[Savage Beast]

Glaux, thank you for sending me this article. Amazingly, I read this very article in the New England Journal seconds before reading your post to me.

As the authors say, longer term studies are necessary, and I am still concerned about the long-range effects of a diet high in saturated fats until such long range studies can be conducted.

I intend to stay on the Atkins diet and try to minimize saturated fat intake. I know I'll get tired of fish and no-carbohydrate tofu.

Already I have lost enough weight to feel good; my mood is better; and I feel optimistic and slightly euphoric. I also think more clearly; on high carbohydrates, I was feeling groggy all the time.

I can tell the authors one thing: The Atkins diet is vastly easier to follow than the "conventional", low fat, high carbohydrate diet.

I used to be able to control my weight merely my dieting; if I gained weight, I just stopped eating. However, for the past few years, I have not been able to do this. I have never been up against anything more difficult. The Atkins diet has made it possible for me to control my weight again.

[Lil'freeper]

Regarding satfats, you might find the references in this article a good starting point. Even if you don't buy into their conclusions, it's nice to see that some research does exist.

[glaux]

With regard to a sense of euphoria and energy, I concur with you experience. One afternoon I had a double meat cheeseburger without the bun. I received a rather snotty look from an overwieght older man who commented on my "poor" selection. I mentioned the article from the NEJM. "I disagree with it," he replied. "Disagree with it," I rejoined, "how do you disagree with with a peer- reviewed, masked, comparitive trial? This is considered the pinnacle of clinical evidence. You can't simply 'disagree with it,' you must REFUTE it with EQUALLY VALID clinical evidence to the contrary." I'm not sure I changed his mind.