Atkins Diet Based On 'Pseudo Science'

The Telegraph - UK ^ | 2003-08-13 | David Derbyshire

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

The controversial high-protein, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet is a mass experiment into public health based on "pseudo science", a leading nutritionist said yesterday.

Extreme "faddy" diets that cut out entire food groups were unbalanced, untested and could pose serious health problems, she warned.

It would be negligent to recommend the Atkins diet to anyone who was overweight, said Dr Susan Jebb, of the Medical Research Council Human Nutrition Research Centre, Cambridge.

Despite being derided by nutritionists for three decades, the Atkins diet has recently surged in popularity.

Dr Atkins's books outsell other non-fiction titles by three to one, while the diet has been endorsed by actresses Renee Zellweger, Minnie Driver, Jennifer Aniston and Catherine Zeta Jones and the singer Geri Halliwell.

Atkins disciples are allowed unlimited proteins and fat but have to cut out carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and rice.

Dr Robert Atkins, who developed the diet in the 1960s, claimed that carbohydrates overstimulate insulin production, triggering hunger and weight gain. But Dr Jebb said the diet worked only because it reduced calorie intake. Staying on it could be harmful in the long term.

Nutritionists are concerned that eating lots of protein could strain the kidneys and increase amounts of calcium excreted from the body, affecting bone growth and regeneration.

Studies have shown that people who eat most carbohydrates have less heart disease and that fibre found in carbohydrates may reduce bad cholesterol and reduce cancer risk, Dr Jebb said.

Carbohydrates were also the source of essential vitamins and plant nutrients. Eating too much fat could double a woman's risk of breast cancer.

Dr Jane Ogden, from King's College, who joined Dr Jebb at a briefing at the Royal Institution, London, said most of the benefits of the Atkins diet were in the mind. Its simple, clear rules, smattering of pseudo science and the fact that it permitted tasty, high-fat food made it popular.

But while the diet could be effective in the short term, like all diets it was usually doomed to failure, she said.

The moment the body starts losing weight, it lowers the metabolic rate to make it harder to shed further pounds. With any diet, about 60 per cent of people lose weight in the first few weeks but over the next few years 95 to 99 per cent regain all the weight they lose, and many put on even more.

"The reality of dieting is that you have to modify the behaviour that you have learned from being a baby, and that's extremely difficult," Dr Ogden said.

[Always Right]

Then again the criticism of the Adkins diet is 'Pseudo Science'....

[SouthCarolinaKit]

I know few people who didn't lose weight on Atkins, even those who ate as much meat and low carb vegetables as they wanted. Even heavy, whipped cream with jello is allowed and that certainly is not low calorie. No, there's something to it when people who eat such high calories lose.
They're certainly not losing because calories are low.

[jammer]

The "Doctor" in Dr. Susan Jebb is a Ph.D in "diatetics". Now, this is her field, but remember two things. They would have specified her degree if she were a medical expert and if they were not making a false appeal to authority. Second, Atkins cuts the base from an entire industry, along with its murderous food pyramid.

[LA Conservative]

The Atkins diet can work because it causes a thermogenic effect. The body does begin to burn fat for energy, and it requires more energy to convert protein into energy as opposed to carbs.

However, it is difficult to stay on, it can compromise your kidneys, and while eating small portions of animal protein are probably ok, that is not the case in this diet. High intake of animal protein, and low intake of high fiber whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are just what the doctor ordered....for cancer.

[cyborg]

I've been on the protein power diet, similar to Atkins. I see no pseudoscience in losing twenty pounds and looking good in jeans.

[linn37]

I lost 55 lbs and have kept it off,I don't care if they say its a bogus diet or not it works.

[Savage Beast]

I know that Susan in right. I just can't understand why the Atkins diet caused me to loose so much weight and feel terrific. I'm sure that, just as Jane and Susan say, it's all in my mind.

[cyborg]

I think PETA and other vegan groups have a stronghold in the UK. Every time I look up vegetarian info for people, I get a lot of UK based websites.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[netmilsmom]

Are you in the medical profession?

[baltodog]

All I know is that the people at work who used to be fat and went on the Atkin's diet lost weight and now look good. Seriously.
My wife and I, although not grossly overweight feel we could both benefit, so we're gonna' start (as soon as I'm done with these mashed potatoes).
Besides, that Atkins is a helluva guitar player.

[bereanway]

"Besides, that Atkins is a helluva guitar player"

Amen

[big'ol_freeper]

Typical Atkins bashing BS ping

[bluefish]

The Atkins diet can work because it causes a thermogenic effect.

I don't know if this is true or not. However, thermogenesis s far from the main reason ketogenic diets work. Some advocates, like Atkins himself, claim that there is some magic "metabolic advantage" involved. One hasn't been found. I would attribute the success of the Atkins Diet to the fact that it tends to reduce hunger, resulting in less food intake. Furthermore, the fact that hunger is reduced means less calorie consumption.

