20 adults were instructed to eat five meals on five separate days: White bread (all carbs, all worthless), a low-carb bar (The Atkins Advantage Bar, a poor choice I might add), a medium-carb bar (Balance Bar), a high-carb bar (the good ole’ Power Bar…useless, but marketable), and a lowly skinless chicken breast (no carbs at all.)

While it shouldn’t take a scientist to figure out what happened, naturally it did. Hey, our tax dollars at work! The white bread was used as a baseline comparison as it elevated insulin levels sky-high. I wish they would have used a “healthy” carb such as brown rice as a sixth meal. I have seen studies on the insulin secretion of low glycemic carbs such as vegetables and medium GI carbs like brown rice. There’s a huge difference, but that’s another article.

The Results

Low and behold: The high carb bar raised insulin to nearly that of white bread; only about 75% less. The medium carb bar didn’t fair much better—The Balance Bar raised insulin to about 1/3 the level of white bread. The low carb bar? About 1/4 the level of white bread. In short, ALL these bars increased insulin levels, as any food would, but in proportion to the amount of carbohydrate in the bar.

The chicken? Almost twice UNDER the insulin response of white bread. Wow…go figure.

What makes this study worth reporting? Several factors. First, many nutritionists still believe (for some silly reason) that all foods raise insulin levels in roughly the same amounts. This may be true for the genetically gifted, but it certainly isn’t true for the masses. When will they learn?

The success of low carb diets is NOT based on caloric restriction, but upon hormonal response. The lower the carbs, the lower the insulin response…at least in those who have insulin resistance issues. If you’re overweight, chances are that’s you.

When attempting to lose bodyfat, you want to keep your insulin levels at a trickle. Lower levels of insulin in the blood equate to higher levels of glucagon, your body’s fat-mobilizing hormone. You burn more fat when insulin is kept in-check. This is the reason low carb dieting works so well for so many people. Of course it has drawbacks, as does any dietary approach, but research like this clearly shows that a chicken breast has a much lower insulin response than even a LOW carb bar (a bar containing some form of carbohydrate as well as other undesirables such as cheap proteins.)

Second, like my friend Tom Venuto says, “Protein bars are candy bars in disguise.” He’s right. There are very few bars worth eating, especially if you’re trying to rid yourself of that last 10 or so pounds. I’ve all but cut them out except in the event of dietary emergency. (There’s a new bar out by Designs For Health called The Paleo Bar which sounds interesting as it has NO artificial sweeteners at all. I’ll try it and let you know what I think in the next issue.)

Researchers tried to blame the insulin spike in the moderate carb bar (which contains good fats) on a combination of protein and carbs. This is rather silly considering the Balance Bar is FULL of sugar. Now you know why they taste so good. It’s a Snickers® Bar with less carbs.

The bottom line is this: when dieting to lose bodyfat, stick to real food. Some of you can tolerate good carbs like brown rice and grains, most of you cannot. Almost everyone can tolerate lean meats and veggies—the foods that not only produce the lowest levels of insulin but also the highest level of TEF (thermogenic effect of food). The higher the TEF, the greater the amount of energy the body requires to digest and process the food. In short, you’re using more calories just by eating the stuff.

Now that is good diet food!