AGAIN! You and the OP need to do some more research. Another BS story started by the militant Vegans.

Let me google that for you

I don't follow Atkins.

The AHA position isn't based on the science. Or rather... it has failed to catch up to research. At one point in time research supported the superiority of high-carb diets with regard to healthy blood pressure and lipid levels. This was during the age of McDonald's (the 80s and 90s) so of course a high-carb, whole foods diet represented a significant improvement.

More recent research suggests that it's the carbs that provoke increased fat storage rather than dietary fat itself. It would make sense to be weary, then, of taking in too many carbs. To make up calories you'd have to complement your diet with more fat and protein. Research has also shown the acceptability of higher protein and fat levels within the context of a whole foods diet.

Of course the AHA can't do an about face on the diet they've been promoting for the last 20 years, even if science is in the way. Doing so would mean losing credibility. Plus, they know that most laypeople don't read the science, so they can continue to say whatever they want.

I think that whatever works for someone is the diet they need to be on. Nothing wrong at all with atkins as it is similar to what i eat only a lot less red meat for me. But i have chicken and fish about 3 times a week for dinner and 3 or 4 cans of fish during lunches during the week and then lots and lots of veggies and fruit. And that works for me.

But what works for me won't work for everyone else. I am very amused by the naysayers about the atkins. With the objective to be healthier and hopefully lose weight to, how can anyone put down the diet after so many people have improved their health? Like the days when we ate fast food and junk food we were healthy or something!!

It is these comments here that irritate me to no end. Obviously you have not read, researched or considered anything that has been previously written.....

Those of us that have read the books, done the plan, succeeded and failed to try again have given plenty of evidence, factual information and you continue to quote known misnomers................

I would feel embarrassed if I were you. I just don't know how people can come in a public forum and say some of the most ill-informed stuff and feel good about saying it.................

If eating protein, natural fats, lots of veggies, raw nuts, some fruits, grains and dairy is going to give any of us a heart attack...........again we are all doomed to be in bad health.

You are looking to start some type of debate or argument. I have posted several times what you eat on Atkins, which is far from being unhealthy........

...and you know this is fact because....?
You were his personal physician?

May I ask, if you are not doing Atkins, what type of low carb are you following? I was doing Atkins but wondering if I should modify it since I have been on it for about 6 months. Thanks for your time.

This sounds like a very reasonable way to live. I have tried Atikins and did well on it, but it did stress my kidneys. So, I am trying to do a modified version and cut out or severly restrict my use of wheat products, gluten and things like that. Although on the Atkins diet my cholesterol was the lowest it has ever been. Now it is through the roof again and I don't eat alot of meat or greasy foods. Well, just thought I'd say your post was very informative, thanks.

The reason your cholesterol was lower on Atkins is due to the fact that since you were eating foods that contain cholesterol, your liver was manufacturing less cholesterol.

People shouldn't believe some stuff
 

Dr atkins didnt die from following this diet and that is a very stupid myth, perpetuated by people who dont believe in low carbs.

My friend has followed this diet for over 10 years and her doctor has never been happier with her latest health check

As for him dying to due this diet maybe people should do more research before listening to people who want to knock this diet

In 2000, Dr. Atkins developed cardiomyopathy, an incurable heart condition which has quite a few different causes. His was thought to be from a viral illness, and his physician stated at the time that there was no evidence that his diet contributed to the condition. His coronary arteries were reported to have been checked at that time and found to be free of blockages.
Cardiomyopathy makes it more likely that a person will have a cardiac arrest (heart stopping), which happened to him two years later. Again, the cardiac arrest was not thought to be diet related. His cardiologist stated that (other than the cardiomyopathy), Atkins had "an extraordinarily healthy cardiovascular system".

