Demi
Thu, Nov-27-03, 01:05
ADVICE FOR DOCTORS ABOUT DIETS, INCLUDING THE "ATKINS"
By RFD Editor, Nicholas Regush
This will be short, but perhaps not too sweet. According to Atkins Nutritionals, about 25 million Americans are on the “Atkins” and maybe 100 million more are watching their carbs. If these figures are anywhere in the ballpark, we may have big trouble brewing.
In the current RFD feature, Red Flags, available to RFD members, the point was made that many people probably have very little knowledge of how to go about being on the “Atkins.” No, this is not to say that most people are dumb, but rather than these days there is so little time to consume knowledge that many people take short-cuts and/or re-create the diet they are on to suit their needs. Rather than carefully reading a diet book, which may lay out a total plan (the Atkins book, for example, does), just how often “reading” means a quick skim is very unclear. It’s easy for Atkins Nutritionals to say 25 million people are on the “Atkins” but what do they really know about how the “Atkins” is being interpreted by its devotees. How many million of those on the diet are actually doing things that even contradict the diet’s basic principles? Who knows? Maybe, we need a better handle on this.
I received a good flow of email today from those who share my concern that many, if not most, people who go on diets simply do not follow them as they were intended. One writer from Sweden, who runs a health food company, for example, stated that he encountered a woman the other day who seemed to think that the “Atkins” meant downing six eggs a day and very little else. Yes, you may laugh at this, but you may actually be laughing at millions of people. And that would not be a laughing matter. One should never assume that people who say they are on a diet actually know what they are talking about.
So, one line of defense (maybe “offense” is a better term) is to encourage all health professionals who see patients to determine if they understand the dynamics of their favorite diet. Of course, this may mean that health professionals would probably have to do some real reading, rather than skimming, too.
To those who may roll their eyes, listen up, here. If we pay so much attention to nutrition these days, doesn’t it make sense that health professionals should be taking a keen interest in exactly what their patients are eating. And if their patients are on a diet, doesn’t it make sense to test out whether they are on the right track.
We live in a culture that skims over issues, much like a thrown stone glancing over water. We think we are in the middle of a major health revolution, but we may, in fact, be generating untold problems by being blind to the details of what that revolution truly requires.
http://www.redflagsweekly.com/extra/2003_nov26.html
By RFD Editor, Nicholas Regush
This will be short, but perhaps not too sweet. According to Atkins Nutritionals, about 25 million Americans are on the “Atkins” and maybe 100 million more are watching their carbs. If these figures are anywhere in the ballpark, we may have big trouble brewing.
In the current RFD feature, Red Flags, available to RFD members, the point was made that many people probably have very little knowledge of how to go about being on the “Atkins.” No, this is not to say that most people are dumb, but rather than these days there is so little time to consume knowledge that many people take short-cuts and/or re-create the diet they are on to suit their needs. Rather than carefully reading a diet book, which may lay out a total plan (the Atkins book, for example, does), just how often “reading” means a quick skim is very unclear. It’s easy for Atkins Nutritionals to say 25 million people are on the “Atkins” but what do they really know about how the “Atkins” is being interpreted by its devotees. How many million of those on the diet are actually doing things that even contradict the diet’s basic principles? Who knows? Maybe, we need a better handle on this.
I received a good flow of email today from those who share my concern that many, if not most, people who go on diets simply do not follow them as they were intended. One writer from Sweden, who runs a health food company, for example, stated that he encountered a woman the other day who seemed to think that the “Atkins” meant downing six eggs a day and very little else. Yes, you may laugh at this, but you may actually be laughing at millions of people. And that would not be a laughing matter. One should never assume that people who say they are on a diet actually know what they are talking about.
So, one line of defense (maybe “offense” is a better term) is to encourage all health professionals who see patients to determine if they understand the dynamics of their favorite diet. Of course, this may mean that health professionals would probably have to do some real reading, rather than skimming, too.
To those who may roll their eyes, listen up, here. If we pay so much attention to nutrition these days, doesn’t it make sense that health professionals should be taking a keen interest in exactly what their patients are eating. And if their patients are on a diet, doesn’t it make sense to test out whether they are on the right track.
We live in a culture that skims over issues, much like a thrown stone glancing over water. We think we are in the middle of a major health revolution, but we may, in fact, be generating untold problems by being blind to the details of what that revolution truly requires.
http://www.redflagsweekly.com/extra/2003_nov26.html