Atkins Diet Talk

Study shows low-fat diet helps keep weight down

By Rob Stein
Washington Post

Eating less fat does not magically melt flab away, as some had hoped, but it does not necessarily lead to weight gain, either — as some diet promoters had claimed — according to the first study to follow a large number of people who cut their daily fat intake over a long period.

The study of more than 48,000 women who were followed for about seven years found that those who adopted a lower-fat diet initially lost about five pounds but gained back all but about two pounds. A comparison group who did not change their diet stayed about the same…

…Because the women in the diet replaced their fat calories with calories from carbohydrates, mostly in the form of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, the study also undermines the idea that cutting carbohydrates is the key to weight loss — an idea that has been promoted in the Atkins diet and other popular regimens, Howard said…

Weight Loss - The Atkins Diet
by Jay Bauder

The Atkins diet, without a doubt, has been the most controversial diet of all time. Seldom does a week go by that the news media does not mention the Atkins diet.

The Atkins diet, first introduced in 1972 by cardiologist Dr. Robert Atkins, is considered the most extreme of the low carb diets. Hundreds of research studies by universities and research teams throughout North America, Europe, and Asia have been conducted on the Atkins diet.

The Atkins diet, as with any diet program, has its good and bad points - but, whatever side you are on, one thing is for sure. Dr. Atkins, and the Atkins diet, has done for the diet and nutrition industry what Mohammad Ali did for the boxing industry. Dr. Atkins created new awareness and introduced new concepts that will forever affect how we look at diets for weight loss as well as diets for health. Although the low carb diet was first written about in the late 1800’s, low carb dieting truly came to life with the birth of the Atkins diet.

Let’s take a look at three good and bad points of the Atkins diet.

Atkins diet - the good stuff

1. THE ATKINS DIET BURNS FAT FASTER THAN ANY OTHER DIET The human body is designed to use two different fuels to sustain life - glucose from carbs or ketones from fat. Glucose is the primary fuel, fat the backup. Every weight loss diet is based on the concept of burning fat. Conventional diets generally are designed to burn fat by starvation - by eating fewer calories than you use every day. This causes the body to dip into its reserve energy source - the fat surrounding your abdomen and your thighs first.

The Atkins diet approaches fat burning a different way. It limits the glucose (carb) intake so the body adjusts itself to using ketones (fat) as its primary fuel. Normally within three to four days of starting, your body is literally a fat burning machine on the Atkins diet.

2. THE ATKINS DIET DOESN’T LEAVE YOU HUNGRY Unlike most conventional diets, the Atkins diet is not based so much on calorie intake. Dr. Atkins does, however, warn that you should not stuff yourself but only eat until satisfied. Also, since you are replacing carbs with protein, and the main protein source is meat, a high percentage of each meal will consist of meat and fat. Meat and fat are more fulfilling and much slower to digest. Not only do you feel more satisfied at dinner, but it will stay with you longer on the Atkins diet.

3. THE ATKINS DIET IS SAFE AND HEALTHY The vast majority of studies show the Atkins diet to be extremely healthy, in comparison to other conventional weight loss and lifestyle diets. Nearly every study shows the Atkins diet the winner in reducing cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. In addition, many cases of acid reflux, sleep apnea, and diabetes have either had the symptoms reduced or completely disappear while on the Atkins diet.

Also, you’ll often hear “we have no way of knowing the long term safety of low carb diets”. Fact is, the Atkins diet has been around for over 30 years - longer than most other weight loss programs. Although first written about at the end of the 19th century, the low carb diet has actually been around for centuries prior to that.

How so? The North American Eskimo. Their diet has primarily been no or very low carbs. Yet chronic diseases that are epidemic today, such as diabetes and heart disease, were practically unknown among the Eskimos. At least this was true until they were introduced to sugar and white flour. The Eskimos have been well studied and found to be a healthy and hardy bunch, even after centuries of living on a low carb diet. Yes - a low carb diet much more extreme than even the Atkins diet.