Was Atkins Overweight?
William Leith, an writer who interviewed him around the time of his cardiac arrest stated that "he looks to be just under 6 feet tall and around 200 lbs – not skinny, not thin, but definitely not fat." A report from Atkins Nutritionals states that he played tennis competitively and that his weight was frequently checked, and in the years before his death was below 195, and six feet tall. And a medical report at the time of his admission to the hospital, which was later made public by his widow, states that he was 195 lbs on admission to the hospital.
Atkins' Death
On April 8, 2003, at age 72, Dr. Atkins slipped on the ice while walking to work, hitting his head and causing bleeding around his brain. He lost consciousness on the way to the hospital, where he spent two weeks in intensive care. His body deteriorated rapidly and he suffered massive organ failure. During this time, his body apparently retained an enormous amount of fluid, and his weight at death was recorded at 258 pounds. His death certificate states that the cause of death was "blunt impact injury of head with epidural hematoma".
Following this, a Nebraska doctor known to be anti-Atkins, and associated with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, requested Dr. Atkins' medical records, which should not have been released, but which mistakenly were sent. The Medical Examiner's report had a hand-written note that Atkins had a history of myocardial infarction (heart attack), congestive heart failure, and hypertension (written "h/o MI, CHF, HTN"). The above Committee made much of this and began the rumor that Atkins had "died of his own diet". The misconceptions remain to this day.

The year following his death, his widow released a statement taking what she called "unscrupulous individuals" to task for spreading falsehoods about her husband.

Apparently, those individuals are still having a measure of success.

* In March 2007, Newsweek magazine published a correction stating, "An earlier version of this story contained an inaccurate account of events surrounding the death of Dr. Robert Atkins. Newsweek regrets the error."

I disagree with this completely. There are multiple tribal communities in the world who subsist on very high protein diets, and have none of the diseases or problems that "civilized" countries have (IE, no diabetes, cancer, heart disease). They also don't have any of the problems associated with the Atkins diet by modern medicine.

Give Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes a read, he has researched and explained over 100 years worth of medical experiments and research in the health, diet and weight loss fields, and comes to a startling conclusion that really changed the way I think about food.

I am a recent convert to the Atkins Diet. I have to admit that I was really skiddish about it prior to reading the book (The New Atkins For a New You). But after reading the book and getting the correct facts for myself, I was convinced this was it!! I have not been on this way of eating for long at all but I can tell you that my blood sugars regulated immediately and I can feel the difference in my body. I'm losing FAT, I don't have the cravings I've had with previous diets I've tried (and failed). This one...I can do and maintain it for the long haul (Lifetime Maintenance is my goal now)! It works for me and has worked for sooo many others. Don't poo-poo something you don't understand, do the research for yourself and THEN decide!

I'm on the second week of Atkins and I'm feeling really good about this diet. I'm type 2 diabetic and my blood sugar is running 100 - 113 everyday for the past week. I don't have to take my Byetta anymore and hopefully I will be able to stop taking Metfromin one of these days. Before this diet my blood sugar was running 175 and sometimes in the 250 range. I get checked every three months and my kidneys are great! I will see how things go when I go back in three months from now.

Patsy

[QUOTE=littlegreeneone;16657]However, after a long period of lack of carbohydrates, the liver begins to produce ketone bodies leading to a condition called ketosis. Ketone bodies create an acidic pH in the blood, causing the body to suck calcium out of the bones to neutralized the blood pH.QUOTE]

Ketosis is NOT a negative condition; KETOACIDOSIS is. And if you're not a Type 1 diabetic, you are NOT going to have to worry about Ketoacidosis. I don't low carb (not nearly as low carb as Atkins or Bernstein -- though Atkins is primarily based around veggies and protein), but I AM a T1 diabetic and I have been hearing this misunderstanding for YEARS. What Atkins results in is often referred to as "benign dietary ketosis." This is hardly the same thing as Ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is the state in which many/most T1s are diagnosed -- it is the result of a lack of insulin in the body, and the body begins to burn fat.

Also, a low carb diet does NOT automatically equal a high protein diet. The ONLY time that a high protein diet poses any danger is when there is already existing damage to the kidneys or other physical compromise. Eating a meal based in veggies and protein (which a lot of my meals are, given that I want to use as little insulin as possible, since less carbs equals less insulin equals less swings from high to low and less dangerous, severe lows, which is my worst issue relative to diabetes).

