Controlled Carbohydrate Eating - Atkins diet

[shaun]

Anyone who is interested in being healthy, go buy, or check-out from the library the Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution.

I know you've all heard about controlled carb dieting before, but it's not only a way to lose weight, it's a way to maintain a healthy eating pattern.
The book goes into great detail about why it works, how it works, and the benefits of limiting your carbohydrates.

Human beings survived and evolved for thousands of years without refined carbohydrates or breads of any kind. We were hunter gatherers, and that's what our body's have evolved to consume. We only really starting eating refined carbohydrates so heavily in the past 100 years, and since then diabetes has gone from being almost nonexistant, to a worldwide epidemic.

If you don't believe me, or Dr. Atkins, maybe you'll believe one of the 300 studies done by universities and research groups that are cited every time he states a medical fact, and listed numerically in the back of the book.

It's really amazing what you find out from this genius nutritionist. HDL cholesterol (the good kind) invariable goes up, LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) goes down, and tryglycerides (a cardiologists most reliable measurement of cardiac risk) completely plummets when you correctly adhere to the controled carbohydrate way of life.

I recently re-read this book, and I paid much more attention this time to the how's and why's of this program, and it's only reaffirmed my old belief that eating less carbohydrates can only make us look better, feel better, and be healthier.

Whether you're skeptical of this nutritional approach or not, you owe it to yourself to atleast read this small paperback book and decide for yourself. It's for your own good.




Here's an example of a normal day controlling carbohydrates (the most restrictive phase of the atkins nutritional approach.)

Breakfast:
-2 or 3 egg omelet (depending on how hungry I am) with crumpled nitrate-free bacon, cubed nitrate-free ham, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onion and bell peppers.
-Large cup of coffee, or glass of ice water

Snack:
Smal handful of Beef Jerky, or a few cubes of ham and cheese (I'm usually not hungry before lunch, but I like to keep my metabolism moving, so I chomp on a very small snack)

Lunch:
Chicken or Tuna salad made with meat, real mayo, spicy dijon mustard, splash of soy sauce, chopped celery, onion, bell pepper, and hard boiled egg (yolk and all)

Snack:
1-2 oz of Macademia Nuts, Almonds, or Pecans

Dinner:
Meatloaf, Steak, Grilled Chicken, Meatballs, or Fish topped with sugar free ketchup or barbecue sauce. Lobster tail in butter, or shrimp.




For those of us who have a hard time losing weight, and a hard time eating right, this approach is a no brainer. You can eat until you're full. You never have to be hungry, and I guarantee you will reach your goal weight, and you'll arrive there much healthier than someone who follows a low-fat diet.
every question you have, and every argument that every skeptic in the world has ever brought up will be addressed in the book, so go read it. NOW! even if you're not overweight, but you have a history of diabetes or heart problems in your family, and you're eating the average american high carb diet, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK.

Type 2 Diabetes can be cured ENTIRELY by this nutritional approach, so can anxiety, depression, mood swings, etc. They're all symptoms of unstable bloodsugar. When you eat a pasta dish with breadsticks, and drink a regular soda, you've just overloaded your body with carbohydrates, which is immediately turned into glucose. Your blood sugar / glucose level rises, so your body produces extra insulin to bring it back down. By doing this regularly your body becomes resistant to the effects of insulin which in turn causes your body to create more insulin, because the glucose level is too high. (Blood Sugar and blood Glucose are interchangeable terms)
Once your body starts overproducing insulin to try and counter it's insulin resistance, you have a problem, and that problem will almost certainly manifest itself as Type 2 Diabetes, and possibly alot sooner in your life than you would think.

I implore you, if you have excess weight on your body, or you have any interest whatsoever in being a happy healthy person for the rest of your life, then you must atleast read this book, and when you find it helpful (notice I didn't say if) please share it with your loved ones. They deserve to be healthy too.

What do you do every day that is more important than the food you put into your mouth? The answer is nothing

Please raise concerns if you have them, I will be happy to address them completely, and cite medical studies to back up my claims.

[shaun]

First Objection Received:
Only problem is you can get Gall Bladder Stones from this Diet, which are extremely painful and life threatening.