Atkins Diet - The Bad Stuff

1. THE ATKINS DIET BURNS FAT TOO QUICKLY The primary concern here is toxic overload. When toxins enter you body, either from environmental sources or from additives in prepared foods, your body’s defense mechanism will quickly try to eliminate them through the liver and kidneys. Quite often the overload is such that the body will also hide some of these toxins in your fat cells. When burning fat these toxins are released again into your bloodstream. You can experience toxic overload when you burn fat too fast, as in the first weeks or months of the Atkins diet.

2. THE ATKINS DIET CAUSES FATIGUE Yes, initially it does - for a couple of reasons. First, switching fuels from glucose to ketones is stressful to the body. It’s a drastic change in your metabolism. You might say it’s similar to mild drug withdrawal. Many people actually do have a “carb addiction” and not even realize it. Secondly, as we learned a minute ago, your body will quite likely be working hard dealing with toxic overload if burning fat too fast, as early in the Atkins diet.

3. THE ATKINS DIET LACKS GOOD NUTRITION Plant life is the basic nutritional source for all living creatures, including humans. When an animal eats plants, some of the nutrients, such as calcium and other minerals, are sent to different parts of the body where needed. And even if we eat an animal from nose to tail, including the bones, we are still missing some of these nutrients and essential enzymes that are burned up in the metabolic process. Good nutrition suffers when we drastically limit carbs, particularly with the induction phase of the Atkins diet.

Atkins Diet - Is It Right for You?

The Atkins diet has been proven safe, effective and Dr. Atkins’ nutritional concepts are basically sound. This is probably the best choice for fast weight loss for an upcoming wedding or cruise - or to jump start your new life. A lot of water and a GOOD vitamin supplement are strongly recommended with ANY diet, but particularly with the Atkins diet.

The Atkins diet can be adjusted to a less aggressive program if you have a lot of weight to lose and wisely choose to lose the pounds more slowly over a longer period of time. This would be less stressful, much healthier and give the stretched skin a chance to shrink. Skipping the induction phase is one way. You may find this more sustainable over the long haul using the Atkins diet.

One important key to health and success with any low carb diet is to make every carb count by choosing nutrient dense live carbs. These include fresh vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and green beans. This is critical where total carbs are very limited - such as with the first two stages of the Atkins diet.
About the Author

Jay is the web owner of weight-loss.biz/weight-loss-online Weight Loss Online, a website that provides information and resources on nutrition, weight loss programs, and fitness. You can also visit his website at: diet-pill.info/diet-program for Diet Program

Pros and cons of low-carb diet plan
By Liz Friedrich, For The Salisbury Post

Q. Is the Atkins diet safe? Will it help me lose weight?

A. For those who don’t know, Atkins is a popular high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet. In a nutshell, the diet recommends you eat fewer carbohydrates, regardless of the source. That means much more than avoiding foods containing sugar. Even some healthful foods such as breads and cereals, rice, pasta, and many fruits and vegetables (all sources of carbs) are off limits on the Atkins plan.

Short-term use of the Atkins diet will probably not damage your health unless you have kidney problems. However, some unpleasant side effects of Atkins include bad breath, muscle cramps, constipation or diarrhea and exhaustion. While not major health concerns, they will affect your quality of life while you are dieting.

I don’t recommend extended use of the Atkins plan for several reasons. Nutrition experts believe that long-term Atkins followers are putting their hearts at risk. Atkins dieters typically eat too much fat, saturated fat and dietary cholesterol. While there is no direct link between Atkins and an increased risk for heart attack or stroke, there have also been no long-term studies on the effects of the diet.

