Doctors' group urges Atkins diet ban

Washinton Times ^ | August 22, 2003 | UPI

[Cincinatus' Wife]

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Nutritionists are urging the top 10 U.S. hospitals to ban the Atkins diet, reports said Friday.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine announced Friday in Washington it hopes the hospitals will emulate England's Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, which is eliminating the controversial diet from its menus, fearing a link to kidney damage.

[SamAdams76]

I'm as tall as your husband, 6'3". Though I swear I am getting taller as I lose weight. When I saw a doctor last month, his nurse measured my height as 6'3" and a half inches. The picture doesn't show it as I am wearing tight jeans, but I still have much flab to lose in my belly and thighs.

[mamelukesabre]

There is such a thing as "protein poisoning". THis occurs when one's body is attempting to metabolize protein as a source of energy while the individual's fluid intake is too low. Our bodies require huge amounts of water when metabolizing protein. It usually only occurs during times of extreme famine, but it can also happen if your diet is way heavy on meat and low on everything else. It can cause organ damage and in extreme cases, death.

Primitive people, such as american plains indians, knew that during times of drought when all the grazing animals are skin and bones, you do not eat them when they are in this condition. This is because their bodies are wasted away to the point of being pure bone, sinew, and protein. If you were starving to death and water was scarce and you ate one of these animals, you'd be lucky to live another day. You would die of protein poisoning. Instead, what they did during these times was to look around for a pregnant animal and then eat the fetus. Even when the mother is starving, the fetus would have body fat so eating the fetus would not result in protein poisoning.

[mamelukesabre]

You add fat because your body needs to metabolize something. Basically, there are only two good sources of fuel that our bodies can utilize. THose are:
1. sugar/carbs
2. fat/oil/grease.

If BOTH of these are absent, then our bodies will try to metabolize stored body fat and also protein contained in our food. When these two are not available either, then our own muscles are metabolized. It's better for us if protein is never metabolized at all. That is partly why fat is added to a high protein diet.

[najida]

Right now I am working in a situation were the BUN (Blood Urea Nitrogen) levels have a very narrow window for error (due to psyche meds etc) Even a slightly high BUN can exacerbate psychotic behaviors.

I am used to dialysis/critical care where a BUN would get up in the 40's-50's and we just pushed fluids and hoped for the best. Heck, we even had a few dead men walking with BUN's in the 125's.

In this setting, a BUN of 35 (the norm being 25) will cause an automatic reduction in protein in the diet.

And then there are those with liver failure...same story, differnt reasons.

[MarkL]

Please post your recipe for homemade alfredo sauce!

Ok, I've gotten a number of Freep-Mail requests for the sauce, as well as the chicken dish that I sometimes use this sauce on (not always... I'd like to leave a little room in my veins and arteries for blood! lol).

Also, I'm not a very organized cook, which means I rarely actually measure anything... So sometimes my food is great, sometimes not so great... Your milage may vary...

ASB Chicken

Package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Fresh sliced mushrooms
Olive oil
Lots of garlic, either fresh or a jar of minced or chopped garlic from Polander, or some other brand

Cover the bottom of a frying pan in some olive oil. Depending on how much you like garlic, put just the right amount of garlic in oil and saute over medium heat, until the garlic begins to turn translucent and tastes a bit sweet. In my case, I actually cover the bottom of the pan in garlic, so it becomes almost a crust on the chicken. That's the source of the name of the dish... "ASB" stands for "Anti Social Bastard." After eating this, nobody wants to talk to me! And that's OK by me! lol Turn up the heat to med-high. Put chicken in the pan, and cover, but leave it cracked open so the steam and moisture can get out. Turn when the chicken is about half-way done and the garlic and chicken turns a golden brown. At this point, throw in the mushrooms, and finish cooking with the cover on (decide if you want to have the cover on and sealed to retain moisture, or leave it cracked open again).

Alfredo Sauce (this makes a lot, but you can refrigerate it and reheat it. It's good on veggies too!)

1 pint heavy cream
1 stick of butter (salted or unsalted... If salted, be careful about adding salt later on... The cheese is pretty salty)
Your favorite grated Italian cheese.
Nutmeg
salt, pepper

Melt butter over low heat. Once the butter is melted, turn up the heat to med-high and add the cream. Season with pepper and nutmeg. It's good to start early, so you don't accidentally overdo it later. But be careful about the salt! Stir constantly!!!Once the butter and cream mix is beginning to bubble a bit (NOT BOILING!!!), begin adding the cheese slowly while stirring. What kind of cheese? It depends on what you like... I use both Parmigane and sharp Romano. The cheese will also thicken the sauce. Keep tasting it, and add cheese until you get the taste and thickness you want. Season with more pepper and nutmeg, and add salt if you need to. If you're sensative to salt, be sure to use unsalted butter.

Be careful, make sure that you don't burn the cheese in the sauce (if you stop stirring, it can happen), watch the temperature so that it doesn't break (seperate), and most important, USE GRATED CHEESE!!!Shredded cheese just won't incorporate without heating the sauce to the point where it burns or breaks. I found this out the hard way.

Mark

[MarkL]

Just out of curiosity, ----

Why couldn't you all do it without Atkins?

I can't speak for anyone else, but it has to do with education, or a lack thereof.

