ATKINS ALERT

THE DAILY RECORD ^ | Aug 13 2003 | Keith Mcleod

[carlo3b]

News
ATKINS ALERT

Aug 13 2003

Diet followers at risk, says expert

Keith Mcleod

SLIMMERS following the controversial Atkins diet are gambling with their health, a nutrition expert has warned.

Dr Susan Jebb said it would be "negligent" to recommend the diet, favoured by stars such as Geri Halliwell and Catherine Zeta-Jones, to anyone overweight.

Millions of people around the world have tried the low-carbohydrate, high-protein regime.

But Dr Jebb, of the Medical Research Council's Human Nutrition Research Centre in Cambridge, said its claimed benefits were based on "pseudo-science".

She argued that, despite a number of studies, no one knew what the long- term effects might be.

Dr Robert Atkins, who developed the diet, believed that carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, rice and starchy vegetables made the body produce too much insulin.

He claimed that led to hunger and weight gain.

His answer was to avoid such foods and eat unlimited amounts of fat and protein, leading the body to burn fat.

But Dr Jebb said such a dramatic change in eating habits was a leap in the dark.

For most people, protein accounts for a mere 15 per cent of their calorie intake. But much higher levels are eaten on the Atkins diet.

Dr Jebb said: "We simply do not know the long-term health implications.

"I certainly think we should be adopting a precautionary principle in terms of public health."

Her warning comes two months after two teams of American scientists declared the Atkins diet was effective and safe.

They found that over six months, 63 Atkins slimmers lost almost twice as much weight, an average of one and a half stone.

After a year, the gap had closed though, with the Atkins dieters down to an average weight loss of a stone compared with half a stone for others.

But Dr Jebb said the studies were too limited to provide meaningful evidence.

Dr Atkins died in April, aged 72, after slipping on ice outside his New York office and hitting his head.

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[Trust but Verify]

weight reduction surgery (Liposuction),

Huh? Since when is liposuction surgery for weight loss?

[workerbee]

Yes but that's true of any diet. Any effective diet isn't really a "diet" at all but a modification of behavior -- i.e., you have to change the way you eat forever.

[carlo3b]

Sam, what diet have you followed? Is it a named diet, or a suitable method that you have devised that works for you..what makes it different? I ask, because I have heard of a few of Atkins-lite diets that take a slightly different approack.

[carlo3b]

Why do journalists give people like this any credible attention?

So they can get attention.. :o)

[BibChr]

Let me try to do the math: on the basis of NO studies whatever, this "expert" says that ALL the studies backing Atkins are bogus.

Dang. So all this weight I've lost, the dramatic improvements in my health and feeling of energy and well-being... all illusions! Dang!

Dan

[Judith Anne]

In my opinion, Atkins codified what sensible people have known for decades: if you want to lose weight, cut way back on bread, sugar, potatoes, and pasta. My grandmother advised that to my father, he did, and it worked. He never ate rice, and because he grew up during the Depression, he hated beans...And, as Gran said, eat your roughage (vegetables).

[Jim Noble]

The core of Atkins' insight about CHO consumption, insulin spikes, and belly fat is almost certainly correct. One of the reasons this is confusing is that the insulin spike-obesity trait is not uniform, so some people will have spectacular success with Atkinoid diets and others won't.

The other reason it is confusing is that Atkins did no research to validate his flash insight-he wanted to get rich instead, and he did. This made real nutrition researchers hate him, both because he had no data (good reason) and because he was rich (bad reason). A counterproductive consequence of this hatred was that a low CHO high fat diet was not properly studied until the last few years.

It appears that Atkins' radical (20g) CHO restriction with resultant ketosis is not necessary for this diet to work, 100g of complex CHO or even more is probably just as good and is much more palatable.

The real key is that the FDA "food pyramid" is completely wrong, unsupported by any evidence, and, as implemented by the food industry whose creature it is probably accounts for much of the recent increase in body mass index in this country.

This is always presented by the media as an "Atkins was completely right-Atkins was totally wrong" story, which is not a useful way to think about this (or any other) question.

Atkins was mostly right, did no research to develop an understanding of his observations, and low processed CHO diets will dominate weight loss programs in the future.

And as long as campaign contributions from food producers continue, you won't hear this from the FDA.

[Trust but Verify]

Well, I lost 110 pounds by using the 'gummint's nutritional guidelines'. Watch you serving size, read labels, use reduced carb and reduced fat products whenever possible, eat your veggies and fruits. Add exercise and you have a winning combination. It took me about a year and I have maintained or slowly lost a few more pounds here and there for 3 years now. My doctor marvels at my blood sugar and cholesterol numbers. And I no longer experience heartburn. My motto is "Everything in moderation."

I'm not knocking Atkins or those who have had success with that particular diet, I'm just pointing out that with motivation, you can lose just as much weight and be just as healthy, if not more so, doing it the 'old fashioned way.'

