Study finds Atkins diet healthier than thought

The Seattle Times ^ | 11/20/02 | Daniel Q. Haney

[DSHambone]

Get Dr. Atkins book to start, supplements(sp)are required, its about changing what your body does for energy. If you're not ready to forgo the potatoes & bread (i.e. simple carbohydrates) then pass on the diet.

For me - less mood swings, no glucose spikes, and no ingestion (that alone makes it worth the price of no pecan pie).

Now if I could just get this almond monkey off my back!!!!

[DSHambone]

that's no indigestion - at night or anytime.

[Rifleman]

And REALLY don't stint on the green leafy veggies or you will have plumbing problems that will require that you drill bore holes and blast. Roughage is our friend.

[ConservativeDude]

honestly I don't need this for weight...but i really like everything i hear about it...would love more energy, etc.

should i still consider?

[DSHambone]

The Ceasar salad (sans crutons) is your friend - Steak Ceasars, Chicken Ceasars, Fish Ceasars.
Brocolli, Greens, and the champion of all vegatables - OKRA are your friends - Cabots Extra Sharp Cheddar, Maries Blue Cheese Dressing, and Starbucks House Blend w/ Heavy Whipped Cream.....never again do you have to have beans in your chilli....

[GretchenEE]

Multitudes swear by the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, and now a carefully controlled study backs them up: Low-carb may actually take off more weight than low-fat and may be surprisingly better for cholesterol, too.

I am in the "swearing" multitudes. I love Dr. Atkins for standing up to the nonsense and taking the hits so people such as I, with hypoglycemia and related insulin problems, could find out how to be, and BE, healthy and maintain a proper weight.

Dr. Atkins ROCKS!

[DSHambone]

Only after the two week induction and one week maintenance will you be able to answer the question. I think cutting simple sugars is good for everybody - eating green & leafy vegatable is good for folks too - get the right & enough vitamins is important is also crtitical....and Dude you didn't claw your way up the food chain to eat only rabbit food!!!!!

[grimalkin]

How to do Atkins: http://atkinscenter.com/howto/index.html

[GretchenEE]

In lieu of reading Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, go to his web site and troll around: AtkinsCenter.com. You'll find summary data there. Pull one string and see where it leads. Eventually, if you are really hungry to know, you'll pull enough strands to put things together to make sense and be applied in your daily life.

My main advice: also be sure to drink lots of water - he recommends eight, eight-oz. glasses a day (I carry a squeeze bottle around all day), and exercise, even if it's only what he advocates -- walking 30 minutes a day. And if you've taken lots of antibiotics over the years, you probably have Candida albicans, a normally-occurring bacteria in the digestive tract that, when allowed to thrive because of antibiotic use, will make you crave sweets and carbs. The solution for me: I take Oil of Oregano drops daily (about 12 a day under the tongue). Atkins recommends this; it kills off the Candida. If I don't take Oreganol, even though I'm strictly following Atkins' diet, I will experience some craving.

[Sam Cree]

I am pretty sure you are allowed some fruit.

I am on a low carb diet similar to Atkins, but I eat fruit, I just avoid starch and sugar, esp. refined sugar.

I stay at the weight I want pretty easily and feel lots better than when I was on lo fat.

[GretchenEE]

Twenty grams of carbs a day means no bread, no tatoes, no rice, no crackers, no cake, no cookies, no ice cream, no sugar, and especially at first, very limited amounts of certain fruits.

It does mean: as much protein as you need, a moderate amount of veggies, and fat (like olive oil to saute' chicken and onions, or butter on your steak as it's cooking, frying or scrambling eggs in butter, etc.)

For specific carb measurements, you will find them in Atkins books, or at his web site, http://www.atkinscenter.com . I was shocked at how many carbs are in some foods -- and studied the list at first, so I'd be able to regulate myself when the book and I were parted. It's easy to be quite sated and have NO carbs a day. (Total carbs required per day: zero!)

[PLK]

The two best books, in my opinion, are:

1. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, by Dr. Robert C. Atkins
2. Protein Power, by Dr. Michael R. Eades and Dr. Mary Dan Eades.

They are both in paperback. The diet is very easy to follow.

[iceskater]

Before you can say "vindication" not only do we need to see a larger study but also we need to see its effects on cancer and kidneys

And several studies that aren't paid for by Adkins. The anecdotal evidence is very positive. I know quite a few people who've been very successful in losing weight using this plan. But I would like to see some more objective studies. Maybe the NIH study mentioned in the article will provide that evidence. Or then, it could be biased against Adkins.

[Once-Ler]

I've had the same results...no popping tums every night, and I've lost 60 pounds over the last 8 months.
I would have lost more if I didn't cheat on the diet every so often.
The AHA has got a lot of 'splainin to do.
They've pushed a low fat/high carb diet for 40 years and America is fatter than ever.

