South Beach Diet

The Role of Insulin in Metabolic ResistanceThe usual ways of eating that should lead toweight loss simply do not work for certain peoplewho have extreme difficulty losing weight.

Are you one of those tortured souls who has beentold that the only reason you are overweight isbecause you eat too much? It is a well-documentedfact that people who are significantly overweightmay also have metabolic disorders. Suchconditions not only cause weight gain, they alsomake it difficult to lose the accumulated weight.

Part of the obesity epidemic we face in theUnited States may be due to the misconceptionthat people who are overweight are simplygluttons or lazy couch potatoes. For most of thelast century, the majority of doctors involved intreating obesity did not accept extreme metabolicresistance as a possible explanation for theirpatients’ plight, but rather chose to believethat patients were being untruthful about whatthey ate.

The inability to burn fat or lose weightthephenomenon called metabolic resistance to weightlossis not uncommon. In addition to the use ofprescription drugs or hormones that inhibitweight loss, an underactive hormone andovergrowth of yeast, excessive insulin andinsulin resistanceusually accompanied by hightriglycerides1-4is one of the four majorcategories of problems that contribute tometabolic resistance.

Without question, overweight individuals withexcessive insulin output (known ashyperinsulinism) and the inefficiency of insulinusage (or insulin resistance) respond best to theAtkins Nutritional Approach controlledcarbohydrate philosophy. Even the majority ofpeople who do not lose weight on a1,000-calorie-a-day low-fat diet will lose weighton an 1,800- to 2,000-calorie meal planifcarbohydrates are limited to 20 grams per day.

The vast majority will lose weight, but notabsolutely everyone. For those individuals whohave not lost weight during the Induction phaseof Atkins, nutritionally oriented medicine offersways to break through this last barrier. Inconjuction with Induction, certain vitanutrientscan assist in breaking up weight-loss logjams.

In his practice, Dr. Atkins and the otherpractitioners found the leading nutrient toaccomplish this fat-busting feat is L-carnitine.When carnitine is deficient, the conversion ofburned fat to ketones is impaired5-7. Themechanism for carnitine’s effectiveness is thatit has the ability to ensure that fat converts tofuel. But very high doses of carnitine are oftennecessary. Often, more effective responses occurwith the use of acetyl carnitine, a compound thathelps focus the carnitine action.

Co-enzyme Q10 (CoQ10), another vital nutrientnecessary for fat to serve as fuel8, may alsorequire large doses. Both CoQ10 and carnitine areextremely valuable for other reasons, such aspreserving heart health. For more informationabout these nutrients and other nutrients, seeDr. Atkins’ Vita-Nutrient Solution (Simon &Schuster, 1999).

Other nutrients capable of overcoming slow weightloss include chromium, alpha-lipoic acid,glutamine, phenylalanine and the combinations ofinositol, choline and methionine. To get theoptimum benefits of these vitanutrients, youshould work with doctors experienced in their useto combine them with the Induction phase ofAtkins.