Christine

Ketoacidosis vs Ketosis
 

:confused:

LGo - I think you may be (as stated by Christine above) confused...

they've come out with LOTS of very good recent info about low carb diets and it's all good.

btw I've been on Atkins off and on for 30-40 years (:eek: omg i'm so old ) - and my blood pressure, chloresterol numbers and liver/kidney function - are all so good that my doctor is jealous of me :-)

check out this comparison of the two ketone-induced states:

Ketosis and ketoacidosis - Weight Awareness - Health information, help, news, directory and community

Dr. Atkins was a cardilogist who died from head injuries suffered in a fall at the age of 72.

Atkins is only dangerous if you're an idiot who can't follow basic instructions

Unfortunately there are idiots out there. Natural selection takes care of them.

According to a website on weight loss....

Years after his death in 2003, the rumor that Dr. Robert Atkins "died of his own diet" persists. The falsehoods concerning his death are mainly propagated by the vegan group the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and related groups and individuals. However, even the mainstream media is not blameless. In March 2007, Newsweek magazine published an opinion piece by Dr. Dean Ornish which contained the same untruths, which were later retracted by the magazine.

The website further said that the truth is Dr. Atkin's slipped on ice on his way to work, hit his head, there was internal bleeding and he died from this bleeding.

Why did you mention mobic? It's an anti-inflamatory drug and you seemed t be speaking about cholestrol meds. I recently started taking mobic in place of relafen. Does it cause weight loss problems? I'm on Atkins and I lost 60 pounds but nothing in a few months. I'm close to my goal but having trouble with the last 15 lbs. Maybe the mobic? I appreciate any insight you have. Thanks

I read the book The China Study and saw the documentary Forks Over Knives at a prescreening last year. I am now a vegetarian, with vegan tendencies ;) The movie scared me. It is backed up by years of research saying meat and dairy, even in small doses, are not a good thing. My mom, who was diabetic and overweight switched to vegan after the movie and that move alone has completely reversed her diabetes so she is no longer on medication, and she has dropped 25 lbs since September. Her cholesterol and all of her numbers dropped dramatically, too. That's proof enough for me.
Meat grosses me out anyway, so it wasn't too hard. I don't try to push vegetarianism on anyone, but for me, it's the obvious choice, and after seeing what I saw, and reading what I have read, I can never go back.

Briggie,

Are you still eating grains? Or rather, are you still eating them in the same amount as you were before? The reason I ask is because many people who go vegan/vegetarian tend to increase their intake of salads, and therefore decrease their intake of pasta and breads, in addition to eliminating meat. Many of the benefits of vegetarianism you describe can really be attributed to simply reducing or eliminating grains, particularly wheat, from the diet. Many, many people have enjoyed the same health benefits of decreased weight, lower LDL, reducing reliance on meds, etc. from reducing grains and continuing to eat meat in substantial amounts.

Not true
 

1) Your get carbs in the Atkins diet. It is not carb free. It does emphasize some slow carbs, not processed foods.

2) Your body also makes glucose from protein in the diet, of which there is tons.

3) Your body has 2 fuels systems, one for glucose and one for fat. Once you have gone into ketosis, you are burning fat ( from your own cells or in the fat you take in by mouth) so have made the switch.
4) Stop scaring people about Atkins .Read Garry Taubes, who has the latest research on low Carb diets.

