Another Christian Finn article. I noticed that it's based on Jeff Volek's research. Is he still associated with the Men's Health forum? I used to email him occasionally but haven't heard from him in ages.
Making sense of low carb diets and muscle growth
There's a lot of research on weight loss diets. But there are
very few studies that have tried to establish the optimal diet
for muscle growth.
Low carb diets are popular with people who want to lose weight
without losing muscle. Most low carb diets are characterized by a
rise in the production of ketones. Normally, ketones are present
in low levels in the body. But, when carbohydrate intake is
restricted, ketone levels rise.
That's because fat is being broken down (or mobilized) very
quickly. But your body can't use all this fat. So, ketones are
formed as a way to store the potential energy. The build-up of
ketone bodies in your blood stream is known as ketosis.
In theory, ketones help to prevent the breakdown of muscle
protein by providing an alternative source of energy when you cut
back on calorie intake.
But are low carb diets the best way to gain muscle?
A team of experts from the University of Connecticut decided to
find out.
Publishing their findings in the journal Metabolism, the
researchers instructed a group of men to switch from their normal
diet (where 48% of total calories came from carbohydrate) to a
ketogenic diet.
Foods consumed on the low carb diet included beef (steak and
hamburgers), cheese, eggs, peanut butter, various nuts and seeds,
vegetables and protein powder (Super Whey Fuel and Fuel Plex
Lite).
Subjects were told to avoid fruits and fruit juices, dairy
products (with the exception of hard cheese and heavy cream),
breads, cereals, rice, beans, and sweets.
Normal
- Total calories: 2,540 calories
- Protein: 113 grams (20% of total calories)
- Carbohydrate: 306 grams (48% of total calories)
- Fat: 91 grams (32% of total calories)
Low-carbohydrate
- Total calories: 2,334 calories
- Protein: 176 grams (30% of total calories)
- Carbohydrate: 46 grams (8% of total calories)
- Fat: 157 grams (62% of total calories)
And the result?
Total fat loss at the end of the six-week study was just over
seven pounds in the low-carbohydrate group. The group following
their normal diet lost no weight.
The men following the low carb diet diet gained just over two
pounds of muscle. The control group, on the other hand, gained
just under one pound.
But this doesn't prove that ketogenic diets are the best way to
build muscle.
Firstly, subjects on the low carb diet ate more protein (176
grams versus 113 grams). This will have contributed to the
greater gains in lean muscle.
What's more, the low carb diet was designed to promote weight
loss, rather than weight gain. Muscle growth is usually a lot
faster with a diet providing more calories and more carbohydrate
You'll find more information on how to quickly gain weight in the
form of muscle rather than fat here:
http://thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/speed.htm
Muscle Building Nutrition by Will Brink is also a good place
to learn about what and when to eat for rapid muscle growth:
http://thefactsaboutfitness.com/mbn.htm
Even lead researcher Jeff Volek believes that more carbohydrate
is needed if you're trying to build muscle.
"If you are trying to gain weight," writes Volek in the November
2001 issue of Muscular Development magazine, "my experience is
that it is very difficult to prevent weight loss, let alone gain
weight, on a strict ketogenic diet."
"The bottom line is that ketogenic diets need much more
research," says Volek. "But in the meantime they may be worth a
try depending on your individual goals."
To view this update on-line, including the full list of
references and a printable version, please visit:
http://thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/overload.htm
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