Posted on 05/21/2003 2:20:12 PM PDT by Johnny Gage
Two Studies Vindicate Atkins Diet
May 21, 2003 4:00 pm US/Central (AP) A month after Dr. Robert C. Atkins' death, his much-ridiculed diet has received its most powerful scientific support yet: two studies in one of medicine's most distinguished journals show it really does help people lose weight faster without raising their cholesterol.
The research, in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, found that people on the high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet lose twice as much weight over six months as those on the standard low-fat diet recommended by most major health organizations.
However, one of the studies found that the Atkins dieters regain much of the weight by the end of one year.
Atkins, who died April 17 at age 72 after falling and hitting his head on an icy sidewalk, lived to see several shorter studies that found, to researchers' great surprise, that his diet is effective and healthy in the short run.
Although those reports have been presented at medical conferences, none until now has been published in a top-tier journal. And one of the studies in the journal lasted a year, making it the longest one yet.
"For the last 20 years that I've been helping people lose weight, I've been trashing the Atkins diet -- without any real data to rely on," said Dr. Michael Hamilton, an obesity researcher who was not part of either study. "Now we have some data to give us some guidance."
Now, he said, he would neither trash it nor endorse it. "I'm going to say I don't know. The evidence isn't in," he said.
One study ran six months and was conducted by the Veterans Affairs Department; the yearlong study was led by Gary D. Foster, who runs the weight-loss program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Atkins' diet books have sold 15 million copies since the first one was published in 1972. From the start, doctors branded the Atkins diet foolish and dangerous, warning that the large amounts of beef and fat would lead to sky-high cholesterol levels. In both studies, the Atkins dieters generally had better levels of "good" cholesterol and triglycerides, or fats in the blood. There was no difference in "bad" cholesterol or blood pressure. Dr. Frederick F. Samaha of the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, who led the VA study, said both studies indicate that people do lose more weight on Atkins, "but the difference is not great."
The 132 men and women in the VA study started out weighing an average of 286 pounds. After six months, those on the Atkins diet had lost an average of 12.8 pounds, those on the low-fat diet 4.2.
The other study involved 63 participants who weighed an average of 217 pounds at the start. After six months, the Atkins group lost 15.4 pounds, the group on the standard diet 7.
But at the end of a year, the Atkins dieters had regained about a third of the weight. Their net loss averaged 9.7 pounds. The low-fat dieters had regained about one-fifth of the weight, for a net loss of 5.5 pounds.
The year-end difference was not big enough to tell whether it was caused by the diets, Foster said.
About 40 percent of the patients dropped out of each study. And while supporters of the Atkins diet say it is easier to stick with, people on the Atkins regimen were just as likely to drop out as people on the standard diets.
The important finding, Foster said, is that the Atkins diet appears to be a healthy short-term way to lose weight. Nobody has studied it long enough to tell whether it is a healthy way to maintain that loss, he said.
Collette Heimowitz, director of education and research at Atkins Health and Medical Information Services, said people there were not surprised by the weight loss and improved cholesterol.
"But I'm thrilled that serious researchers are taking a hard look at the program, so that health care professionals and physicians would find comfort in offering Atkins as an alternative to the one-size-fits-all hypothesis of low-fat, low-calorie," she said.
The studies did not convince Kathleen Zelman, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
"There's never been any denying that low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets such as Atkins do, absolutely, cause weight loss," she said. "But do they hold up over time and can you stay on them over time?"
From Foster's study, it does not look like it, she said.
5 grams of Carbs per can.
I'm hoping to be able to start walking soon. I've got a number of problems, and I know exercise would help, but my weight is a serious problem. Right now, I'm classified as "morbidly obese." At 6'4" and about 320# (ball park) I need to lose about 120 or more pounds.
It's sad, but in college, while I was never a "jock," I was very physically active. I played on the school lacrosse team, and participated in intramural sprorts, as well as just enjoying games of racketball.
I've got a number of problems that are related to crohns disease, and my medication, prednisone, which I've been on for 18 years. It's led to osteoporosis, and I get stress fractures or worse in my feel when I do much walking. Swimming would be good, but due to other crohns issues, I can't go swimming either. I need to drop some weight, so that I can do some light exercise, which should lead to greater weight loss, so I can do even more strenuous exercise.
When I was really fit, I weighed in at about 210#, but given that I'm no longer going to be that "fit," I'm hoping to get down to about 190#. So I need to lose a "whole person!"
Mark
I prefer chocolate to beer any day of the week.
In Europe low carb diets are used to treat Crohn's disease. Check out life without bread. Also carefully read the candida section in atkins.
Good luck. Oh day 3 and 4 are the worse. You will want some bread or a coke. Rise it out. The prednisone may slow your weight loss but don't give up!
Maybe I'll try the pills next. Thanks again!
Have you tried Remicade? It's worked wonders for my arthritis. You have to get off the prednisone...
Good advice. I thought I had Crohn's. Turned out I had Celiac disease. As many as 1 out of 150 people may have it.
I have Celiac disease and Ankylosing Spondylitis (spinal arthritis), but with a low-carb diet and with Remicade, I look and feel great.
I've tried just about everything, and the only thing that actually subdues the symptoms of the crohns is the prednisone. Even though I'm aware of the terrible things that it's doing to me. I've tried pretty much everything, including entocort and remicade. I went through the 4 treatments, and was only able to get down to 5mg a day before I had a relapse. My normal dose is between 20mg and 30mg / day of prednisone.
Mark
You're not alone about the soy products. I don't think they're good for you either... there was a study done on dogs and soy, but I've never seen one on humans. The dog study - and I can't find it - showed that soy was not good... affected the thyroid levels and other hormones.
The true implications of low carb and resulting low insulin are wide and far reaching. From anti aging to mental health this diet can change peoples lives. I have seen people recover from crippling anxiety that did not respond to any of the wonder drugs. I have seen people throw their antidepressants away, stop using their reflux medicine, recover from extreme allergies, cease being chronically constipated you name it.
The cascade of eicosanoids that result from a high carb omega 6 rich diet play havoc with a significant portion of our population. Between sugar and this I think prosac sales would plummet. Go to pubmed and do a search on PGE (dash)1, 2, and 3 and depression or schitzophrenia etc. The single biggest thing you can do to alter this is lower your insulin levels followed by changing the fat profile you ingest.
As far as "antiaging" diets are concerned all the rage lately is CR "calorie restricted" diets. They just don't get it however. They still try to eat low fat high carb! It is the low insulin level and the resultant increase in HGH, PGE1, PGE3, and IGF1 that makes the difference. They go about it the hard way.
The Eades and Atkins were way ahead of their time.
Your screenname says it all.
Holy smokes! Try a low carb diet for a month then check it. My last glucose was 90...it was in the morning. I had eaten 10 hrs before. In a couple of weeks I'm going to check it after eating two meals. My father has diabetes and he fights it sometimes He was around 120-180 on a low carb diet, but he can't stay away from flour tortillas and bread. He also drinks too much coffee and iced tea. Last time I spoke with him he was around 300 and had started taking medication again.
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