The diet plan suggests taking vitamin supplements to replace nutrients lost by cutting out most fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables pack such a nutrition wallop (vitamins, minerals, fiber, and natural “phytochemicals” that can prevent heart disease and cancer, for example) that limiting them just doesn’t make sense from a health standpoint…

Herbalist States Low-Carb Causes ‘Irreversible Damage’
Gina Lindhardt argues that livin’ la vida low-carb is “toxic” to your health

One of the more interesting aspects of this blog for me is reading what people think about the low-carb lifestyle from every angle possible. Call me a glutton for punishment, but I actually revel at the opportunity to read the incredibly ignorant comments from people who claim to have all the answers about what good nutrition should be. My enjoyment comes in breaking down the ludicrous assertions these people make by just sharing the truth about low-carb.

This Hurricane (UT) Valley Journal story by a woman named Gina Lindhardt certainly fits the bill. Bless her heart, Lindhardt thinks she has got the low-carb lifestyle pegged with her little op-ed column. I hate to burst her bubble, but she is probably one of the most extremist opposers to livin’ la vida low-carb that I’ve seen with the lies and misinformation she communicates in this story…

Which diet is best? The one that works for you (BruDirect.com)
Nearly two-thirds of American adults are overweight, and most are anxious to do something about it. Which begs the question: Which diet is best?

Consumer Reports recently rated Weight Watchers and the Slim-Fast programs as tops in achieving long-term weight loss.

But in another study, published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers compared four popular plans — Weight Watchers, Atkins, Zone and Ornish — and found no substantial weight loss difference at one year, with pounds lost ranging from 4.6 to 7.3.

The researchers concluded that devotion to the diet is more important than the actual diet regimen itself…

Atkins tries to educate consumers about added sugars
Given that the average individual consumes 158 pounds of sugar a year, many health proponents at Atkins are educating the population to read the labels on their power bars and energy drinks…

If the product is labeled “low-carb,” be sure there are no added sugars; moreover, if it contains sugar alcohols, be sure they don’t exceed 20 grams, which can cause some people gastrointestinal discomfort. Identifying added sugar The Nutrition Facts panel will tell you whether there are sugar grams in a product, but it does not separate added sugars from those that are naturally occurring and integral to the product…

Rat study helps scientists catch up with the Atkins diet (Guardian Unlimited)
Finally, a scientific explanation for why eating endless steaks on the Atkins diet helps people lose weight: the masses of extra protein send messages to the brain to stop eating.

“The current findings provide an answer to the question of how protein-enriched meals decrease hunger and reduce eating, unsolved up to now,” said the researchers in a paper published today in Cell Metabolism.

According to Robert Atkins, the late founder of the most famous of the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets that were hugely popular a year ago, the eating plan works because cutting down on carbohydrates prevents insulin peaks which cause sugar to be stored as fat, and increasing protein intake makes the kidneys work harder, using up more calories…

Atkins tries to educate consumers about added sugars
Given that the average individual consumes 158 pounds of sugar a year, many health proponents at Atkins are educating the population to read the labels on their power bars and energy drinks. Often, "energy" and "health" bars are twice as sugary as donuts and include dangerous processed (white) sugars.

Which Diet Is Best? The One That Works for You
Weight-loss plans should be paired with success strategies, experts say

Nearly two-thirds of American adults are overweight, and most are anxious to do something about it. Which begs the question: Which diet is best?

Consumer Reports recently rated Weight Watchers and the Slim-Fast programs as tops in achieving long-term weight loss.

But in another study, published earlier this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers compared four popular plans — Weight Watchers, Atkins, Zone and Ornish — and found no substantial weight loss difference at one year, with pounds lost ranging from 4.6 to 7.3.

Australian scientists find low-carb diet leads to permanent weight loss
A study released by two Australian scientists found that a low-carb, high-protein diet guaranteed permanent weight loss. Though the scientists called the popular Atkins diet a “fad,” their findings supported the nutritional basics of the Atkins diet. The study, which the scientists completed in 2003 and only released last week, comes at a time when more and more people are shunning the low-carb lifestyle.

Well, that’s exactly what two Australian scientists claim regarding their “new” weight loss plan.