[QUOTE=RichardBuckner;17119]Your message is discouraging for serious contemporary dieters and shows a complete lack of ignorance of the scientific research that had taken place over the last 20 years. Your body converts fat and protein into glucose and using the net carbs count makes it a little easier than strictly counting carbs. You sound like the old school fat free diet thinking. Moderate ketosis does no harm; hunter gatherers, modern day Eskimos and careful Atkins dieters live without harm. Of course everything in moderation. I am on the pre maintenance phase of New Atkins and have lost 35 pounds. I carefully monitor my nutrition intake and exercise. I get plenty of calcium without supplements. I go to see my doctor regularly and have CBC, lipid panel and complete metabolic screenings. Everything is in normal range. My cholesterol is off the normal range on the low side. I do not take mobic or any cholesterol or tri glyceride controlling drug. My acid reflux has disappeared. Most of the time I am hunger free and have higher energy. This kind of sophomoric palaver just does harm.





Totally agree with above statements. If Low Fat/High carb was so great, how did the USA get to be one of the fattest nations in the world??? These people have been duped by food processors into buying cheap carbs, the kind farmers feed cattle to fatten them up. See, it works. Big Pharma benefits too, by selling all kinds of drugs to control the diseases ( obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes) that are rampant in this nation.

Hey, you people....squabbling...
 

It's silly to argue about Atkins or low-carb or any other diet. You're on a fitday forum, which means you are sitting smack dab on top of all the nutirtional information you need.

If you follow a diet, Atkins or ANY OTHER, be extremely honest about putting the amounts of foods you eat into the food log. You should run reports at least once a week, and run them to cover a month's worth of food logs, for example. You can see if you are getting all the vitamins you need. And if you aren't, the answer is not to say, 'Oh, yeah, well, Atkins said that wasn't important' or 'Taubes thinks that's no big deal...'

Those vitamins are so friggin' basic (Taubes says he eats 'lots of vegetables' and that actually means he's getting plenty of carbs in his diet - to hear HIM tell it) that if you are showing up deficient in some, believe me, there are lots that aren't even being calculated, and some of those will be deficient, too.

If Fitday is not enough calculating power for you, you can possibly find other websites (don't know, cuz fitday is fine for me).

If you are doing the XYZ or the XYZ or the ZYX diet, just check out what the nutrition that is going into your body is like - without supplement. The Atkins and low-carb support websites are going to be full of either a recommendation to take a multi-vitamin or the forums will show you that Atkins dieters take a ton of supplements, some of them quite 'far out there.'

Whatever diet you do, you know exactly what you are putting in your mouth. If you measure it (not hard to do, pretty soon you can 'eyeball' an item and tell the quantity), you will know your calories and you will know your nutrients. Fitday will tell you if you are getting all the basic nutrients you should . If you are eating a balanced diet, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and lean meats, fish, and dairy, you're covering a lot of bases. If you're only eating hunks of flesh and a tossed salad twice a day, you aren't getting a variety of micronutrients.

Fitday will show you right away. You're on the fitday website!

The thing about Atkins, I reckon, and probably every other diet system out there that gives a goodly amount of choice with what you eat (and if it's too restrictive, that will cause compliance problems - at the extreme, apparently it's possible to live nutritiously entirely upon beansprouts, but I doubt that anyone would be able to stand it) is that you can apply it well, or you can apply it badly, and because there's a choice involved, there are always going to be people who will apply it badly. This is especially true because a lot of people don't bother to research what they eat, and also because many people are hoping for a quick fix. As far as I can tell, the main problem with Atkins is when people stay in Phase 1 for far too long in the hope that they'll lose more weight that way. You can't just say, "But they shouldn't be doing that," because the way the diet has been set up and the way people approach dieting in this culture, this is going to happen with quite a few people. There also seems to be a problem with the brand name processed foods, and of course lots of people are lazy or short of time and for one reason or another, will grab any opportunity they can find not to have to prepare all their food freshly.

It's a bit like the efficacy of condoms: they're far less effective in real life than they are in the "perfect use" stats because they need to be used carefully, and many people don't realise that they're not quite using them properly or make mistakes for other reasons, and this level of human error has to be taken into consideration because it's part of the whole picture. They're still marvellous things in many ways, but you can't just leave out the poor users and pretend they're not part of the picture. What you can do is educate people, help them find the diet/contraceptive method which suits them the best, and make sure it's one that they'll be able to follow well.