The Truth: (word for word from Dr Atkins, in his book and confirmed by research study)

Fact: There is now overwhelming scientific evidence that gallstones (responsible for over 90% of gallbladder disease) are formed when fat intake is low. In a study that examined the effects of a diet that provided 27 grams of fat per day, gallstones developed in thirteen percent of the participants (Ref. 1) The reason is that the gallbladder will not contract unless fat is taken in, and if it doesn't contract, a condition called biliary stasis develops and the bile salts crystalize into stones. Our gallbladders need to be kept active to prevent stone formation.
It is not uncommon to find gallstones in people who are obese, although the gallstones may not be causing discomfort. People with existing stones may, however, have trouble with high-fat meals. If you are one of these people, you may have to slowly increase the level of fat you eat according to your own tolerance--meaning, how you feel. Remember, gallstones are not formed overnight. So anyone who tells you they started doing Atkins, and two weeks later developed gallstones, doesn't fully understand the medical situation.

and here's the proof: http://antiaging-europe.com/lists/28/diseases.html

Gallbladder motility and gallstone formation in obese patients following very low calorie diets. Use it (fat) to lose it (well).
Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1998 Jun;22(6):592-600
Festi D; Colecchia A; Orsini M; Sangermano A; Sottili S; Simoni P; Mazzella G; Villanova N; Bazzoli F; Lapenna D; Petroni ML; Pavesi S; Neri M; Roda E.
Department of Medicine and Aging, University G D'Annunzio Chieti, Italy.

Dieting obese subjects are at risk of developing gallstones. A gallbladder motor dysfunction could have a pathogenetic role. The principal aim of this study was to evaluate the long term effects of two very low calorie diets differing in fat content on gallbladder emptying and gallstone formation in obese subjects. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Gallbladder emptying in response to meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) in two different diet regimens (3.0 vs 12.2 g of fat/d) was evaluated by ultrasonography in 32 gallstone-free obese patients on different days, before and during (at 45 d intervals) one or two 6-month weight reduction diets (for the first three months: 2.24 MJ (535.2 kcal), 3.0 g fat/d vs 2.415 MJ (577.0 kcal), 12.2 g fat/d; for the second three months, the same low calorie diet of 4.194 MJ (1002 kcal)/d for both groups). In 10 subjects, bile analysis was also performed. RESULTS: Twenty-two (69%) subjects concluded the study, eleven in each group, and a significant weight loss was achieved by all subjects. Gallstones (asymptomatic) developed in 6/11 (54.5%) (P < 0.01) of subjects following the lower fat diet, but in none with the higher fat regimen. In the dieters during the first three months (very low calorie phase) the higher fat meals always induced a significantly greater gallbladder emptying than the lower fat meals. The cholesterol saturation index initially increased significantly and then decreased, without difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: In the obese during rapid weight loss from a very low calorie diet, a relatively high fat intake could prevent gallstone formation, probably by maintaining an adequate gallbladder emptying, which could counterbalance lithogenic mechanisms acting during weight loss.

[Louise]

The first word that leaps to minde is CHOLESTEROL!!!!! I'm not sure your liver will enjoy processing so many eggs!

I agree whole heartedly on the carbohydrate front but the easiest way to lose weight and eat healthily is simply to eat fresh fruits and vegetables with all your meals, limit your red meat intake, reduce fatty foods and include more fish and nuts in your diet.

Example

Breakfast :
Bowl of unsweetend cereal with milk
Glass of fruit juice

Mid moring snack :
Apple/banana/orange

Lunch :
Chicken or fish with mixed leaf salad, and any salady bits that you like
Yougurt for pudding

Mid afternoon snack :
Handfull of nuts/dried fruits

Evening meal : if not taken too late (after 8pm)
Wholewheat pasta with vegetable sauce. or
Vegetable gratin

If you avoid mixing carbohydrates with protien your body can process this much more easily so instead of feeling tired and bloated after eating you feel energised. You can mix vegetables and protien because they are broken down by the same acids in the stomach.

With this sort of diet you avoid the risk of gall stones. The Atkins diet has been strongly critisized for its high fat/cholesterol content.

[beckyg]

My aunt lost alot of weight on Atkins but it was not so healthy. I thought it was crazy when she told me she couldn't eat fruit. She has since gained most of that weight back.

[shaun]

Becky, your aunt apparently did not have a thorough understanding of the atkins diet. fruits are definitely acceptable (though you want to pick the ones with the least amount of sugar to keep your blood sugar from spiking greatly). although atkins suggests that you do a 2 week "induction" where fruits aren't allowed, the only real point of induction is to prove to even the most metabolically challenged of us, that they CAN and WILL lose weight. I skip induction altogether and go right to OWL limiting my carbs to about 40 grams a day (all of which comes from fruits and vegetables).

Louise, your posted diet looks extremely healthy, and would undoubtedly be an acceptable day of eating "even on atkins" once you get closer to your target weight (or if you don't mind taking a little longer to lose the weight, you could be eating this way all along) however I must criticise the fruit juice choice with breakfast (somewhat). Most fruit juice is made from concentrate, and only contains approximately 30% of actual juice (which has been processed and lost many of it's nutrients). A healthier option would be fresh squeezed juice, or even a piece of fruit as substitute.

