Posted on 05/20/2004 4:06:54 PM PDT by pcx99
Big news
May 20th 2004 From The Economist print edition
The Atkins diet seems to work, and may bring other health benefits, too
AP
FOR decades, the Atkins diet has been dismissed and disparaged by dieticians, doctors and nutritionists as faddy or dangerous or both. When Dr Atkins himself died in 2003, after slipping on an icy pavement, he had only just started to see the diet he invented considered seriously. This week, though, two papers in the Annals of Internal Medicine confirm earlier studies showing that the diet works, and demonstrate that it brings benefits to those with heart diseases or diabetes.
In both studies, a low-carbohydrate diet of the sort Dr Atkins recommended was compared with a low-fat diet over the course of a year. One of the studies was conducted by researchers at the Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in Philadelphia. Researchers at Duke University did the second, which was funded by the Atkins Foundation, an organisation set up by Dr Atkins to promote his ideas. Both studies found what dieters have known for a while: that weight is lost more quickly on Atkins. After six months, both Atkins groups had lost more weight than their low-fat counterparts. However, by the end of the study, each group of dieters had lost about the same amount of weight.
Although the Atkins diet is laden with protein and contains a plentiful supply of fat, dieters showed an increase in the level of their high-density lipoproteins (so-called “good” cholesterol) and no increase in the level of their low-density lipoproteins (“bad” cholesterol). In addition, people with diabetes had better control of their blood-sugar levels when on Atkins.
The reason that the diet has been the target of consistent abuse from the scientific establishment is that its rules contradict the central pillars of received nutritional wisdom. These are that eating a diet which is low in fat and high in starch reduces the risk to the consumer of developing heart disease and cancer, and also promotes weight loss. Food retailers responded to such advice in the 1990s with low-fat “healthy” options in milk, cheese, spreads, sauces and pre-prepared meals. Pasta and bread were to be favoured over meat-and-two-veg. And if meat was ever to appear in a meal, it was to be trimmed of fat. Atkins, however, says people must ditch the muesli and start tucking into bacon and eggs.
The most telling comment on the two new studies comes from Walter Willett, a nutritionist at the Harvard School of Public Health. In an editorial that accompanies the papers, he says “we can no longer dismiss very-low carbohydrate diets”, adding that “Dr Atkins deserves credit for his observations that many persons can control their weight by greatly reducing carbohydrate intake and for his funding of trials by independent investigators.” Nevertheless, some nutritionists are less than welcoming of the new findings, and are warning about the unknown health effects of following Atkins in the long term, and of nutritional deficiencies in the diet.
Although the ultimate outcomes of the low-fat and low-carbohydrate diets in the experiments were the same, in that people lost similar amounts of weight over the course of a whole year, this is unlikely to deter the hordes of Atkins aficionados who swear by the diet. They argue that it is easier to adhere to (proteins do indeed make people feel fuller for longer), and that they suffer from fewer of the hunger pangs and mood swings that are characteristic of low-fat diets.
Shortly before Dr Atkins died, Larry King interviewed him on his television show. “Do you have a feeling of I told you so?” he asked. Dr Atkins replied, “I've had that feeling all along.”
I'm on a semi low carb diet. Rib-Eyes and beer. Works for me.
I have a pretty radical diet. I eat less and exercise more. I know it sounds crazy, but it works!
Not on it anymore, just staying away from most (not all sugars)
Not on it anymore, just staying away from most (not all sugars)
The people ain't buying what the "experts" are selling.
The situation is analogous to evolutionary theory. The emporer has no clothes.
It may, but that kind of flippant response doesn't address how low-carb diets are superior in fast weight loss and lowering glycemic levels than other diets.
That happens to any group when their cash cow (low-fat diets/the Food Pyramid) dies.
77 lbs gone since last November.
Thanks, Dr. Atkins :)
I think I'll go have a steak or something...
I have one helluva metabolism and work ethic. I eat lots and haven't gained a pound in 15 years. 33 years old, and still am at the weight I was when I graduated high school.
74# for me since October, although I've been on a plateau for about three weeks. All due to LC Atkins diet. My wife has lost over 50# as well.
Thanks and RIP, Dr. Atkins.
Beer has maltose, a kind of sugar, which provokes a strong insulin response. Thus the appelation, "beer belly".
I didn't mean to sound flippant, but humans have consumed a mix of carbs, protein and fats since the dawn of man. Some favor carbs (east Asia, Scandinavia), yet aren't as fat as Americans.
I guess what confuses me is the near religious devotion certain diets inspire. The Atkins diet works for some, doesn't work for others. Same for low-fat diets.
But everyone I know who has went on Atkins lost a lot of weight, lost focus, then gained it all back. That's just my limited experience, but it is what it is. The only thing that works for me is lowering overall calorie intake and increased exercise. If Atkins works for you, more power to ya!
"and of nutritional deficiencies in the diet."
Not a big issue...ever heard of vitamins?
Lite beer is lo-carb.
Every one I know who went on a: Starvation diet, low fat diet, stomach stapling, etc., who were food addicts and never dealt with the root of their problem, gained all/most/some of their weight back.
Actually not. Agriculture only occurred recently as far as man is concerned. Without modern agriculture - corn, corn syrup, sugar beets, sugarcane, potatoes, wheat, rice (wild grains are relatively high fiber low carb and were only available a few months a year) soft drinks, and storage and preservation techniques for fruits, man's diet was very low carb for most of the year. The majority of the inhabitants in the northern hemisphere were in ketosis several months out of the year.
< sarcasm> You mean when they went back to eating what they were eating before, they porked up? Wow Atkins is a complete failure - It doesn't work when you are not on it!!!!< /sarcasm>
Atkins works.
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