How Safe Is the Atkins Diet?

How Safe Is the Atkins Diet?The Atkins Diet Seems To Never Go Away------------------------------------------Fad diets come and go, but The Atkins Diet, a high-protein,low-carbohydrate weight-loss plan, seems never to go away,no matter how many medical professionals denounce it.

"Low-carb diets have been linked to increased frequency ofcolon cancer, formation of kidney stones, kidney disease,and even osteoporosis," says Neal Barnard, MD, president ofthe Physicians Commission for Responsible Medicine, anonprofit research group based in Washington. "The weightloss you see in low-carb diets isn't all that much betterthan what you see in studies of low-fat, vegetarian diets."A Pretty Evil Weight Loss Diet-------------------------------Putting it more bluntly is Kiku Collins-Trentylon, a sportstrainer in New York City, who says it's "a pretty evil diet.We all want to sit on our couches, eat nonstop, and haveperfect, sculpted bodies.

Unfortunately, it doesn't workthat way."Meat is the culprit in low-carb diet danger, says Barnard."The reason for the health worries is in large part due tored meat," he says. "People who eat meat every day havethree times greater risk of developing colon cancer.

Andthen there is the problem of the kidneys. They aren'tdesigned to work on an oil slick of fat."Big, Fat, High Protein Controversy---------------------------------------------------------In the summer of 2002, however, both Time magazine and TheSunday New York Times Magazine have publishedmuch-talked-about stories that say Atkins may not be as badfor heart health as previously believed. These stories weresparked in part by a recent study from researchers at DukeUniversity showing most people who ate a high-protein,low-carb diet for six months lost 20 pounds.

That much was expected. What wasn't expected was that theresearchers didn't see strong evidence of the diet causingany health problems. In fact, both LDL "bad" cholesterol andHDL "good" cholesterol improved.Low Carb Diet Can Produce Significant Weight Loss---------------------------------------------The Duke study shows part of why the diet is so popular, itcan produce significant weight loss.

It also produces itwithout a lot of annoying calorie counting and theirritability associated with diets.Known for Easy Weight Loss-----------------------------------------------------"You're not as hungry as with other diets, and that is areally good thing," says Jenny Anderson, an Internetconsultant from Mamaroneck, N.Y., who is on the diet.

"Thatmakes it easier to stay on it. So does seeing results fairlyquickly. One bad thing is that it forbids caffeine, and Ihad a lot of bad headaches from coffee withdrawal."Another drawback to the low-carb diet is its severelylimited menu options.

"At first, eggs and bacon in butter for breakfast every dayis fun, but day after day of only meat and fat at every mealcan get tiresome," says Anderson.So therein lies the controversy. On one hand you have lotsof stories of significant weight loss on a relativelyuser-friendly diet. On the other, you have dietitians andnutritionists who maintain that the weight loss produced isshort-term and can threaten a person's overall health,despite the fact that the weight loss itself may have thebeneficial effect of lowering cholesterol.

Who is right? Maybe both sides. It provides weight loss at avery high cost to overall health, or at least that has beenthe prevailing medical opinion.Low Carbohydrate Diet May Not Be As Bad As We Thought-----------------------------------------------------"There have been reports in the medical literature that saythat this low-carb diet may not be as bad as we thought,"says Susan Barr, registered dietitian in New York City."That makes people interested again in this diet, but untilthere is more research on what stresses the diet places onthe body, there is no way to know what it might be doingbesides providing short-term weight loss.

About The Author----------------Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and informationon Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone and relatedhealth benefits. He has created and edits numerous websites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer forwww.ageforce.

com and several other websites. If you wouldlike to contact Michael you can e-mail him atMichael@AgeForce.com or if you would like to know moreabout Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and relatedhealth topics please visit us at .ageforce.

comMichael Lewis has been collecting articles and informationon Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone and relatedhealth benefits. He has created and edits numerous websites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer forwww.ageforce.

com and several other websites. If you wouldlike to contact Michael you can e-mail him atMichael@AgeForce.com or if you would like to know moreabout Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and relatedhealth topics please visit us at .ageforce.

comContact him at .ageforce.com



.