Went in for my checkup to see my rolypoly gyn turned all lean and buff--so I tried what he had.
Most of the criticisms I've read of the Atkins plan boil down to "post hoc, ergo propter hoc." That means if you shake hands with someone and they drop dead, handshaking is very dangerous...
There has been no establishment of increased renal failure by healthy people doing Atkins. Those with kidney disease should not try Atkins--
There was some discussion that Atkins might cause gall bladder disease, but all overweight people (especially women in the "four f's" category--Fat, Forty, Fair and Fertile) are at increased risk. If you lose weight, also, you are at increased risk of gall bladder disease. So naturally there's a lot of GBD numbers floating around any diet.
Some new studies indicate a possibility that locarb eating (and that means more fat and protein) increases the "good" cholesteral and decreases triglycerides. But we need a good look at that.
There is an epidemic of Type II diabetes in this country--this used to be called Adult Onset diabetes until it became epidemic among children. --Just in the past few years, mind you. Video games get the blame, but I'm betting it's the twinkies.