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]

Congratulations on your success using WW. I do think they should tighten their guidelines on carbs, though. You really have to be very disciplined, though. I know a woman who faithfully counts her points all day, but ends up going over them anyway, sometimes by lunch! She does all kinds of crazy things, though. She will eat carrot sticks, but then dip them in ranch dressing. Or slather celery with peanut butter. She hasn't lost any weight in more than a year and is still 70-80 lbs from her goal.

[webstersII]

I bet she is out trying to sell a new diet plan book and make herself money.

Give that man a cigar!!

Link to Dr. Jebb's book

[webstersII]

The Atkins diet has been around since the early '70's. What about all those people who have been on it for years?

Duh.

[tubebender]

Not much science in this report, just some womans opinion...

[chilepepper]

The grain industry and the medical/nutritional powers that be who have their fortunes or reputations riding on the infamous 'food pyramid' have only been trying to frame the Atkins diet for what, 30 years now?

Where is the proof?

IT IS STILL MISSING, but more and more proof is slipping through the wall of cognitive dissonance to show that Atkins detractors really have it wrong... egads, some of the sheep are actually turning their heads and looking around!

Where is the same warning about use of high fructose corn syrup, or the same warning about use of 'low cholesterol' margarine using hydrogenated vegetable oil (whoops, strike that, margarine *IS* now known to be dangerous because of the transfatty acids...)

[sd-joe]

>> "so there are successes and failures all around"

OK, but the numbers in the studies show that overall, people lost more weight on Atkins than on the other plans.

[agrace]

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

OK, correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read the book and I don't recall Adkins EVER saying you can eat as much fat and protein as you want. He instructed moderation, eat til you're comfortable, and recommended AGAINST overeating of ANY kind. To suggest the above is deceitful and shows bias.

[lsucat]

Thanks to both of you. This morning I feel like something's missing and my breakfast didn't quite satisfy me. Of course, my mind is racing from cereal to donuts to pancakes, so that's not helping anything. I'm trying to stay committed, but I was an absolute slave to carbs and cravings.

Knowing that it will get better in a few days helps. I have to get this weight off.

Do you guys still have cravings, or have they completely disappeared? Can you just pass up dessert with ease now?

[sd-joe]

>> "My question..exactly WHO funds Dr Jebb"

Very good point.

[Wright is right!]

"Can a person realistically stay on Atkins for life? I don't know of anyone who has."

Now you do. I'm on a modified Atkins and have been for a long time. The modification is that once a week I'll eat a starch, but that's it. I can eat all the proteins, fiber, fats, etc. I want and never gain an ounce. The secret is that all I want is one meal a day, so I'm rarely hungry. I eat lots of extry-virge olive oil, sour cream, butter, pork fat rules, Italian meats, any and every kind of cheese I can get my hands on, fish such as tuna, salmon and mahi, and low-glycemic carbs like bell peppers.

When I've had a reasonable-sized meal, I feel full. Then, I might have two or three BITES of ice cream - just enough to satisfy my mouth for the taste.

And I'm full of energy and never have to worry about gaining weight. I'm 59, 5'11", 176 day in day out. And I never for a moment miss all those starches.

BTW, when I was 13, my family doc told me to cut out the bread, sugar and starches. That was a long time before Atkins!

Michael

[lysie]

Who woulda thunk that?? ;)

[Mamzelle]

re: BTW, when I was 13, my family doc told me to cut out the bread, sugar and starches. That was a long time before Atkins!)))

I remember something similar when touring the Amish countryside in my teens. I noticed that the Amish women worked very hard, but had very hefty "middles"--even the younger women had this matronly shape. I was told it was because their diets were very high in starches--bread, pies, and potatoes.

[ironman]

The atkins diet would never work for me. I eat starches like crazy, cookies, bagels, pasta, cokes. I need the fuel. I'm burning on average about 5000 calories a day and weigh only 119 lbs.

[Johnbalaya]

knew about the diet, never gave it much thought till i read the article. Here's an atkins website I just found.

http://www.atkins.com

I started right away and cooked a steak and tossed my soda away, lol.

[Wright is right!]

Doll, the cravings WILL go away. Pretty soon you'll start craving things that are good for you. When that happens, eat them - in moderation. If I get a bit hungry in the middle of the afternoon, I'll grab a slice of smoked cheddar. Just one slice. Or eat a couple of olive-oil drenched artichoke hearts.

After a couple of weeks the thought of sweets will make you sick.

Michael

[Wright is right!]

You must be engaged in some prolific activity to burn that many calories a day! I'd also wager you're a young li'l squirt. Of course, at 119 pounds, you don't have to be concerned about your weight, but you'd probably be a lot healthier if more of your fuel came from protein.

Michael

[nmh]

Alot of women and men use liposuction as a means for weight loss. A doctor is going to complain $$$$$.

[jetson]

Everything gets overly complicated. Just eat less and excersise. Try to eat organic( free of pesticdes) long grain brown rice, eggs meat fish, fruit vegies...but in less amounts. Get a book on nutition that shows calories in foods. Drink less booze. Drink less coffee. Don't eat processed junk food. Drink lots of decaf green tea( to clean dioxins out of burnt body fat) and take good vitamins in capsule form....maybe all this is complicated..

[Sloth]

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

What a steaming pile. I guess lots of people are living pseudo-longer after losing pseudo-pounds and feeling pseudo-better.

[ironman]

At this time of the year I'm doing about 6 miles of swimming, 250 miles of biking, and 35 miles a week of running. I don't eat much meat at all but like cheese and yogurt. A little turkey here and there and roast beef, once or twice a week. On occasion though I get major cravings for hamburgers. I guess I'm about 3% body fat but haven't been measured in a long time.