We exchange fat for stones

Dmitry Kubrakov, nationwide weekly newspaper "Russia", 02.07.2008 

Since the days of pioneer childhood, a chilling story about the People's Commissar of Food Tsuryup, who once fainted from chronic malnutrition in the Kremlin, has been etched into the memory. Probably, the tragic figure of Comrade Tsuryupa stood before the eyes of the creators of the popular Kremlin diet, as a reminder of what should not be allowed in any case. The task for nutritionists was an arch-complicated one: to make sure that the Kremlin's fattened inhabitants could lose 10-15 kilograms without straining at all and without changing anything in their selfless, ascetic and such an unhealthy lifestyle. And most importantly, no more hungry fainting on the territory of the Kremlin! Nutritionists coped with their task. The number of our fellow citizens hooked on the "Kremlin" is incalculable. And they really lose weight. But at what cost? Nutritionist Anna Belousova agreed to help us in this medical investigation.

Lifelong slimness for 60 cu. e.

First, a few words about how the Kremlin diet works. All products are assigned their own index, points or units, which are nothing more than the content of digestible carbohydrates per 100 g of the product. For example, meat, fish and smoked sausages have 0 points, poultry and eggs from 0 to 1 point, vegetables from 2-3 (cucumbers, rhubarb, lettuce) to 14-16 (corn, potatoes) points. Of the fruits, the poorest is lemon (3 points), and the richest is date (68.5 points). Dairy products also have a wide range: from 1.9 points for low-fat cottage cheese to 56 points for condensed milk with sugar. But cereals, bread, pasta and sweets are off the scale: 50 points for oatmeal "Hercules", and granulated sugar as much as 99.8! Tables on carbohydrate content can be found not only in the Kremlin diet manuals, but also in any modern cookbook.

For a person who wants to lose weight, the authors of the diet recommend eating no more than 40 points a day, it takes from 40 to 60 to maintain weight, and if you gain more than 60 points a day, according to the authors of the diet, weight gain will occur.

Let's try to calculate what you can eat for 40 points, in addition to zero products. So, 40 points = 1 teaspoon of sugar (8 points) and 2 small boiled potatoes (32 points). Here's another option: 200 g of tomato and cucumber salad with sour cream (6,8 points) + 2 oranges (16 points) + a glass of kefir (8 points) + a piece of black bread (10 points). Simple? Yes, if you have a table of products, electronic kitchen scales and a calculator at hand. But what about those who spend most of their time at work and eat in cafes and restaurants?!

Most of the followers of Kremlevka solve the problem simply: in order not to suffer every time with calculations, they build a diet only from products with a minimum index. It turns out that these people have been on an anti-vegetarian meat diet for a long time.

Kremlin advantages

1. The diet allows all kinds of goodies in unlimited quantities: meat, sausage, sausages, salted and smoked fish, even alcohol (whiskey and vodka) having a zero index.

2. High efficiency: almost 80 percent of patients lose weight, some by 2, and some by 15 kg, and in a fairly short time.

Kremlin cons

1. Deprived of carbohydrate sources, the body begins to use fat reserves for energy production and a person loses weight. But fats do not burn completely, but with the formation of metabolic products – ketone bodies. Their excessive accumulation is called ketosis. The development of ketosis causes poisoning of the body. Almost all organs suffer, especially the kidneys, liver, and brain.

2. Restriction of plant foods leads to a shortage of dietary fiber. But the fibers contribute to the binding and excretion of toxic products from the body, ensure the normal functioning of the intestine. In addition, it is plant fiber that serves as food for beneficial bacteria living in the intestine, and its lack can cause the development of dysbiosis.

3. A small amount of fruits and vegetables leads to a deficiency of vitamin C, which is found only in plant products, beta-carotene, bioflavonoids, folic acid, vitamin K, and some B vitamins. But these substances play a very important role in the body: they protect against the effects of free radicals, support the immune and nervous systems, participate in hematopoiesis, provide nutrition to the mucous membranes and connective tissue.

4. Dairy products are also a rare guest on the table of a follower of the "Kremlin", but in vain. After all, cottage cheese, milk, kefir are the best sources of easily available calcium for assimilation, the deficiency of which leads to brittle bones, worsens the condition of nails and teeth, increases the likelihood of allergic reactions.

5. The use of a large number of meat products, which mainly make up the nutrition with this diet, is also not useful. An excess of protein and purines leads to an increased load on the kidneys and can cause the formation of stones in them. Animal fats and cholesterol coming from meat products and sausages have an adverse effect on blood vessels, heart, liver, stimulate the growth and formation of gallstones.

6. Girls obsessed with weight loss mania develop a kind of zombification against the background of the "Kremlin". Having received a good result, many of them can no longer interrupt the diet for fear of returning the lost kilograms. Instead of delicious foods and dishes, they see only the sum of points and try to keep their diet tending to zero.

So it turns out that the Kremlin diet is suitable only for young, healthy and psychologically stable people. But there are not so many of them among obese patients, as luck would have it.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru04.07.2008