Paul, I apologize if my last post sounded like a billboard for the Atkins Diet, it just improved my life, and health so much that I can't help but be excited about it. I'd still like to help people understand about healthy eating, and how their body works however, so I'd like to share some helpful links from very reputable sources. First, A summary of a few diets direct from harvard's school of medicine. (You'll notice that this article does not promote low carb eating, but also confirms that it can be a healthy way to live if followed properly) http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HEALTHbeat_052207.htm#art1 Second, An article in AMNews which is an official publication of the american medical association. (If you don't believe me, search for the AMA on google, and click on "American Medical News" under publications, then search for Atkins on that website. The article is entitled "AMNews: Dec. 23/30, 2002. Atkins results leave dieters and researchers at a loss") http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2002/12/23/hlsd1223.htm That's all for now, I'll have more to come in the next few days, if there are no objections.
Re: Healthy Eating A recent (2007) study done by Stanford University http://nutrition.stanford.edu/pdfs/AZ_press.pdf If you are interested in your health and would like to discuss it with someone, or if you've decided to follow a diet that promotes a lower level of carbs, please feel free to find me in the chatroom, or get ahold of me by any means. I would love to talk about how I did it, and offer suggestions for maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle (whether you choose to follow atkins, or the traditional well balanced diet plan).
Hmmn... http://www.atkinsexposed.org/atkins/22/Opinions.htm From a common sense perspective, restricting fruits and vegetables while not restricting fats seems to me to be completely and utterly ridiculous. I understand that that is not the same as scientific "proof" but the fact of the matter is that any science can be done in such a way as to steer the results one way or the other. I have one or two nutritionist friends and they are extremely dismissive of the Atkins diet and for me, that's enough in the way of expert opinions. Sociohistorically, the Atkins diet has gone through several periods of fad-based mainstream obsession since its inception--right there that's enough to make me seriously question it. The latest (hopefully last) hurrah was such an insane orgy of consumeristic marketing mumbo-jumbo (we actually ended up with a low-carb grocery store here in Vancouver for all of about 6 months) that I am DEFINITELY never taking the Atkins diet seriously. Everyone I have talked to with any kind of background in diet and nutrition says it "works" solely because people on it end up drastically reducing their caloric intake. Anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together can tell you if you drastically reduce the amount of calories you're consuming, you'll lose weight. Add to that the dehydration factor, also a very quick and common way of losing weight, and yeah sure, it "works." But just because people lose weight on a diet doesn't mean the diet is healthy.
Joey, I can understand your skepticism, but atkinsexposed.com is hardly a source of scientific knowledge. I would trust harvard and stanford medical schools a little more than a website entirely devoted to dismissing atkins. A better skeptic reference would be the American Heart Association who still says that atkins is not a healthy balanced diet, and they suggest a rounded diet including 150grams of carbs minimum. I just prefer to lower my bread intake in exchange for vegetables. The atkins diet is still controversial even among medical doctors, but proof is being released all the time that is proving Dr. Atkins might not have been so "wacko" as everyone thought. The main complaint about atkins right now is "We haven't had enough time to study the long term effects thoroughly", but the negative short term effects are negligible to non-existant. Personally, I maintain a very healthy diet, and if I tell a nutritionist what i've been eating rather than what diet im on, they will usually find no fault with it. Example For dinner last night I had: 1/2 cup shredded chicken in sugar-free barbecue sauce 3 Cups of Broccoli and Cauliflower (man I love steam-in-bag broccoli and cauliflower) 1 Piece of Whole Grain bread with flax seed 1Tbsp peanutbutter (on the bread) 1 Large glass of water. Total Carbs: 15g It is also true that cutting carbs suppresses your apetite, so when people say "it only works because you eat less calories" that's exactly the point! If you eat less calories while remaining full, then great! That's the whole idea. Edit: Sorry I didn't check the link first. I can see that they have gathered their share of reliable criticism also (including the AHA). I have come to the conclusion that the medical community doesn't really know what to think about low carb diets, and being the stubborn group that they are, will test, retest, triple test, then repeat for decades upon decades before admitting that the atkins diet may be just as healthy or healthier than the old balanced diet. So what can you do when doctors disagree? Decide for yourself. Is it more of a risk to stay overweight if you can't handle the balanced diet, or is it worth lowering your carbs to find out how it makes you feel? As far as i'm concerned if your diet gives you more energy and makes you feel good throughout the day, then it's working. You can make up your own mind.
