HI everyone... saw this article in my newspaper today here in Winnipeg and decided to pass it along.. After I snubbed it ofcourse...

ATKINS DIET

The Hook -- Dr. Robert Atkins, whose diet gained fame in the 1970s, says you can lose weight fast and lower your cholesterol while eating as many high-fat, high-calorie, high-protein foods as you like. His theory: restrict carbohydrate intake enough and your body will turn fat stores into energy by throwing your system into ketosis.

What You Eat -- The diet consists mostly of lean and fatty cuts of meats, oils, butter and cream with extremely small amounts of fruits and veggies. Breads, starchy veggies and milk are forbidden.

Reality Check -- "You will probably lose weight on this diet -- but you'll do it at the expense of strength and stamina," says Catte.

Safety Factor -- Ketosis is a dangerous place for your body to be in. Catte calls it a last-ditch survival mechanism for your body. Excreting ketones in your urine, he says, is hard on your kidneys. "The high-fat foods in this diet may raise your cholesterol."


blah blah blah

Hugs
Shannon

Yeah. Blah blah blah is right. Pass me the sugar bowl. And I'll supersize those fries while I'm at it.

Karen

Ohhhhh, THAT explains why my cholesterol has gone from 232 to 169 in a month and a half! It must be the diet.....LOL. Those articles crack me up.

Wendy

Oh, Wendy, we don't want to confuse "journalists" was facts, do we?

Wa'il

Now, I'm dying to know who was the sponsor behind this ... or who it was the "spokesperson" was representing. Kellogg's?? Wonder Bread?? The Wheat Marketing Board?? Hey I know, it was a cholesterol-lowering drug manufacturer! Shareholders wouldn't want to see THEM go out of business

Pppfffflllltttt!

Doreen

LOL, heavens no Wa'il we wouldn't want that! Facts might mess up their whole article! Hehe....

I wouldn't be surprised if you're right Doreen, about the sponsor. Sickening!

Wendy

I do believe that the major independent study that came out (and is available many places on the web) comparing Atkins to Ornish did show that LCers experienced slightly more tiredness. Of course, the LCer lost more weight and their LDL went down while their HDL went up; their triglycerides plummeted. (the whole drop in cholesterol on LF plans is the good stuff--HDL--and triglycerides soar as, it seems, the body tries to compensate for insufficient dietary fat) Though on LC, changing up my workouts every month or two, I've run 10K every other day, weightlifted hours every week, hiked four hours in the mountains...so I can't be THAT exhausted, eh?

Doesn't your experience in LC and the popular press make you wonder how many other "well known facts" are indeed lies? I'm starting to become positively suspicious! Maybe that's a good thing.

I remember when I first arrived in Canada back in the 70's. My ESL teacher, Mrs. Gan said to read more newspaper and watch the News Program because all the News on TV and in the papers are TRUE. She was trying to convince us to learn more about Canada. Our 'mantra' back then was, "If it is on the news on TV, it MUST be true."

I totally believed that until one day I was the known source, for a news article that appeared in a news clip on TV that I realized how the story was and how it was presented was two different things.

Seems like most of the news today are rumors and innuendos, and I truly believe that there are conspiracies and its the spin on each story you read that you need to dig for the true facts.

Now, I just laugh at some of the stuff I see on the serious news channels.

BTW, has anyone ever seen the movie "Wag The Dog" with Robert De Niro, that movie depicts spinning stories to the news in a high art.

Yes, saw Wag the Dog!

Also, I was in the SF earthquake in 1989, and watched TV of it...real life was NOTHING like the quake on TV, where it appeared fires lasted for days...we had all gone back to normal life (well, the 12 million of us who didn't die or get hurt) and the national TV news kept showing this disaster that simply was not there.

i too have read many bad articles on the akins diet. i say to whom ever writes those article that they have never tried the diet. i have tried every diet in the world and only this akins diet has helped me lose weight, 90lbs to be exact since last dec. and without starvation and great health benefits. my cholestrol is lower and my blood pressure has lowered so much that my dr. took me off blood pressure medicine. my sugar levels are normal again and my bone density is great to. i also have arthritis in my knees and back and as i lose more weight the better they feel to.so don't let anyone tell you that the akins diet is bad for you because it isn't. its the healthiest diet i know. wish i had found it years ago.
sometimes i think there is a conspiracy to keep people in our country fat.
a low carber for life,
mary

I agree that it is really amazing how many bad articles or reviews are written. They all try to present the real facts, without any real knowledge or experience. My doctor too was amazed at the improvement in my overall health, and she was the very first person to buy my little low carb cookbook, saying that she needed to experience it for herself. She also said that the recent research does not support a low-fat diet and that most doctors have been giving their patients the wrong advise for years. Just watching us all put on weight should have been a clue - right?
Also, I have recently purchased (very expensive) a new book by Dr. Walter Willett from Harvard called Eat, Drink & Be Healthy - go to your library and ask for a copy. He is one of the worlds renowned nutritionists, and while he doesn't actually support Dr. Atkins as such, he does recognize the dangers of a diet full of carbohydrates. It is very interesting reading - not too technical, and all supported by research. I am sure that doctors all over will start to hear more about this and how wrong the north american diet has been these past years.

I used to be against it. I think it's because the lady I learned about it from made it sound like "Eat a pound of butter a day (and nothing else) and lose weight!" It's totally out of ignorance. I ate more vegatables on the Atkins diet than I had in years. Oh, my skin cleared up too. I blame the V-8 for that.

That might be your reality check Catte. I tried it and I KNOW how my energy and stamina levels shot through the roof. I'll do my own reality checks ... so there !

i still read every article in books or the paper about the low carb diets out now and seems like everyone is against them except for the people on them. i say everyone should try this diet at least once in their life time, don't you? it must be skinny people who write those articles. i know for a fact that this low carb diet has been my life saver, i have so much energy i can hardly contain it, i feel better and healthier, my cholestrol and blood pressure are down to be what they were when i was alot younger, i'm now 55 yrs, that should tell you something right there about the diet plan. IT WORKS. i still believe that our society wants to keep people fat so the doctors, pharmarists, health food stores and diet companies can make it rich .
think about this!
a low carb dieter
mary

I watched a special on Neanderthal man on the Discovery channel. They said that early man in his harsh environment ate about 4000 calories a day of which 80% of it was meat. They may have died by the age of 40 but look at what conditions they had to live in, no houses, just caves and fire no furnaces and had to hunt their food over treacherous terrain. Their health problems were probably caused by using their houses as their bathrooms. This is what we came from, this is probably where we are going, just not that high in calories.

Something to think about.

Elihnig