So perhaps it's more realistic to talk about the dangers of a poorly-applied Atkins diet, which are certainly there, just as there are dangers to any poorly-applied diet. We've all heard about people who were eating poor extremely diets to begin with and turned vegetarian by simply eliminating some foods but not looking at their diet to see how to make it balanced. This doesn't mean that vegetarianism is inherently unhealthy, as some people try to claim ("she was eating nothing but potato waffles and toast, and once she added chicken back in she was so much healthier!" sort of thing), it just means that further limiting an already highly limited and unhealthy diet is likely to make it worse.

One thing has been bugging me a bit, though. Atkins is a viable option, many people do well on it, I get that. But it does seem to have spawned a ferocious anti-carb sentiment, where the very idea of having more than 40% carbs in your diet is treated as completely unthinkable. Cutting down sugar is definitely a good thing, but insisting that nobody should be eating grains in any form - and yes, I've seen that stated quite a few times - is daft. Ironically, one of the flaws of Fitday, and one which I know that many people here have asked to have fixed, is that it doesn't distinguish between sugars and starches, let alone look at glycaemic index. Maybe that's helping fuel the idea that carbs are evil, or maybe it's simply that low-carb diets are a current fashion, and we all know what the media is like for blowing things out of proportion. Eating a danish pastry for breakfast really shouldn't be considered the same way as a healthy bowl of porridge!

I agree with you totally.

I think fitday doesn't need to break down starches and sugars. For one thing, I think starches do get broken down to sugars in the body anyway. Could be wrong about that, but that's what I've gleaned from discussions.

I don't even think sugars are bad. What's wrong with Atkins is that it simplifies everything (sometimes, that's useful) but dumbs it down so much that Atkins people will rant about carbs while bragging about the healthful salad they ate - totally made up of carbs. That the carbs in the salad are low-CALORIE lettuce leaves and watery vegetables is fine, but they are carbs. Eating a potato and staying within a limit is not going to hurt the diet, if you're counting carbs. Instead, foods are actually demonized, and people act like foods are poison to a diet. Overeating, going over limits (calorie or carb, doesn't matter) is what throws the balance of energy off, leading to weight gain.

Meanwhile, no one misses the fact that all kinds of nutrients are out of the equation. There are always supplements, right? It just becomes an extremely narrow, restrictive diet like any other that cuts out whole food groups.

Short-term, it works fine.

These days, I can't think of a single food that I can't eat or wouldn't eat. Done with all that restrictive nonsense - been there (Atkins). I know how to boil, broil, and bake protein; it's not that versatile.

I would like to have a sugar count, not really fussed about starches. I'd personally like to be able to see a count of natural sugar versus added sugar, much in the same way I like to look for the unsat fats being higher than the sat fat. (Yes, I realize that it is also a point of contention about whether sat fat is bad, but we all have our own things we like to keep an eye on).

I probably eat more carbs than most people here, so I apologize for hijacking the Atkins thread...I just saw Esofia's post and thought it was very well worded.

Well, it wasn't so much that I wanted a count for sugars and starches, but I believe that carbs are divided into those, so it was more that I'd like some kind of recognition of the difference. The usual nutrition labelling I see in the UK is "29.5g carbohydrate, of which 15.6g is sugars", and that's what we'd all like, I think. And won't get, from what I've heard, since it seems that while the forums and such are very much alive, whoever's running the show isn't interested in updating the software. I'd quite like to be able to log glycaemic index/load as well, though not enough that I can be bothered hunting down different software and transferring all my custom data to it.