As for the gall stones, it is a non issue on the atkins diet. Fat is beneficial for gallbladder function, it's a medical fact that is almost universally accepted by medical doctors. The only issue with gallstones is that if you have been on a low calorie low fat diet for a long time you most likely have atleast small gallstones that have inevitably formed in your gallbladder due to lack of fat in your diet (your gallbladder doesn't work without fat and can not cleanse itself of the salts that build up in it).

Once you switch to a diet with higher fat content, your gallbladder springs into action, cleansing itself, and removing those gallstones from their dormant position. This is when people start to think that atkins gave them gallstones. It's simply not true. DISCLAIMER: if you have any reason to think that you might have gallstones, it is a good idea to get a sonogram and get medical treatment for them if they are large enough to cause discomfort when they are excreted from the gallbladder before raising your fat content significantly.


becky, it's very easy to follow the atkins diet in a "not so healthy way" skipping fruits and vegetables for more meat, and lacking majorly in nutrients that your body needs. That is why I stress the point that everyone NEEDS to read the atkins book for themselves so they have a thorough understanding of how they need to eat to be healthy. The only thing that you will be removing from your diet "for good" is bleached white flour products, and cane sugar. Both of which are nutritionally useless and addictive!

This is not so much a diet as a new way of life. You must realize that you can never go back to binging on doughnuts, cakes, and ice cream. But it's worth it to feel healthy, and look great.

As for cholesterol, I thought I covered it well in the original post, but the proof speaks for itself. I began the atkins diet with triglycerides of 500 (average 50-100) which is a good indicator that i could suffer from a heart attack even at my age if I continued to eat the way I did, my ldl cholesterol (the bad kind) was sky high, and my hdl cholesterol (the good kind) was very low. After 6 months on my diet I went back to see my doctor and had him run the blood lipid tests again, and the change was astounding. All of my numbers had improved (triglycerides went down, ldl went down, and hdl went up), and I was displaying the kind of cholesterol and triglyceride levels of an extremely healthy person. The doctor was very pleased with my improvement and told me "whatever you're doing, keep it up"

As for regaining weight after doing the atkins diet. After you lose alot of weight, the many fat cells that your body created to hold all that stored fat you used to have, still exist... they're just empty. This holds true no matter how you lose the weight. So it's very easy for your body (once you start binging on carbs again) to take that excess glucose and deposit it in the many empty fat cells that are laying dormant. In order to be healthy, and remain skinny, you must continue to eat healthy, and allow your metabolism to slowly increase over time. Most of us obese people have very slow metabolisms, and the metabolism adjusts slowly over time.

[Paul_UK]

I think the Atkins diet has been fairly well discredited now. People lose weight while they are on it, if they don't suffer from the lack of important food groups, but as soon as they go back to eating normally (as in the normal balanced moderate diet, not their previous normal) the weight goes back on.

I will change the title of this thread as it is misleading and basically sounds like marketing for the diet.

[Paul_UK]

Shaun, are you involved with the promoters of the Atkins diet somehow? Your posts seem more like promotional blurb than a considered personal opinion.

[shaun]

Paul, my post is nothing more than my own enthusiasm combined with the knowledge i've gathered by researching every aspect of the diet myself. Every word in my posts were written by me personally, but I guess I should take it as a compliment if you think my writing resembles "promotional blurb" as you so delicately put it. I've read independent studies on everything from ketosis to kidney and liver function on a low carb diet. If you can show me a scientific study that disproves anything i've said, I would be very interested to read it (for my own healths sake) but until someone can do that, I won't listen to "what my aunt told me whose a nurse", or "what fox said on the news". I tend to believe scientists who actually TEST it.

The government has been cramming low-fat down our throats for so long that we've been brain washed to instantly accept that low-fat = healthy. What would happen to the snack food and white-bread sectors if the government proclaimed them useless foods that are almost entirely responsible for diabetes?

I am not affiliated with the Atkins franchise in any way except that I read his book, and did my own research to confirm what he said. The reason I stres so strongly for people to read the book for themselves, is that I want them to understand this nutritional approach, and to do it correctly in a healthy way. I don't see why it was necessary to change my post title, since it is inherent that my title is my opinion, but it's your forums, do what you will. I want people to inform themselves by doing their own research into nutrition and the medical studies to back it.

You state that the atkins diet has been all but discredited, could you please give me more reason for why you say this?

[Paul_UK]

I would rather take dietary advice from someone who has worked as a doctor for much of his life (JayHew, see his article in Full Spectrum 1), than from someone who has read a book on a fad diet.

Never before has someone posted something so obviously promotional on this site in the guise of medical advise. Normally such promotional posts would get the poster a ban for spamming!

EDIT - I have had a couple of emails asking about the Full Spectrum article I mentioned. Full Spectrum 1 is available to download here http://www.fullspectrummagazine.com/?page_id=5