The Atkins Diet -- Our Review and OpinionThe Atkins diet is a low carb diet. The Atkins diet was developed by the late board-certified cardiologist Dr. Robert Atkins, at his medical clinic in New York, for use by his patients.
This very controversial higher-fat, lower-carb diet recipe has stirred up plenty of debate. Some people say that it is not a healthy diet and that it includes too much fat. While others say it is the only weight loss diet that has helped them to take off a significant amount of weight. Foods typically allowed on the Atkins diet: Broiled steak, pork chops, lamb, chicken, fish, eggs, bacon, cheese, olive oil, butter, creamy salad dressings, gravy. Two to three cups of vegetables such as lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, snow peas, spinach and peppers. Fruits such as peaches, strawberries, raspberries and melons. Beverages including decaffeinated coffee or tea with cream, club soda. Foods limited on the Atkins diet: Sweets such as candy, cake and cookies. Higher carb foods such as potatoes, rice, pasta, cereals, crackers, breads. Some starchy vegetables such as carrots, peas and corn. Some fruits such as bananas, apples, raisins, figs and papayas. Here is a typical day on the Atkins diet, as noted by Dr. Atkins in his book. Sample daily menu for the Atkins diet plan: Breakfast (Brunch) Tuna salad (1 cup), 1/2 grapefruit, decaf coffee (black) Lunch Grilled chicken (light meat, 6 0z), small greens and tomato salad, salad dressing (1 oz), diet soda. Dinner Rib steak (6 oz), summer squash (1/2 cup), small greens and tomato salad, salad dressing (1 oz), seltzer. Snacks Almonds (1 oz), coleslaw (with sugar substitutes), cucumber (1/2 medium). Source: Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, by Robert C. Atkins The public has been trying out the Atkins diet in droves. Yet many people in the medical profession discount the Atkins diet plan and its high-fat, low-carb diet approach to weight loss. Some express doubts that a fat-filled, low carb diet can be a healthy diet. Fans of this weight loss diet say there must be a reason it was the #1 bestselling health book on the market for year upon year. It cannot be called a passing fad diet because the Atkins diet book has been in print since 1992. Others note that the reason it sells so well is simply because it promises you can eat all the fatty foods you want. That is what dieters want to hear, so they buy the book. The book also includes a fat-restricted variation of the diet, but have you ever met anyone who followed that version? Everyone we talk to was in love with the idea of eating fatty foods like bacon, cheeseburgers and pork rinds (we're not making this up). Critics of the atkins diet plan claim that eating too much fat could increase the risk of heart disease. They point out that some parts of the diet, such as eating bacon, are not healthy. They have a valid point about the bacon, there is nothing healthy about it and we don't advise anyone to eat it, ever. Bacon is simply a strip of pork fat that has been treated with nitrates and chemicals. The Editors of this website never eat bacon, let alone on a diet. A concern we also have is that the diet includes many of the foods known to aggrivate Gout. Gout is a medical condition that causes serious pain in the joints of the knee or big toe, etc. If you have gout your doctor will tell you to avoid many foods such as bacon, meat, gravy, etc. This is known as the gout diet. Many of the foods that cause gout and that you want to avoid are unfortunately included in the Atkins diet. Does the diet really work, or not? The weight loss diet has worked for many people. Everyone you ask seems to know of someone who has tried the Atkins diet and successfully lost weight on it. However, like most diet plans, many other people who have tried the Atkins diet have failed to lose weight. Some others have lost some weight but then gained it back. Meanwhile, you have to ask yourself if it is safe and healthy to eat so many artery clogging fatty foods. Is the Atkins diet safe? No weight loss diet is perfect. To some, the Atkins diet seems a bit extreme as it has a very low daily carbohydrate intake of only 20 grams. By simply adding more fruits and vegetables to each day, these "good carbs" could be increased to what some people consider a more sensible 40 grams. With this simple adjustment, the Atkins diet is still very low on refined carbohydrates. Many doctors believe these highly processed and refined "empty" carbs can cause problems with glucose and insulin levels. Not all carbohydrates are created equal. Sensible intakes of the healthiest fruits and vegetables do not cause those glucose and insulin problems. A slice of chocolate cake is not the same kind of carbohydrates as some steamed broccoli. Let's be real here. A low-carb diet book titled the Protein Power LifePlan, suggests this same intake of 40 grams of natural carbohydrates. This weight loss diet is similar to the Atkins plan except it allows more vegetables and fruits. Including more healthy vegetables and fruits in your diet gives you many related health benefits. It may also prevent your body from going into ketosis. The lack of vegetables and the inducement of ketosis are two points that many of the Atkins diet critics, including many doctors, have worried about. This simple adjustment could help take care of both