The body does begin to burn fat for energy, and it requires more energy to convert protein into energy as opposed to carbs.

The body breaks down fat into ketone bodies which are used for energy. Ketones can also be used by the brain for energy, as a substitute for glucose. The additional requirements for the conversion of protein into energy probably doesn't mean much here.

However, it is difficult to stay on...

On the contrary, it is easier to stay on than most - hence the success experienced by so many people on the diet. Cheating and quitting is less of an issue because hunger is suppressed.

...it can compromise your kidneys...

Only if you are predisposed to kidney problems to begin with. This is a myth that anti-low carbers continue to push, without citing evidence. I'm open to seeing studies demonstrating that low carb dieting or full-blown ketogenic diets have damaged the kidneys of healthy normals (albeit overweight, otherwise healthy normals), but those who continue to make this statement have repeatedly failed to come up with them.

...and while eating small portions of animal protein are probably ok, that is not the case in this diet.

Believe it or not, some people can do this diet as a vegetarian, although it is difficult I am sure. Further, the diet does not advocate eating tremendous amounts of animal protein.

High intake of animal protein, and low intake of high fiber, whole grains,

Grains? Many are allergic to grains and ending their consumption results in tremendous health improvements. Archer Daniels Midland wouldn't want you to know that of course. Nor would the government, given the tremendous amount of money that those in positions to keep telling you this get from the "Grain" lobby.

fruits,

Perhaps berries, apples, etc are ok. I hope you are not advocating some of the other junk that contains more sugar than most candy bars.

..and vegetables are just what the doctor ordered....for cancer.

Well this part is good to hear, since Atkins reccommends MORE VEGETABLES than the average American eats anyway. In fact, veggies make up the bulk of food intake on Atkins. Of course, one wouldn't realize this from your comments, which imply the opposite of the truth.

[ChemistCat]

Human beings survive on an incredibly wide range of nutrition regimens. There are cultures in which people eat almost no meat at all, and cultures in which people eat only meat.

About the only diet that is thoroughly linked to longer life span (and a commensurate increase in the diseases of those who live to GET old) is the "Western" diet that gets all the flack. Like it or not, Atkins is just one spin on the Western diet that has raised life expectancy to highs not seen since Noah's time.

Live longer, get more obesity, cancer and geriatrics-related disease. It's a paradox, but it's better than dying young of bad water, malnutrition, or plague. We've done pretty darn well for ourselves, haven't we? But they keep wanting to take away our smugness-license.

Why can't we ever be allowed to look at the good we do? So we're pudgy people. It's far better than burying all the kids because there isn't enough food!

[Squantos]

I found an amazing diet pill at Wal Mart....called aspirn. Buy the 500 count bottle, dump em on the floor and bend at the waist and pick em up one at a time till all 500 are back in the bottle. Take three for aches and pains after this exercise each day and repeate till the bottle is empty. Money back if ya don't lose weight !

Stay Safe !

[drdemars]

I have no compassion for expert dieticians and they can take there pyramid and do you know what. My wife and I have each lost over 30 pounds and now on O W L which in Atkins code means Ongoing Weight Loss. Pity, the sugar and grain industry is slow to get on the band wagon. I am seeing more things on the shelf now that say low carb so we are headed in the right direction again by demand.

[Yeti]

I am working on a pseudo-scientific theory(seriously) that Atkins may be an okay way for sedentary people to lose weight. By eating fat, especially early on in a meal, you can trigger your body's "full" feeling sooner.

But, I know that when I worked out alot in the early 90's, all these competetive bodybuilder types were getting ripped down to grotesquely low levels of bodyfat, by emphasizing CARBS in their diet. Not simple carbs(sugars), but complex carbs(starches) like pasta, rice, potatoes, breads, et cetera.

I am not kidding, I have watched many serious bodybuilders get that ultra-lean "anatomy lesson" look to them by carb loading.

Personally, I'm a well-balanced diet believer. A centrum 2-3 days a week and eat a variety of everything. If you are extrememly vigorous in your exercise or if you have a special need, maybe up the supplements or get more specific in the supplements, and eat more of everything.

I believe that vigorous execise eliminates the need for over-exacting attention to one's diet, as every metabolism in your body becomes more robust and less finicky, and in a very heathy state, you need only follow your inner appetites to be confident that you are eating right.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

In America today, the average person consumes 200 lb. of sugar annually.

THAT is far more of an "mass experiment into public health" than Atkins!

Besides, Atkins DOES NOT "cut out entire food groups". It is an exercise in moderation. You do go the first two weeks with minimal carbohydrate intake, and some folks do so well on that that they keep doing so, but most others can add modest amounts of carbs back in as they go along.

This author is clueless.