After conducting their own research on the various diet plans out there, these scientists found that a diet with a lot of protein, which comes primarily from beef, chicken, fish, pork and daily products, and lower in carbohydrates were found to be “significantly more successful in terms of heart health, appetite control and weight loss.”

It wouldn’t be a media story about health and nutrition without somebody bashing Atkins, would it?

Lumping the Atkins diet in with other “fad diets,” such as the grapefruit diet, the cellulite diet and the Pritikin diet, the story claims these only work for a limited number of people and have not had any extensive studies conducted on them to test their effectiveness…

Kraft’s prepackaged South Beach Diet foods high in sodium, experts say
Kraft Foods’ new South Beach Diet prepackaged food products are dangerously high in sodium, experts say. The products contain 950-1,530 mg of sodium each. The American Heart Association recommends not exceeding 2,000 mgs of sodium in an entire day, and claims the South Beach Diet foods put consumers at a greater risk of high blood pressure. Florida cardiologist Arthur Agatston, inventor of the diet, says the products will decrease obesity, which outweighs concerns over too much sodium intake.

Author Declares Freedom From Un-Wanted Bodyfat by Following the Low GI Diet (PR Web via Yahoo! News)
“The Low G.I. Breakthrough Diet,” a new e-book by Wesley Atkins, finally makes the low glycemic lifestyle easy and accessible for anyone. “The low glycemic index diet has improved my health immensely, but I know a lot of the information published about it so far has been confusing and unnecessarily complex,” Atkins said today. “This book is written from the trenches, from someone who has tried a lot of the diets out there. As far as I’m concerned, this is the only one that works because it’s based on sound science and tasty foods.”

“The Low G.I. Breakthrough Diet” is designed to cut through the mysteries of applying low glycemic eating to daily life. Blood sugar is explained in no nonsense language that makes healthy eating easier than ever. Besides the basics, the book includes recommendations for snacks and how to stay on the diet when eating out with friends. The book also contains various exercises and recommendations for fitness programs, including brick workouts, that are necessary to maintain the low G.I. lifestyle and attain optimal health.

“I wanted to simplify the diet,” Atkins said, “offering readers the benefit of my years of experience as a fitness and nutrition coach.” After applying the principles outlined in his book for the past 4 years, Atkins has maintained his ideal weight and has achieved a high level of personal fitness.

Spreading Yourself Too Thin: The Atkins Diet and Other Fads (Knowledge at Wharton)
The July bankruptcy of Atkins Nutritionals, the company founded by diet guru Robert Atkins, signalled the end of a low-carbohydrate craze some observers say is unrivalled in food marketing. At its peak, during 2003-2004, some 30 million Americans were following the Atkins diet; 20% of shoppers polled by the Food Marketing Institute said they had started buying certain products specifically because they were low-carbohydrate; and food manufacturers introduced more than 3,000 new low-carb products in 2003 alone.

Like any product fad — from Pet Rocks to Beanie Babies — the Atkins craze was marked by a rapid rise in popularity and an equally rapid decline, both of which were predictable. “Over the last century, fads in this country have displayed traceable life cycles,” says Ira Meyer, head of Manhattan-based EPM Communications and publisher of an EPM study on fads that analyzed 100 products from as early as 1880 (Gibson girls) to as late as 1998 (virtual pets)…

Cereal companies benefit from popularity of whole grain foods (News Target)
Reporting a recent surge in profits, General Mills cited cereal sales as one strengthened area, and a company spokesman pointed to the end of the Atkins diet era and the beginning of a whole grain food craze as contributing factors..

Clearing your plate of empty nutrition (Vail Daily)
EDWARDS - When Lulu Garton owned Curves in Edwards, a women’s fitness center, she found herself talking more about food than she was excercise. The women she was advising were trying to lose weight, and thus trying every diet fad out there.

“They were on Atkins among others, which isn’t healthy for you,” Lulu said. “I was constantly trying to convince them to get off the diets and just eat whole foods to feel healthier and lose weight.”