worst of all, the bulk of weight loss comes not from fatty tissue but from muscle.  Endocrinology studies over the last 30 years have shown that the proportions of macronutrients - fat, protein and carbohydrates - will determine whether we store fat or burn fat.  With the right mix of macronutrients, we can become a fat-burning machine.

The unsuspected key to successful fat-burning is the hormone insulin, and insulin levels are controlled by the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.  When we consume carbohydrates, the pancreas secretes insulin, which makes it possible for glucose (blood sugar made from the sugar in carbohydrates) to enter the cells and be converted into energy.  Insulin prevents blood sugar from rising too high after a meal.   It is a storage hormone; it is responsible for the storage of excess blood sugar in the liver (as glycogen) and in the muscles.  Glycogen storage capacity is limited.   Once it is exhausted, the body will convert excess carbohydrate to fat and store it under the direction of insulin.

Insulin is one of two hormones that is critically important in blood sugar control.  The other is glucagon, released when protein is consumed.  Glucagon's action is the opposite of that of insulin.  They are inversely-paired hormones - when one high, the other is low.  Glucagon is a mobilization hormone,  When the blood sugar level drops (and with it energy level), glucagon is secreted by the pancreas, causing glycogen (stored sugar) to be released from the liver to replenish the sugar supply in the blood.  Glucagon release also raises energy levels by increasing the release of fat from fat cells.  So insulin lowers blood sugar and stores fat, while glucagon raises blood sugar and mobilizes fat from storage.

To learn more about it, click Insulin Resistance 
To view the lab test NEWS uses to document Insulin Resistance, click Lab Test.

Carbohydrate Loading
With today's emphasis on "carbohydrate loading" for athletes, a typical diet often consists of 70 percent carbohydrates, 15 percent protein, and 15 percent fat.  This kind of fuel mix elevates insulin levels and therefore encourages hypoglycemia, with attendant lack of concentration and fat storage.  Such effects would obviously impair athletic performance and provide the biochemical scenario for the cyclist who suffers leg burn, the marathon runner who hits the wall, or the tennis player who loses his focus after a few hours.

The more desirable 40/30/30 balance of macronutrients allows the body to access its primary source of muscle energy, fatty acids, which are stored in adipose tissue (body fat).  On a high carbohydrate diet, this stored fat is not easily accessed and the muscle must instead use carbohydrates, an inferior fuel, as a source of energy.  According to Dr. Philip Maffetone, applied kinesiologist and trainer/coach for professional athletes (including top triathletes Mark Allen and Mike Pigg), fat provides over twice the energy of carbohydrates.  Athletes are missing the boat with their high-carbohydrate intake:  "The average U.S. athlete has a career span of four-and-a-half years.  This is what happens when you rely on your sugar reserves, not fat reserves."

The higher proportion of energy obtained from fat with the 40/30/30 balance of macronutrients results in the conservation of muscle glycogen that, in turn, keeps blood sugar levels elevates, thus improving concentration and focus and endurance of athletes.  Beneficial effects of the 40/30/30 diet include:

Many of the beneficial effects are attributed to the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland that both builds and repairs muscle tissue.

Exercise can help us shape up and lose weight by cutting back insulin levels in the blood; however, loading up on carbohydrates just before or after exercise will nullify the benefit due to the insulin response it evokes.

Balanced Meals
To obtain the full benefits of the 40/30/30 formula, you will need to follow it at every meal and at snack time as well.  This is not a difficult task once the "how to" of applying the concept is grasped.

Since the benefits of this approach to macronutrient balance were determined through studies with athletes, the area of sports nutrition has been the first to make practical application of the principles.  One company, Bio-Foods, has sponsored studies showing the efficacy of this approach to eating , and they have developed a tasty nutrition bar appropriately named "Balance. "  Comprised of this 40/30/30 ratio of macronutrients, it is a definite contrast to most sports and energy bars that usually contain 75-90 percent carbohydrates.  Balance bars can be used as a meal replacement, though they should not substitute for more than one meal a day.  They also provide good appetite control - three to five hours for most people - on only 180 calories.

The stabilization of blood sugar that results from proper macronutrient balance helps control hunger and allows one to function optimally on less food (and therefore fewer calories) than normally consumed.  The advantages of weight control are obvious.  There is also the potential benefit of increased longevity; animal studies have repeatedly correlated reduced food intake with increased life span.   When macronutrient consumption is balanced, reduced food intake does not correlate with hunger; satiety is more readily achieved naturally.

Hormonal balance is the key to health maintenance and/or restoration. Since food elicits hormonal responses that can be beneficial or detrimental, it is advisable to cultivate the habit of conscious eating.  We need to be aware of the effect our food choices will have - not only upon our health but also upon our appearance and mental state as well.

Simple carbohydrates are readily digested and found in sugars and fruits.   Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, have a more elaborate molecular structure and are found in vegetables, as wells as whole grains, beans and legumes.  The high fiber content of these foods helps slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream.   The reasoning has been that because they take longer to digest, they don't play havoc with blood sugar and insulin levels, as simple sugars can do.

What is not very well recognized, however, is that some complex carbohydrates have a very high glycemic index, which means that they convert quickly to blood sugar and therefore raise insulin levels rapidly.  The Glycemic Index compares how rapidly carbohydrates are converted to blood sugar compared to glucose, which is given an index of 100 percent.  Surprisingly, certain complex carbohydrates have a higher glycemic index than some simple sugars, as indicated in the the following examples:

Fat Phobia
It was fat phobia that gave birth to the carbohydrate craze of the last decade which has, by no means, been limited to athletes.  Many avoid such basic nutritional staples as meat, eggs and butter due to erroneous information they've received about cholesterol and fat.  Instead they fill up on sugar which, ironically, will cause them to gain added pounds and increase their risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Fats serve vital functions in the body.  They are required for hormone production.   They facilitate oxygen transport; lubricate and insulate muscles and organs; aid in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K); nourish the skin, mucous membranes, and nerves; and help maintain body temperatures.  Without fat in our bodies, we would die instantly.  Our cell membranes and nervous system would collapse.  A deficiency of these essential fats can also cause inflammation; dry, flaky skin; acne; and arthritis, as well as other symptoms.