Reducing Body Fat - How did you gain the extra fat you currently have?
The
Atkins Diet Carolyn
Classick-Kohn,MS,RD
The Atkins Diet
was developed by cardiologist Robert Atkins in the 1970's and
has recently been revived, due to his recent book, Dr. Atkins'
New Diet Revolution. The basic diet claim is that only
carbohydrates make a person fat, and strict limitations on
carbohydrates of all types help the body to burn fat.
To accomplish
this, you must eat a diet that is high in total fat and
saturated fat. Foods included are meats, poultry, seafood, eggs,
high fat dairy products like cheese, butter, and cream, oils,
nuts, and artificial sweeteners.
To avoid
carbohydrates, the diet is extremely limited in fruits and
vegetables, grains, beans, and breads, as well as sugar of any
type.
Recently, The
Atkins Diet has been getting more attention because it is being
studied for validation of its diet claims. Like many
diets, the Atkins Diet claims that their approach will improve
overall health, including heart health. This runs counter to the
large body of evidence that shows that diets like this that are
high in animal foods and saturated fat raise blood cholesterol
and increase atherosclerosis.
Confused about what
kind of diet to follow ? Consider
these key points:
The Atkins Diet is
promoted as a weight loss plan. It is reduced in calories, so
people lose weight, just like any other weight loss plan.
When a person
loses weight, these things tend to happen: blood cholesterol and
triglyceride levels improve, high blood pressure is reduced,
blood sugar levels improve because insulin resistance improves,
and people feel better. These improvements have been shown to
occur on most weight loss diets, regardless of the type of diet!
For weight loss to
be a permanent success, people need to learn how to make better
food choices and eat within their calorie needs for their body
weight and physical activity needs.
The problem with
diets like the Atkins approach that are very high in saturated
fat, or very high in total fat or protein is that they don't
teach a way of eating that will lead to long term health
benefits and a healthy balanced diet with a variety of all types
of nutritious foods. What happens to high fat or high protein
diets once the calories are increased to maintenance? This is
the real question that will decide whether a diet is "heart
healthy" or a good option for lifelong eating. Once the
beneficial effects of weight loss stops, one is left with a diet
that has been shown to be associated with increased risk of
heart disease, high blood cholesterol, stroke, and certain types
of cancer.
Diets high in
saturated fat have been linked to other diseases, including most
recently, Alzheimer's disease.
If you are considering a high fat,
high protein diet, find about the effects of these diets from
multiple professional sources. Remember, you can lose weight on just
about any diet
that is reduced in calories. The reason I do not advocate high fat
or very low carbohydrate diets like the Atkins diet is because they
do not promote a healthy, lifelong pattern of eating, and they teach
people to choose foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol and to
eat calorically dense foods.
It is well established that once a
person reaches a healthy body weight, the best way to stay there and
not re-gain the weight they fought hard to lose is to follow a
balanced diet that includes healthy portions of nutritious
carbohydrates and proteins, and a reasonable amount of "good" fats,
not saturated animal fats.
