Atkins diet gets a backing
from the laws of thermodynamics!
Washington, Aug 17(ANI)
Two U.S. researchers are
further lending credence to low-carb diets by using the laws of
thermodynamics to argue
that calories from protein are better for losing weight than those from
carbohydrates.
The argument is supported by an experiment conducted by Arne Astrup of
Denmark's Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen which
found that those on a diet rich in pork protein burned more energy than the
ones on a higher carbohydrate diet because they lost more energy as heat.
According to a report in Nature, Richard Feinman of the State University of
New York and Eugene Fine of Jacobi Medical Center in New York are using the
laws of thermodynamics: fundamental rules that describe how heat, work and
energy change in a system to validate their hypothesis.
Dwelling upon the second law of thermodynamics which says that energy
spontaneously disperses if it is not hindered, Feinman and Fine point out
that protein and carbohydrate are metabolized in different ways and their
energy is therefore dispersed in different forms. When protein is broken
down by the body, for example, more energy is released as heat than is
converted into chemical energy.
They argue that while a hunk of steak and a slice of bread may carry equal
calories, the amount of energy the body actually gleans from them, to fuel
movement or store as fat, is different. "To say a calorie is a calorie all
the time is false," Feinman said.