What is a High Protein Diet?

High protein diets are followed religiously by some and scorned by others. A high protein diet is a diet where a person tries to keep most carbohydrates out of their diet -- which involves eating a large amount of protein. Many high protein diets will allow you to eat some carbohydrates -- preferably those coming from whole grains since they tend to make you full more quickly and therefore you will eat less of it -- but still limit them to a certain number of grams per day.

The science behind the high protein, low carbohydrate craze is that carbohydrates make your blood sugar levels rise quickly and fall quickly, making you hungry again within a short amount of time. Furthermore, the more refined the food is (ex: white bread is more refined that whole wheat bread), the quicker this process will happen. Also, you can eat more protein than carbohydrates for the same amount of calorie intake. For example, 2 slices of whole grain bread equal about 140 calories, on the other hand, 3 oz. of chicken also equals about 140 calories. So, if you were only allowed 140 calories, which would you rather have?

To conclude, since most high protein diets require that you cut out carbohydrates totally for a few weeks -- and then slowly reintroduce whole grain carbohydrates -- some people feel that these diets can hurt a person's health. Doctors have not found that these diets are particularly harmful to healthy adults, but have suggested that children, teens, and those with health conditions (such as diabetes) consult a physician before trying a high protein diet.

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