In my case, I would skip meals, and go on low calorie diets, which would have me lose 8 - 10 pounds, then stop. I was always hungry, and had some physical problems to go along with the weight.

Once someone explained the Atkins diet to me, and the rationalle behind it, it made perfect sense, and I started the diet, and have done pretty well at it.

I was listening to a lot of people who were giving me advice, but it wasn't working. The Atkins diet seems to work pretty well for me. I've lost weight, and feel much better.

Mark

[MarkL]

For lunch, have a tin of sardines packed in olive oil and a few wedges of cheese, or perhaps, an ounce of nuts (peanuts, cashews, pistachios, macadamias, etc.).

What is with you and sardines!?!?!?!? Do you own a sardine canning factory? lol!!!

Mark

[SamAdams76]

These sardines are good for your body and they will prolong your life. A daily tin of this nutrient-rich food will supply you with all the Omega-3 you will need and if packed in olive oil, a great food is made even better!

[MarkL]

Guess those doctors want to see me go back on a low-fat diet and gain it all back...for my health, don't you know.

People who see doctors often aren't healthier than those who never go to one.

This reminds me of an old George Burns Joke...

[Interviewer]- So, Mr. Burns. I hear that you drink 4 martinis a day. Is that so?

[George Burns]- Yes

[I]- I hear that you smoke 6 cigars a day! Is that so?

[GB]- Yes

[I]- I hear that you are dating multiple young ladies in their twenties! Is that so?

[GB]- Yes

[I]- Well, what does your doctor have to say about that?

[GB]- My doctor's been dead for 10 years!

Mark

[mamelukesabre]

Actually, it is possible to get a little taller when you lose alot of weight. Extra weight causes your spine to curve a little more. It also causes the cartiladge between the bones to compress a little. Both of these things will make you slightly shorter. So when you lose weight, you will "spring" back up.

P.S. I sure hope that tax schedule you have on your personal page is a joke.

[SamAdams76]

Makes sense to me. I certainly stand and walk a lot straighter than I used to.

The tax table is food for thought and to make a point. The actual rates are negotiable but the general idea is not. We need to reward our highest producers, not punish them. But perhaps that is an argument for another thread!

[MarkL]

I'm just not sure how much long-term health can be maintained on a diet of meat, eggs & cheese, void of fruits and vegetables.

The "no fruit, limited veggies" is just during the induction phase, which lasts just the first few weeks.

One past the induction phase, you begin expanding your diet with veggies and fruits.

Mark

[MarkL]

Atkins has ice cream, and there is brand called LeCarb but not widely available. Although Atkins products and locarb food is gaining distribution, someone needs to make locarb frozen food. At least I need my market to carry them if they already exist.....

I don't understand how it's taking so long for low-carb ice cream to be widely available! I mean, what's in ice cream? Cream, egg, sweetener, flavorings!

I'd like to give it a try.

Mark

[MarkL]

I was watching Emeril Live yesterday and he put Parmesans cheese in a Teflon skellet and fried it crispy. He only rubbed a little oil on the bottom with a paper towel. I tried it and it's really good. It is real crunchy and tastes like cheese crackers. That is one thing I miss the most--something to munch on.

Hey, that sounds really great! I may try something like that... I've got some shredded peccorino romano and parmagian cheese that I may mix together with a little egg and try frying it up in olive oil, just like that!

Thanks for the idea!

Mark

[MarkL]

32 5'10" 211->183. Still have about 10 to 15 to go but I look and fell great now. I am now playing raquetteball 2 times a week and doing 10-20 miles of hiking every weekend. I am in as good of shape as I was when I was 21 now.

Congratulations on your success too!

In my case, my stats are:

41, 6'4", 325 -> 272. I've still got about 70 pounds to lose.

Best of luck to you!

Mark

[diotima]

Its not that bad. It is also pretty easy to make your own, although I am far to busy lazy to make it myself.

[RJayneJ]

Let me know how they turn out. You use a medium low heat. They look like lacy doilies but are really crunchy, something hard to find that doesn't contain carbs. You could spike them with a little Cayenne pepper too, if you like a little heat. It is probably going to work best with a very dry cheese. In think I'm going to drag out my Teflon griddle and do some serious cheese critters.

[MarkL]

Well, seriously now, I've been meaning to try them... How are they packed? Do they still have the heads on them? Do I need to debone them? Are they just fillets?

Thanks,

Mark

[Fintan]

Guess those doctors want to see me go back on a low-fat diet and gain it all back...for my health, don't you know.

 

Yeah, that and since it's not government controlled and mandated, not only is your personal health in danger but you're probably one of these damned arrogant individuals who is too stupid to realize that the nanny state knows what's better for you than you do.

 

 

My suggestion is to tune in to Katie Couric tomorrow morning and find out how silly you are to believe you know what's best for you...;_)

[honeygrl]

"So is mother's milk, something that's also making a comeback. Formula companies are working overtime sending out samples to expectant mothers. "

And pediatricians are working overtime trying to push formula on new mothers. It's very sad. (it's also a big pet peeve of mine since i'm a breastfeeding mother of a 10mth old baby and a 2yr old that was breastfed also) Any little problem a mother has with breastfeeding and the pediatrician starts recommending formula supplements which makes thinks worse instead of helping.