The Atkins diet was extremely popular in the early 2000s and is often considered one of the forefathers of the Paleo diet and other recent low-carb diet plans. Anecdotally, many swear by low-carb diets, but is there any concrete science to support the idea that consuming fewer carbs leads to weight loss and better health? The general idea is that eating carbohydrates increases insulin levels, which promotes fat storage. There is some truth to the insulin hypothesis, but hard science paints a much more complicated picture. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get the original essay The prevailing belief behind low-carb diets is that consuming carbohydrates causes the release of insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas. . All carbohydrates, whether fructose found in fruits or complex starches found in beans or grains, are broken down into glucose molecules in the body by the intestines and liver. Insulin binds to cell receptors and helps transport glucose into cells. Excess carbohydrates, broken down into glucose inside the body, are stored as fat, so eating too many carbohydrates leads to weight gain. Using this basic assumption about insulin, low-carb diets limit the amount of carbohydrates consumed and encourage increased consumption of fats and proteins. Basically, insulin is the real villain here, operating in the shadows and fueled by carbohydrates. In order to suppress insulin production, you limit the consumption of carbohydrates and therefore excess carbohydrates cannot be stored as fat and the weight disappears. The problem with the insulin hypothesis is that fat and protein also stimulate an insulin response. Essentially, insulin's role in your body is to regulate different nutrients, primarily glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids found in your blood. Dietary fats and proteins are broken down in the body into fatty acids and amino acids. While the fat you have already stored is burned as a last resort by your body, insulin will direct circulating proteins, fats, and carbohydrates to be burned for energy in equal amounts. If you were to consume 100 calories of protein, fat, or carbs, insulin would suppress fat burning and use up one of the circulating fuels. Since they are all in equal amounts, theoretically, consuming 100 calories of protein per 100 calories of carbohydrates should make no difference in terms of fat storage. According to the first law of thermodynamics, the low-carb/insulin hypothesis must prove that insulin somehow causes a decrease in energy intake with less carbohydrate consumption. Studies have shown that meals high in protein can stimulate insulin production equal to or greater than meals high in carbohydrates. Other studies have observed that the greater the degree of insulin release, the greater the levels of satiety. This contradicts the idea that high carbohydrate intake leads to increased food consumption due to dramatic insulin spikes. Additionally, although high-carbohydrate meals cause a higher insulin response than high-fat meals, it has been observed that satiety is more or less the same. In animal studies,..