Glucolsis

Articles
The Metabolic Effects of Low-carbohydrate Diets and
Incorporation into a Biochemistry Course

Received for publication, September 7, 2004, and in revised form, January 6, 2005
Wendy Pogozelski‡, Nicholas Arpaia, and Salvatore Priore
From the Department of Chemistry, State University of New York College at Geneseo,
Geneseo, New York 14454

One of the challenges in teachingbiochemistry is facilitating students’ interest in and mastery of metabolism.
The many pathways and modes of regulation can be overwhelming for students to learn and difficult for professors to teach in an engaging manner. We have found it useful to take advantage of prevailing interest in popular yet controversial weight-loss methods, particularly low-carbohydrate diets. The metabolic rationale behindthese eating plans can be linked to glycolysis, the citric acid cycle, lipolysis, gluconeogenesis, ketosis, glycogen metabolism, fatty acid oxidation, and hormonal regulation. When this approach was used in undergraduate biochemistry classes at the State University of New York at Geneseo, students were highly motivated to learn the biochemical principles behind these diets. The following providesinformation about low-carbohydrate diet plans that will enable professors to speak authoritatively on the subject. History and studies regarding efficacy as well as biochemical metabolic effects are included.

Keywords: Metabolism, low-carbohydrate, ketosis, diet.

Learning the metabolic pathways is a challenge for students taking a biochemistry course. The amount of information is vast;details of the pathways are often difficult to remember, and the material is often presented in a “one reaction after another” manner that does little to engage students. To link concepts together, facilitate learning, and help students appreciate the relevance of the material, the biochemistry of popular low-carbohydrate diet plans was integrated into metabolism units in an undergraduate class at theState University of New York at Geneseo. All of the students in the class were familiar with these eating plans, in part due to media sensationalism. Some students or their family members and acquaintances had tried the diets. Therefore, students were highly motivated to learn about these regimens on a biochemistry level.
The following provides information on this topic that can be incorporatedinto lectures or problem sets and can enable professors to speak knowledgeably. Content from the primary literature is cited. General information is derived from a textbook such as Bhagavan’s Medical Biochemistry

THE DIET PLANS.
Obesity is a growing problem throughout much of the world. The 12th European Congress on Obesity reported that 37% of American children, 20% of European children, and10% of Chinese children are overweight [2]. Obesity is even increasing in parts of the developing world. As a result, weight loss methods are widespread and are part of popular culture. A recent study found that 44% of adult American women and 29% of American men are dieting at a given time [3]. In recent years, one of the most dominant and yet controversial dieting trends has involved plans thatrestrict carbohydrate intake. Books describing these low carbohydrate methods have perpetuated best-seller lists for the past three decades, earning millions of dollars for the authors. The most well-known include the Zone Diet
[4], the South Beach Diet [5] and the most famous and most vilified, the Atkins Diet [6, 7]. Dr. Atkins’s books have sold over 45 million copies and, in fact, the 1992edition is one of the top 50 best-selling books of all time. The trend is not limited to North America. Frenchman Michel Montignac, for example, has achieved fame with his own bestselling books advocating a low-carbohydrate plan (Eat Yourself Slim [8]).
Authors of these books, many of whom have medical credentials, try to provide a biochemical basis for the plans that they endorse. As a result,...