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doreen T
Wed, Mar-21-01, 10:13
Heart Association to warn against low-carb diets

March 20, 2001 Web posted at: 1:03 PM EST (1803 GMT)

By Elizabeth Cohen, CNN Medical Unit

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- The American Heart Association has drafted an advisory paper warning the public about what it says are the dangers of high-protein diets.

"They put people at risk for heart disease and we're really concerned about that," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel, senior author of the paper. "Long-term, the saturated fat and cholesterol content of the diet will raise the ... bad cholesterol and increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, particularly heart attacks."

Proponents of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, promote them as a way of helping people lose weight and lower their cholesterol while letting them eat unlimited amounts of red meat and high-fat dairy products.

Critics of high-protein diets acknowledge that people do indeed lose weight, at least temporarily, and as a result, cholesterol does drop -- again, temporarily.

"But what I see after people have lost weight on such a diet, then their weight stabilizes for a period of weeks or months and often the cholesterol, particularly the bad cholesterol, now becomes more elevated," said Eckel, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

He said he has seen patients whose levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the so-called bad cholesterol, have risen from 140 mg/dL to 220 mg/dL after they lost weight on a high-protein diet. Any level over 130 mg/dL is considered dangerous.

"That's an exaggerated case, but many people's LDL cholesterol goes up if they remain on the diet after they've successfully lost the weight," Eckel said.

Eckel is chairman of the AHA's Nutrition Committee, which is writing the advisory paper. He said the paper will be submitted to Circulation, the association's journal, to be used as guidance for doctors advising patients.

The committee reviewed five high-protein diets: the Atkins diet, the Zone, Protein Power, Sugar Busters and the Stillman diet.

According to Eckel, Protein Power has the highest fat content, with 54 percent of total calories from fat. Atkins has the next highest, with 53 percent, and Stillman, the Zone and Sugar Busters have 33 percent, 30 percent and 21 percent respectively.

Colette Heimowitz, director of education and research for Atkins Health and Medical Information Services, said if LDL cholesterol increases after weight loss on the Atkins diet, it is because people aren't following the diet correctly.

Heimowitz said some people put too many carbohydrates back into their diets after the two-week induction phase, rather than increase them slowly.

"If someone were to go on the induction phase, which is the first phase of the diet, and go back to the old way of eating, which is a high-carbohydrate diet, yes, they will gain their weight back and their cholesterol may go up," she said.

She also said the Atkins diet doesn't advocate eating only red meat and dairy products -- it also tells people to eat chicken, fish and tofu, too.

At Tuesday's annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Orlando, Dr. Robert Atkins is scheduled to debate his dietary nemesis, Dr. Dean Ornish, who advocates a low-fat diet.

Sparks have flown before when the two doctors have debated -- once at a forum sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and again at a meeting of the American Dietetic Association -- but their discussion is expected to be particularly acrimonious when the issue is heart disease.

Many nutritionists and cardiologists have become bitter over the popularity of Dr. Atkins's diet.

"You want my response to Atkins' saying that [his diet] can lower your cholesterol and do all sorts of good things for your heart? You know what my response is? Bull----," said Judith Stern, professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California at Davis.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/20/protein.diet.heart/index.html

doreen T
Wed, Mar-21-01, 11:23
... just a rehash of the same old thing.

I think the most telling line in the above article is this :Many nutritionists and cardiologists have become bitter over the popularity of Dr. Atkins's diet.These self-appointed guardians of our health are losing credibility. The consuming public now casts a doubtful, skeptical eye on the dietary guidelines issued by these "authorities" -- guidelines that change annually.

What a waste of time, money and effort.

Just my opinion,
Doreen

debbiedobson
Wed, Mar-21-01, 13:05
i get so p***ed off when i read stuff like this. those old aha hardliners need some new blood to help them get with the times. oh grrrrrrr!!!!

doreen T
Sat, Mar-24-01, 09:28
posted on behalf of an ailing debbiedobson -- :( -- get well soon!

------- Original message -----------

From: ***@aol.com
To: http://www.onelist.com/community/CelebrateLowCarb ** requires membership (free) with yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, March 23, 2001 12:35 PM
Subject: [CelebrateLowCarb] War Against Low Carbing/OT/No Recipe/ LC Advocacy

I got this from another listowner:

"Hi all, I just heard that CNN News attacked Dr. Atkins and the major Low Carb diets last night. Apparently, cardiologists and nutritionists have had enough of this "dangerous," "fad" diet and "The American Heart Association has drafted an advisory paper warning the public about what it says are the dangers of high-protein diets." I missed the TV news event but here is a link for CNN News about it. Did anyone else see this on the news? It sounded pretty nasty, like war was being declared against Atkins and Low Carb according to my friend who was telling me about it."

I wrote the following letter to CNN in response to the asinine coverage of low carbohydrate diets. Since there was no specific link to respond to the article in question, I used their "Ask CNN A Question" form. I urge all of you to do so, too, and to spread the word to your other low carbers to do the same thing.

We shut down NBC's email after Katie Couric's unfair interview of Dr. Atkins. Let's go after CNN, too.

Di

"Why isn't CNN concerned with ACCURATE reporting? Why don't you actually do some RESEARCH about the stories you print and/or cover? To contradict Elizabeth Cohen's less-than-learned article concerning the detrimental health effects of low carbohydrate diets, I have experienced a DROP in my LDL cholesterol level of over 40 points, a RISE in my HDL cholesterol levels of over 20 points, and a DROP in my triglyceride levels from an alarming 446 to a much more satisfactory 106. My blood pressure are fallen from 170/120 to 120/66. My kidney function in normal. My liver function is normal. I am over 50 pounds lighter - and it ISN'T ALL WATER, for crying out loud!

CNN is obviously more concerned with its advertising revenues from junk food manufacturers than it is with journalistic integrity. Way to go. You've lived down to my expectations of you yet again.
Sincerely,

Diana Bauer"-- Actually, I located a more appropriate place for comments and complaints, click here CNN's Health articles Feedback form (http://www.cnn.com/feedback/) Also, they ask for the URL of the article pertaining to your comment(s). Here it is, copy and paste http://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/20/protein.diet.heart/index.html ---Doreen ...;)...