[carlo3b]

IMHO, most of the dietary adivce from the medical establishment is little more than faddy.

Great point, that is what I believe is ATKINS most famous contribution to the health profession, the wakening of the myth, that we don't know anything. Or we know so little as to do more damage than good in lockstep dictates as with NO-FAT, low sodium, COUNT CALORIES, eat fat, concoctions. I believe our bodies react to various stimuli, that in turn create much different results, much like allergies, sinuses, and drug reactions. Just as with fingerprints, we are all unique, and as such we react differently.

[warped]

I've been on atkins for 6 months. I was at 304. I was unable to excercise due to bad joint problems - knees, wrists, etc. I can't bike because I had a wrist ligament reconstruction and have limited range of motion. I couldn't walk because even 20 minutes left my right knee swollen. So, I tried the 2000 calorie low fat diet - no loss and I was irritable. In the last 6 months, I have lost 43 pounds - I'm at 260 now. Because the extra weight did strengthen my legs some, with the 40 off, I can walk an hour a day without pain or swelling. I have tons more energy. My chronic migraine headaches have all but stopped (from 1/month down to 1 in 6 months). I stand a good chance of being down to 200 pounds by Christmas, so if there are some long term risks, weighed against my family history of early heart attacks, I'll take those risks because I know I've already added 10 years to my life.

[Trust but Verify]

you=your

[fortaydoos]

Has it worked for you?

[BibChr]

Tell you what: when I came to the point of saturation, in misery over where I'd gotten, the 1400 pounds (ballpark figure < g >) I'd put on, feeling like an old man, not able to play with my kids -- yeah, the first couple of days were rugged, there were some passing physical things in the first week or so. But now, four months later, I experienced almost immediate (and startling) health benefits and improvement, have dropped a ton (several more to go), almost ten pants sizes, and feel terrific. And I'm virtually never hungry; CERTAINLY never unhappy with the diet, overall.

I was a major, major carb-consumer: ice cream, cookies, fried stuff, breads breads breads, all daily realities.
In fact, I've been heard to say (and am about to be heard to say) something I never though I'd say: I LOVE this diet, and thank God for what Dr. Atkins worked out.

I commend it heartily. No pun intended.

Dan

[lysie]

I know you will have continued success!! Good going!!

[Trust but Verify]

I HAVE to eat carbs in order to get the fiber I need in my diet. My father died of colon cancer and I have a very slow digestive process, which necessitates a diet high in fiber. I eat whole grains and brown rice and a lot of beans. IOW, complex carbs. It has worked very well for me. The proof is going from a size 24W to a size 10.

[SamAdams76]

It's funny how this diet works. You actually crave the foods that you are supposed to eat, like bacon and eggs. I used to prefer a stack of pancakes with lots of syrup in the morning (when I even had breakfast) with side orders of toast. Of course, I was hungry three hours later. Now I can be satisfied with 2 eggs and 3 slices of bacon and not even be hungry at lunchtime. And what's more, I crave those bacon and eggs in the morning. Every now and then, I throw in some cheese, mushrooms and hot peppers, just to mix it up.

Not being hungry all the time is the best part of this diet. When I do go to restaurants, I leave the bread and rolls on the table and wait for my salad (w/olive oil only). I then order extra vegetables instead of the standard rice and potatoes. No restaurant yet has ever given me a problem about this substitution.

Now I was a person who used to eat the whole basket of rolls at restaurants and ask for more! I actually thought that if I filled up on bread, I'd eat less of that "fattening food" (but somehow, I always cleaned my plate anyhow and asked for dessert). That's how brainwashed I used to be about this kind of stuff.

[Judith Anne]

I can understand that, it makes sense. BTW, on Atkins, as I recall, every gram of fiber cancels out a gram of carbohydrates, maybe someone can correct me on this. Complex carbs are, in my opinion, good for you.

[whd23]

She argued that, despite a number of studies, no one knew what the long- term effects might be.

And what studies have been done on the "long term effects" of a low-fat, high-carb diet, hmmm?

His answer was to avoid such foods and eat unlimited amounts of fat and protein, leading the body to burn fat.

Either the "doctor" or the "reporter" (or both!) haven't bothered to read any of Dr. Atkin's books. He NEVER said to stuff your face with UNLIMITED amounts of fat. Why can't these folks get past the two-week induction phase of the Atkins plan?

[lsucat]

but I wonder how a carboholic like me could ever survive the first day! LOL.

Well, yesterday was my first day on the diet. I am a total carboholic. I think I did OK. No strong cravings, and the headache I expected never showed up. I'm not under any illusions that the next few days will be easy, but I'm to the point that I have to do something. My husband has been on a low carb diet for about 3 months and has dropped about 30 lbs.