The
Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet was
developed by cardiologist Robert Atkins in the 1970's and has
recently been revived, due to his recent book, Dr. Atkins' New
Diet Revolution. The basic diet claim is that only carbohydrates
make a person fat, and strict limitations on carbohydrates of
all types help the body to burn fat.
To accomplish this, you must
eat a diet that is high in total fat and saturated fat. Foods
included are meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, high fat dairy
products like cheese, butter, and cream, oils, nuts, and
artificial sweeteners.
To avoid carbohydrates, the
diet is extremely limited in fruits and vegetables, grains,
beans, and breads, as well as sugar of any type.
Recently, The Atkins Diet
has been getting more attention because it is being studied for
validation of its diet claims. Like many diets, the Atkins Diet
claims that their approach will improve overall health,
including heart health. This runs counter to the large body of
evidence that shows that diets like this that are high in animal
foods and saturated fat raise blood cholesterol and increase
atherosclerosis.
Confused about what kind of diet to follow ?
Consider these key points:
-
The Atkins Diet is
promoted as a weight loss plan. It is reduced in calories,
so people lose weight, just like any other weight loss plan.
-
When a person loses
weight, these things tend to happen: blood cholesterol and
triglyceride levels improve, high blood pressure is reduced,
blood sugar levels improve because insulin resistance
improves, and people feel better. These improvements have
been shown to occur on most weight loss diets, regardless of
the type of diet!
-
For weight loss to be a
permanent success, people need to learn how to make better
food choices and eat within their calorie needs for their
body weight and physical activity needs.
-
The problem with diets
like the Atkins approach that are very high in saturated
fat, or very high in total fat or protein is that they don't
teach a way of eating that will lead to long term health
benefits and a healthy balanced diet with a variety of all
types of nutritious foods. What happens to high fat or high
protein diets once the calories are increased to
maintenance? This is the real question that will decide
whether a diet is "heart healthy" or a good option for
lifelong eating. Once the beneficial effects of weight loss
stops, one is left with a diet that has been shown to be
associated with increased risk of heart disease, high blood
cholesterol, stroke, and certain types of cancer.
-
Diets high in saturated
fat have been linked to other diseases, including most
recently, Alzheimer's disease.
If you are considering a
high fat, high protein diet, find about the effects of these
diets from multiple professional sources. Remember, you can lose
weight on just about any
diet that is reduced in calories. The
reason I do not advocate high fat or very low carbohydrate diets
like the Atkins diet is because they do not promote a healthy,
lifelong pattern of eating, and they teach people to choose
foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol and to eat
calorically dense foods.
It is well established that
once a person reaches a healthy body weight, the best way to
stay there and not re-gain the weight they fought hard to lose
is to follow a balanced diet that includes healthy portions of
nutritious carbohydrates and proteins, and a reasonable amount
of "good" fats, not saturated animal fats.