[Milwaukee_Guy]

My wife has lost 75 pounds during the last 6 months on Atkins and will -never- go back to Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig.

The Atkins diet is finally getting it's due in the mainsteam media. It is -so- politically incorrect it is -cool-.

Really, who taught us that nuts, legumes, berries, fruit and starch were good? Who taught us that killing and exploiting poor defenseless animals was bad?

That bunch of misguided well intentioned Hippie goofballs we all grew up with during the 60's and 70's. It was and is never about science. It's all about a political statement, about being a "gentle steward" of the enviroment.

Starch and sugars are killers! Eat this stuff and your blood sugar levels are on a chaotic roller coaster ride the whole day long. Do this for 50 years and the baby boomers are overweight, overstressed and dropping like flies with diabetes and heart failure. Sugar and starch literally burn out your body from the cheap fast burning calories.

People need protien and some fat to sustain growth and good body function. Eat too much fat and it is simply EXPELLED. Eat too much fruit and pasta and your body is on hyperdrive. What isn't burned off gets converted STRAIGHT TO FAT.

The Atkins diet is a revolution taking place right before our eyes!

[Milwaukee_Guy]

Very interested in reading about the Oil of Oregano. I work for the Endometriosis Association and many of our members suffer from Candida albicans. We have several Advisors who work with alternative medicine. I'd love to get their take on this.

I'm using my husband's alias since I don't have one of my own. Was very interested to see Dr. Atkins finally getting credit for 30+ years of work. People seem to forget that he's a cardiologist!

I don't have a problem with the Atkins Center funding this work. After reading everything he's written, he's happy to have people research his work, whether he pays for it or not!

I've lost over 75 pounds since March 5. Sure, there have been days when I really want a piece of chocolate or a cookie -- and I've had them -- but I've gone right back on track.

Having been on every other diet around (Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, grapefruit, etc.) I've never been able to lose weight as easily as with Atkins. I have tremendous energy (beginning on day 2 of the diet!) and never suffer from brain fog.

I've been quite fortunate -- my physician wholeheartedly agreed with me trying this diet. I've seen him three times since starting the program and he's been amazed at the reduction in weight, inches (31-3/4" since March 5), and cholesterol. I've always been an overweight person, with low cholesterol, which has amazed my physicians. I had a starting cholesterol of 168, but a triglyceride level over 200. My cholesterol is now 142 and my triglycerides were measured at 32 on my last visit.

Viva la Atkins! I'll never go back to eating tons of sugar, bread, and empty carbs.

Also, try his new book "Dri. Atkins' Quick & Easy New Diet Cookbook." Some great recipes in there. Exotic curries, innovative salads and dressings, and a strange breading recipe (pork rinds, sesame seeds, and pepper ground up fine) to use instead of dredging chicken in flour. Haven't tried it yet but am planning to this weekend.

[Salvation]

I have lost 60 pounds since 3-3-02 on a diet that is similar but not so heavily laden with red meat.

Other components are
80 oz of water a day
Walking 5000 to 10000 steps a day
three balanced meals
tracking ketosis as well as weight
protein snacks in between meals. (I have never been hungry on this diet because of these wonderful protein bars.) I have to ask myself "Is it a candy bar or is it a protein bar?"

All on the web. If you want more information you can FReepmail me.

[ppaul]

...would love more energy, etc. should i still consider?
Yes.
It's the typical carb-laden lunch (and breakfast) that will wipe out your mid-afternoon energy.
Before I started on the Atkins diet, I'd get very sleepy/fatigued in the afternoons.
Now, I'm rearin' to go until nighttime!

[GretchenEE]

I buy Oil of Oregano at a local health foods store. There are two kinds; one doesn't help, the other is mighty, but it is strong and needs to be built up in dose (start with two drops sublingually, hold under the tongue for 30 seconds, then dilute with water before swallowing). How to tell the difference? Get the wild, high-mountain stuff, not the oregano grown in Mexico. The real stuff is extremely aromatic; you can't miss it, even from several feet away. To me it has a soothing aroma. The brand I get is from North American Herb and Spice Company, 1-800-243-5242; the specific product name is Oreganol.

I discovered by accident that if I brush my teeth and then use the drops, I hardly can taste the Oreganol. This may help people who find the taste somewhat overpowering.

As the Oreganol kills off Candida, the body can and usually will experience some side effects as toxins are released into the system, varying with the person, which is another reason to build up the dose. Atkins recommends going to 15-20 drops a day.

Atkins recommends it in his main book (The New Diet Revolution) and it can be located quickly in the index. It has a natural antibiotic effect and can be used topically as well as internally.

[kaktuskid]

Almonds are low in carbs (as are most nuts)...don't forget that fiber is not counted as a carb.