How Safe Is the Atkins Diet?

The Atkins Diet Seems To Never Go AwayFad
diets come and go, but The Atkins Diet, acan produce significant weight loss. It also
high-protein,produces it
low-carbohydrate weight-loss plan, seems neverwithout a lot of annoying calorie counting and the
to go away,
no matter how many medical professionalsirritability associated with diets.Known for Easy
denounce it."Low-carb diets have been linked toWeight Loss"You're not as hungry as with other
increased frequency ofdiets, and that is a
colon cancer, formation of kidney stones, kidneyreally good thing," says Jenny Anderson, an
disease,Internet
and even osteoporosis," says Neal Barnard, MD,consultant from Mamaroneck, N.Y., who is on the
president ofdiet. "That
the Physicians Commission for Responsiblemakes it easier to stay on it. So does seeing
Medicine, aresults fairly
nonprofit research group based in Washington.quickly. One bad thing is that it forbids caffeine,
"The weightand I
loss you see in low-carb diets isn't all that muchhad a lot of bad headaches from coffee
betterwithdrawal."Another drawback to the low-carb
than what you see in studies of low-fat,diet is its severely
vegetarian diets."A Pretty Evil Weight Losslimited menu options."At first, eggs and bacon in
DietPutting it more bluntly is Kiku Collins-Trentylon,butter for breakfast every day
a sportsis fun, but day after day of only meat and fat at
trainer in New York City, who says it's "a prettyevery meal
evil diet.can get tiresome," says Anderson.So therein lies
We all want to sit on our couches, eat nonstop,the controversy. On one hand you have lots
and haveof stories of significant weight loss on a relatively
perfect, sculpted bodies. Unfortunately, it doesn't
workuser-friendly diet. On the other, you have
that way."Meat is the culprit in low-carb dietdietitians and
danger, says Barnard."The reason for the healthnutritionists who maintain that the weight loss
worries is in large part due toproduced is
red meat," he says. "People who eat meat everyshort-term and can threaten a person's overall
day havehealth,
three times greater risk of developing colondespite the fact that the weight loss itself may
cancer. Andhave the
then there is the problem of the kidneys. Theybeneficial effect of lowering cholesterol.Who is
aren'tright? Maybe both sides. It provides weight loss at
designed to work on an oil slick of fat."Big, Fat,a
High Protein ControversyIn the summer of 2002,very high cost to overall health, or at least that
however, both Time magazine and Thehas been
Sunday New York Times Magazine havethe prevailing medical opinion.Low Carbohydrate
publishedDiet May Not Be As Bad As We Thought"There
much-talked-about stories that say Atkins mayhave been reports in the medical literature that
not be as badsay
for heart health as previously believed. Thesethat this low-carb diet may not be as bad as we
stories werethought,"
sparked in part by a recent study fromsays Susan Barr, registered dietitian in New York
researchers at DukeCity.
University showing most people who ate a"That makes people interested again in this diet,
high-protein,but until
low-carb diet for six months lost 20 pounds.Thatthere is more research on what stresses the
much was expected. What wasn't expected wasdiet places on
that thethe body, there is no way to know what it might
researchers didn't see strong evidence of thebe doing
diet causingbesides providing short-term weight loss.You
any health problems. In fact, both LDL "bad"may reprint or publish this article free of charge
cholesterol andas
HDL "good" cholesterol improved.Low Carb Dietlong as the bylines are included.Original URL (The
Can Produce Significant Weight LossThe DukeWeb version of the article)
study shows part of why the diet is so popular, itHow Safe Is the Atkins Diet?