Posted on 03/07/2007 5:16:41 AM PST by shrinkermd
This is from the Journal Of American Medical Association published on 7 March 2007. The authors are Christopher D. Gardner, PhD et al and the study was sponsored by Stanford University.
This is a prospective study of these diets. The Atkins Diet is very low carbohydrate. The LEARN DIET is a comprehensive lifestyle, excercise, attitude and relationship approach that includes a diet low in fat and high carbohydrate. The Ornish Diet is very high in carbohydrates. The Zone Diet is low in carbohydrate. These diets are popular and can be easily Googled.
Seventy or more premenopausal women randomly assigned to each diet. They were instructed in the diet over two months and the final determination of efficacy was made at 12 months.
The Atkins diet lost more weight and had more favorable metabolic effects than the other three diets. At the end of 1 year women in the Adkins cohort lost, on the average, 4.7 kilograms (10.4 lbs);the others scaled down from this figure. Similar results were found at 6 months and also for the trigylcerides and other measurements
I think low carb is the way to go. Even South Beach is pretty low carb but if you have more than just a few pounds to lose, Atkins is best.
This is another article about low carb.
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=6800
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03072007/news/nationalnews/atkins_is_best_weigh_nationalnews_david_k__li.htm
ATKINS IS BEST 'WEIGH'
AMA FINALLY APPROVES
By DAVID K. LI
THE SKINNY: A study found Atkins was most successful diet for young and middle-aged women.
THE SKINNY: A study found Atkins was most successful diet for young
and middle-aged women.
March 7, 2007 -- The Atkins Diet is back - and this time with the beefy backing of American Medical Association researchers.
The much-maligned, carb-cutting weight-loss plan gained grudging approval in yesterday's Journal of the American Medical Association, which published findings that showed women shedding pounds under Atkins.
"Many health professionals, including us, have either dismissed the value of very low carbohydrate diets for weight loss or been very skeptical of them," said lead researcher Christopher Gardner, an assistant professor of medical research at Stanford University.
"But it seems to be a viable alternative for dieters."
Despite JAMA's reserved praise for Atkins, critics said they've never doubted that an all-meat diet spurs immediate weight loss.
"I don't think anyone should be surprised by this, that some people find it easier to lose weight by getting rid of whole categories of food," said NYU nutrition professor Marion Nestle. "But is it a long-term strategy? Absolutely not!"
A pound of bacon today will end up as a pound on your body tomorrow, the NYU prof said.
"I know loads of people who lost a lot of weight [on Atkins] - and they all gained it all back, every single one of them," Nestle insisted.
The JAMA study put Atkins up against three other popular diets: the low-carb Zone, high-carb Learn and low-fat, high-carb Ornish diets, measuring them for weight loss in 300 young and middle-aged women.
Atkins followers shed an average of about 10 pounds in a year, besting the U.S. government guideline-backed Learn (average weight loss of six pounds), Ornish (five pounds) and Zone (3.5 pounds).
Blood pressure and cholesterol also appeared to stay in check, despite the mass fat intake of Atkins, researchers said.
But to lose weight on Atkins, followers had to stay true to the anti-sugar restrictions, trading in soda pop for water.
"One of the concerns that health professionals have had about these very low carbohydrate diets is that, possibly, the high fat content would be bad for people in terms of their cholesterol levels or their blood pressure," Gardner said.
"Cutting out those simple refined carbohydrates [is key] - the white bread, the white rice, the high-fructose corn syrup, the soda pop."
A diet is worthless if you just gain the weight back again. Adkins is more of a fast
That would apply to any diet that's working for you. Return to your old eating habits and you will more than likely regain what you lost.
As for Atkins being a fast - the things "fasted" away were sugars, breads, pastas, and some fruits. Between the proteins, vegetables, and better oils (such as olive oil), the cravings go away.
Sorry,can't agree with you.I did Atkins for some time and it worked for me and worked well.I lost weight...dare I say...easily,thanks to combining regular exercise with the diet.
In a nutshell,my doctor at the time (a graduate of Harvard Medical School practicing at a major Boston hospital) said that Atkins works because protein (which is what Atkins is all about) is more effective than anything else in turning off the "switch" in the brain that tells us that we're hungry and,as a result,you take in fewer calories.
People who do not read the facts about Atkins are really under a misconception of what Atkins really does. For one thing, Atkins burns fat instead of surger because you are not taking in high carbs which convert to surger. How do we know this? We've been on Atkins for 10 years, we're lean and mean and our doctors keep encouraging us to keep on Atkins. Physicians encourage patients with Diabetes and Heart problems maintain a diet on Atkins.
The only problem I have with Atkins is my own lack of imagination. I can never think of enough things to add varity to my diet and end up eating the same thing over and over until I get sick of it.
please tell us your thoughts on scam diets, I mean Atkins.....
A diet is worthless if you have to take 'supplements' to get missing nutrients. The standard, even with brittle diabetics on tube feedings and sliding scale insulin is no less than 45% of kcal from CHO, 25% of Kcal from PRO and 30% from fat.
Oh yeah, and 35gm of fiber, adequate calcium, Vitamin C and iron :)
LOL!
You are so bad.
Thanks for the heads up.
"All I am saying is that people who develope the food pyramid are pretty smart people"
Actually - the food pyramid is horrible and largely created to appease lobbyist interests. LOTS of money went into making breads and grains the largest group. They may be smart, but they also knows who butters their bread, so to speak.
I call BS.
I was around when the FP was being planned and discussed. Money wasn't an issue. Input from the American Cancer, Diabetes and Heart associations were. As well as about 2 decades of clinical findings supporting the structure. The goals were to increase overall fiber and plant food intake to meet nutritional needs and decrease intake of saturated fat and refined sugars.
The lobby that was hitting the hardest and the meanest was the US Beef Board. They make big tobacco look like pansies.
Scary group of folks.
You can call BS, but you're wrong.
When Atkins and South Beach were at their peaks a year or two ago, the USDA was reviewing the pyramid. The corn and wheat lobbies were all over the place, even placing ads on local televison (we get tons of lobbyist ads in the DC market. Beef wasn't nearly as aggressive - they didn't need to be, everyone was buying into high protein, low carb. Corn and wheat had sponsored articles in the Post, the Times, all over.
If you really doubt the power of the corn lobby, look at the ethanol requirements. They don't really solve any problems enviornmentally, but we're all required to use it now.
NEVER trust anything that the gov't puts out as required or "recommended". It's always cash-based.
You'd be surprised. In DC, money talks - not much else.
The only thing more powerful than cash in the dc gov't is pet agendas of the party in power, and even then it's back to who donates the most to campaigns and the party.
I've only been in DC for 4 years, but it's been more than long enough to open my eyes to the BIG difference between inside the beltway mentality and the rest of the country.
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