I wonder how many people do notice a difference between sugars and starches? Diabetics, presumably. I'm not not diabetic, but I certainly do in all sorts of ways: how my energy levels behave (spiking versus sustained), migraine, whether or not it sets off an ME/CFIDS relapse. I often get an immediate head rush, not the pleasant sort. I can tell the difference between chestnut and chocolate buns (now off the agenda, alas) which I've baked with caster sugar, and which I've baked with agave syrup. Since I get fairly obvious effects, and since I'm eating a whole foods diet and don't have to contend with much in the way of hidden sugars, I also find it relatively easy to know when I'm getting too much sugar, which is why I'm not terribly bothered about this lack in the Fitday software. Exactly what sugar would be doing to me in a more subtle fashion, such as how it affects weight gain, is something I don't know in the same way, but I'm pretty much staying off it for other reasons anyway, so hopefully that side of things will take care of itself.

Er, we have hijacked a bit, haven't we.

That said, one more point about supplements, which affects Atkins and all diets too. I've heard it said a number of times (and am a bit tired to check references right this minute, I may later if people want) that modern farming methods have depleted the soil to the extent that fruit and veg have substantially less vitamins and minerals in them than they did fifty years ago, and that pretty much unless you're personally growing all your food yourself and can make sure the soil is up to scratch, you're going to be short of some nutrients, and that a good multivitamin is therefore a wise thing however good your diet.

QUOTE=tastest;40828]If you have a look at statistics of fat consumed in the USduring the last 30 or so years, you will see that Americans as a nation never really embraced the low fat approach. And of course, the phenomenon of supersizing. I heard that McD in America sells chicken nuggets in 20ps, even 50pcs! Is that true? Here in Europe, the standard size is 6pcs and 9pcs.


Briggie73, I too read The China Study, i was a semi-vegetarian before, and after reading it i am slowly and steadily moving towards full vegetarianism with limited egg/dairy produce. I was never a big fan of Atkins and meat in general. Excessive meat eating is dangerous for the body and our planet. I recommend a book called '15 Reasons Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories'

Atkins diet works because when you follow it, you reduce your total calorie intake. There's no magic in it.

Fuel For the Brain & Obesity Epidemic
 

I searched this thread and didn't find these two things addressed. No, I didn't read every post on every page to check.

Yes, this way of eating has been oversimplified and so many believe the simple version is the right version because they have some success on it. The book can be pretty dry when he's getting into the complicated stuff. That's why I read it over and over again and still refer back to it.

One statement that sticks out in my mind is that (paraphrased) Harvard metabolic scientists found that keytones were a preferred fuel for the brain over blood sugar. He sites resources if you want to check.

The other is how politically motivated the USDA was in creating the food pyramid. Think about it. Sugar and flour are huge exports for this country. Our beef producers were sacrificed in order to promote sugar and flour. This is the food pyramid that was pushed on us for over 50 years.

We learn from the book about the 20 year rule. When you introduce something new into a society's diet you will see the results in about 20 years. Here comes obesity and diabetes at epidemic levels after we are told that fat is so bad for us. When you remove fat, you take away the flavor. (Some raised without much fat in their diet don't know what they're missing.) So now we add sugar and flour to offset the taste. Remember his explanation that around 20 years after we started using processed flour we saw our very first case of heart disease in this country?

One final thing that I didn't see addressed. Eating fat doesn't turn into fat in our bodies. It actually mobilizes it. Animal fat, from red meat isn't evil. In fact, for those of us who have lost over 100lbs following Dr. Atkins' advice correctly, fat was a very essential part of the food we ate. One benefit was adding elasticity back to loose skin so that it drew back up after the weight loss.

The USDA caused a lot of misconceptions that they're not really admitting to now. They convinced doctors and dietitians of wrong information all because of exports.

MunaAmin:

Americans embraced the low fat approach and didn't question it. However, it was so difficult to follow that the majority went the other extreme. It was a relief after trying to eat "correctly". There are studies that contradict whatever it is you read. There are always studies and statistics that contradict each other.

The Atkins way of eating has nothing to do with reducing total calorie intake. Not in the original plan that later was modified to please those who had an interest in what Dr. Atkins wrote.

1. For those of us who have the tendency to overeat feel no need to following this plan. Eating food with a higher fat content than what the USDA recommends results in more satisfying meals.

