Cape Town - The Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA) has warned against following a high-protein, high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet .
“Although low-carbohydrate diets containing less energy may have short-term beneficial effects on weight control and insulin resistance in some individuals, a healthy diet remains a balanced diet,” Professor Edelweiss Wentzel-Viljoen, chairwoman of the Professional Board for Dietetics and Nutrition said on Monday.
The board co-ordinates the relevant healthcare practitioners registered with the council, according to the HPSA website
As part of National Nutrition Week, the board expressed concern about controversial and unhealthy diets by individuals who were not specialised in the dietetics and nutrition fields.
Following a high-protein, high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet may have severe health consequences in the long-term, warned the HPCSA.
Wentzel-Viljoen said that exercise played a very important role in reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.
“A healthy diet remains one that is balanced in terms of carbohydrates, protein and fats as well as vitamins and minerals,” she said.
“The best way to reach a healthy balanced way of eating is to follow the South African Food Based Dietary Guidelines.”
But Tim Noakes, a professor of exercise and head of the Sports Science Institute, on Monday branded the HPCSA’s warning as nothing but an “interesting development”.
“This is the same organisation in Sweden that concluded that the diet of high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate diet was entirely safe and acceptable,” Noakes said. “At the moment the same diet is being used by at least 25 percent of Swedes.”
Noakes launched an updated edition of his book, Challenging Beliefs, earlier this year.
The book contains a turn-around on his previous views towards carbo-loading, instead promoting a diet of high protein, high fat and low carbohydrates.
“By them [HPCSA] warning people against such diets they are promoting obesity and unhealthy people. Carbohydrates are the root causes of obesity,” he said.
The HPCSA urged the public to consult a registered dietician or nutritionist who has the expertise to design a balanced healthy diet if they wanted to lose weight, and not to be swayed by reports suggesting expensive high protein and saturated fat diets with long-term unhealthy effects. - Cape Argus
* The HPCSA is a statutory body that aims to regulate the health professions in the country by ensuring that they are compliance with healthcare standards.