The gorillas in the midst of an Atkins diet plan: When fruit is scarce they load up on protein

By FIONA MACRAE

When fruit was thin on the trees, the gorillas gorged on protein-rich leaves, meaning that protein accounted for 30 per cent of their calories


Some might look like they could do with losing a few pounds, but it is unlikely your average gorilla has much idea about slimming.

That said, researchers have found a group of great apes are unwittingly following the Atkins diet.

A study shows that when fruit is scarce, mountain gorillas follow a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, similar to the Atkins plan followed by slimmers worldwide.

When fruit is plentiful, their diet is still protein-rich, but is more similar to that recommended by heart charities for health.

The observation comes from researchers who spent a year watching gorillas at Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the Royal Society journal Biology Letters reports.



When fruit was thin on the trees, the gorillas gorged on protein-rich leaves, meaning that protein accounted for 30 per cent of their calories.

But between February and March and from June to July, when fruit was easy to find, protein made up just 16 per cent of their diet.

Jessica Rothman, of the City University of New York, said the balance during fruit periods was close to the current recommendations of the American Heart Association.

‘By contrast, when leaves dominated diets, 31 per cent of total energy is consumed as protein, a value close to the upper energy limit recommended for humans and similar to high-protein weight loss diets.’

The Atkins diet, which promoted swapping white bread and potatoes for fry-ups and steaks, was followed by millions.

However, it fell out of favour after being dogged by side-effects such as constipation and claims it could increase the risk of heart disease.


source: dailymail