issues, yet keeps the high protein, low carbohydrate aspect of the diet plan intact. The problem is, you would still be eating a lot of the foods that cause gout and heart disease. Too much meat and gravy, etc. The popular Southbeach Diet has been described as similar to Atkins but with more fruits and vegetables. One big problem for dieters is that foods are completely different now than they were some years ago. The food in modern diets actually has far less nutritional value – so although someone may be overweight they are malnourished and feeling hunger cravings. These cravings are for vitamins, nutrients and healthy fats like omega 3 that are missing from today's mass produced foods. The shocking truth is that food today has far less nutritional value than it did in the past. Your body craves this missing nutrition so you feel hungry all the time. The answer may be to take a high quality multi-vitamin and an omega 3 fish oil supplement. This will give your body the nutrients and healthy fats so it does not suffer so many cravings. The products that we take and recommend to everyone are detailed at the end of this page. Keep a log. By keeping a log of what you eat, you can see if you are consuming super high amounts of refined carbohydrates. If so, it may be causing some weight gain and health problems. Cutting out much of the refined sugar and flour in our diet plan is a good idea. However, cutting out healthy vegetables and fruits is not a healthy diet plan. Organic Carbohydrates versus Refined Carbohydrates Fruits and vegetables are considered carbohydrates. However they are not refined or empty carbohydrates. Fruits and vegetables provide a host of good nutrition and health benefits. Your body needs a variety of fruits and vegetables to maintain optimal health. Sugar and refined flour are processed carbohydrates. There are not a lot of health benefits to be derived from a glazed donut, a slice of cake with frosting, or a glass of so-called fruit juice that is really only 10% juice and 90% high-fructose corn syrup (liquid sugar). Read the labels. So by all means, cut out as much of the refined sugar, high-fructose corn syrup (soda pop) and refined white flour carbohydrates as you wish. But don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Keep healthy fruits and vegetables in your diet. You won’t gain weight from eating an apple a day, eating a salad for lunch, or by having too many broccoli florets on your dinner plate. The Atkins diet could be one to try, with some added vegetables and an added banana or an apple a day. Ask your own doctor for an opinion before starting any low carb diet plan. The editors of this website do not follow or recommend this diet due to the high fat and the potential risk of heart disease that can result from consumption of a high fat diet. News Flash Fruit phytonutrients help fight fat. A study by University of Maryland researchers reports that phytonutrients ingested along with a high fat meal may immediately help reduce the negative effects of the fat. In other words, fruits and vegetables can help fight the effects of fat. The research study was based on the fact that high-fat meals impair arterial blood flow. Thirty eight healthy volunteers were given an artery blood flow test before and after a fatty meal that included 50 grams of fat and 900 calories. This was repeated every day for one month. By ramdomized selection, volunteers also received a powdered fruit and vegetable concentrate, anti-oxidants and herbal extracts, only the juice, or a placebo. The study found that after a month, taking the juice alone and taking the juice, antioxidant and herbal combination helped to lower the negative effects of the high-fat meal on the body. The volunteers receiving a placebo did not show any substantial health benefits. The study was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (41, 10:1744-9, 2003). This doesn't mean that by taking a fruit, antioxidant and herbal blend nutritional supplement you can eat all the fat you want. However it does suggest that including fruits, vegetables, antioxidants and herbals in your diet may help to somewhat blunt the bad effects of fat at meal times. This information could be important to people who are trying the Atkins diet, which has a higher fat content than other weight loss diets. Finally, be sure to take a daily multi-vitamin-mineral complex. Dr. Atkins even recommends this in his book as being part of the diet. If you fail to include a multi-vitamin complex then you are not really following the diet as the author designed it. Maybe one of the reasons you might feel like you are craving food is because you are craving nutrients. Many foods don't have the nutrient content they used to. Taking a supplement such as our dieter's favorite Women’s Total Balance and the company's world famous pure fish oil with a glass of water along with your meals can go a long way in helping your body to feel full, healthy and happy. Vitamins and minerals and healthy omega 3 fats can also help you feel more energetic and you may get out and walk or exercise more often. Omega 3 from fish oil helps your blood circulation. It is even recommended by the American Heart Association. The editors of this website have been personally taking these fine products, along with one that gives a Back to Women's Health Questions home page.
To top of page – Atkins diet
|