BBC's Horizon program "The Atkins Diet" will screen on ABC's Catalyst at 8.00pm on the next 2 Thursdays.

It would appear this is a fairly balanced look at why Atkins in particular annoys so many "experts" - because it works, and they can't work out why. I believe they chicken out when examining the question of metabolic advantage, and go with the reduced appetite and therefore lower calorie explanation. That is a pity because there are now no shortage of studies that show greater weight loss on the same or greater low carb calories - but hey, its good that it is being examined in some detail in a reasonable way, even if on a slightly flawed basis.


Malcolm

Thanks for this Malcolm, I'm looking forward to watching this.

Bec

For those of you who missed the show here is a link to the full transcript.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1084112.htm#top

I love it when we are proven right!!!!!! I am sick of defending myself and the way I am eating. I just DON'T any more! I just say "Look at me and judge for yourself".

willow68

Yes, that is the best revenge for sure. Willow.

But it is a pity it was such an abysmal program - and wait till next week when they unleash the critics, and after raising the question of metabolic advantage - they chicken out and tell you that the guy who lives on plates full of meat, is actually losing weight because his appetite has been suppressed and he is in fact restricting calories.

Oh well.... small steps.


Malcolm

Hi guys

I'm paleo and don't often get on to the Atkins forums but part 2 of the show was excellent.. the last person on the show said that they now believe that Atkins works, but won't be adopting it because they are unsure of the long term consequences!! What a wimp-out!

Tonight (Friday) we're off to the Treasury Casino in Brisbane for my Daughter in law's birthday. There's an all you can eat buffet so guess what I'll be pigging out on.. roast beef, chicken, pork, roast lamb, salami, .. I intend to go home in an ambulance...

MichaelG

(also posted in lc media)

Yes, I watched this program as well as taking part in the online ABC discussion forum afterwards.

Isn't it a pity that the ABC doesn't do real science programs any more, and we are subjected to this 3rd rate "journalism" imported from overseas.

You would think that any serious analysis of Atkins or the reduced carb WOL generally, would at least include an expert from the Atkins camp, so all the tired old claims of kidney damage, reduced bone density and cancer could be refuted. At the very least they could have looked at the recent scientific studies that have found these claims to be baseless. And rather than running their own "quick and dirty" study they may have also have explained that there are has been plenty of recent research showing thet people lose more weight on a low carb diet of equal or greater calories compared to the low fat/high carb diet the "experts" recommend.

Even if you were to accept that appetite supression is one of the keys to the success of Atkins, the experiment they showed which supposedly showed that high protein was the key factor - pitted a low fat high protein (and we guess low carb) diet against a very high carb low protein diet. This still leaves open the question that people on the high carb diet ate more, simply because of the blood sugar instability we know this diet causes - with a high crashing to a low after insulin is dumped into the system leading to cravings for more carbs to bring the now low blood sugar back into balance.

Of course no media piece on this topic would be complete without some "expert" warning us that the long term dangers of a low carb diet are yet to be established - and without anyone to point out that -
(a) no Atkins didn't invent it
(b) it has been around in its modern form for nearly 200 years
(c) the paleolithic basis for the diet gives us more than 2 million years of long term validation.

And did they question the now all to apparent dangers of the low fat/high carb diet? Nope.

As I said, I joined in the online discussion afterwards. You can check out the battleground here;

http://www2b.abc.net.au/health/expe...rum/default.htm

The ABC found six "experts" to assist viewers with their questions about low carb. Funnily enough, not one of the "experts" was a supporter of Atkins - but given the nature of the program we were discussing, I thought that was fairly appropriate.

Malcolm

I thought it was a good programme but still left alot of questions