2. The metabolic state we put our bodies into through ketosis has nothing to do with restricting calories. Read the science behind it.

I'd be thrilled to have a 'complete lack of ignorance'! :D

With that said I think both a completely vegan diet and an extremely low carb diet are both unhealthy for most people.

I think eating fresh fruits and vegetables (organic if you can afford them) is wonderful and eating them cooked or raw (depending on the fruit or vegetable) is very healthy and these should make up a large portion of people's diet. I also think that eggs, lean meats, and poultry are healthy and that it's ok to drink/eat some dairy as long as you're not lactose intolerant.

I tried to go on a vegetarian diet more than once, primarily because I saw vegetarians as 'thin and healthy'. When people said they were vegetarian they always looked that way. However it just didn't work for me. At first I felt so much better, had so much energy, felt less sluggish, etc. but this was just a temporary thing. I couldn't do it long term. I started feeling really yucky and worn out and the only thing that helped that was meat. So I had to go back to eating moderate amounts of meat.

And yo do this by coming into a generic thread? Why not be professional and go throught he correct channels.

Hello everyone,

I am seeing a dietition because not only do I need a bit of help in loosing the weight I want to loose but needed help with improving energy and changing my overall eatting habits. She suggested I needed to eat more fresh vegetables and fruit. As far as meat, I was advised to eat chicken and fish and if I did eat red meat to eat it rarely. I do eat some grains but not alot and if I do, just brown rice and rye breads.

I don't think I could handle an all vegetarian diet only because I've been anemic before. I also take calcium and vitamin D supliments as well because I was tested and my vitamin D was low.

I did go on the Atkins diet a long time ago and did loose some weight on that diet but it is a difficult diet to do. I later read where it is dangerous. Now you all mention that it pulls calcuim from the bones. If so, I won't ever attempt to try that diet again then because I have been told by a chiropractor I have osteopenia in my spine so I'm trying to do weight training, take extra vitamin D and extra calcium to hopefully stop and reverse that.

Terri

It is pretty obvious that none of you have actually READ the Atkins books or looked at the last 40 years of research. If you're not interested in Atkins, that's fine. But, you should at least read the books before you start 'dissin' it. We aren't attacking your vegan approach--which can be deadly to those of us with insulin problems.

Don't go by what you've "heard." Read the books and look at the research. I have been low-carb (most of the time on Atkins maintenance) for many years. It has done nothing but help my insulin resistance--and I have no arthritis. I did, but was able to rebuild the cartilage and bone loss through diet and supplements (with the x-rays to prove it).

Amen!

Actually, Dr. Atkins died of head trauma, after slipping on the ice on the way to work. (And he weighed 195lbs when he was admitted to the hospital following the fall, which was not considered overweight for his height.)

Please, do some basic research before posting such falsehoods.

At least check Snopes!

(Yes, he had a heart attack a year prior to his fall, but it was due to an infection, not diet related. Again -- CHECK YOUR FACTS.)

Completely agree with tandoorichicken. I pretty much follow the same diet. Did a low-carb caveman diet (still eating cheese and yoghurt though) initially to loose the weight, now I eat a few grains like rice and oats occasionally, and try to avoid glutenous grains (although I do occasionally have a fat day where I eat/drink anything I want). I would definetely recommend Atkin's diet for weight loss, as long as you eat plenty of fresh vegetables. Vegetables will neutralise the acidity in the blood from the ketones and eating meat etc. Barley grass is a known alkalising food. Fasting also forces the body to utilise ketones, and fasting is known to be very beneficial. So the body is designed to be able to utilise ketones as an energy source. I personally, go on and off ketosis to manage my weight and stay healthy.

Also forgot to mention that my bone density has increased since doing my diet, and I have been a sufferer of "shin splints" - an overuse injury in the tibia (bone in lower leg), where the bone becomes weaker and or inflammed, and now I am completely healed with no shin problems whatsoever. I thank my diet for that, but also my physiotherapy. So I can't say ketosis has pulled calcium out of my bones.