Atkins diet, Atkins Nutritional Approach or just Atkins is a low-carbohydrate diet and was formulated by Dr. Robert Atkins to solve his very own problems of being overweight. Dr. Atkins conceptualized this diet plan based on a theory that overweight people tend to ingest more carbohydrates. Since the body uses fat and carbohydrates for energy, eating lesser carbohydrates would mean that fats are burned more.
As some people claimed to have lost their weight on Atkins, some doctors and nutritionists criticize it. You should decide for yourself by weighing in the pros and cons of the Atkins diet plan before embarking on it.
Advantages:
* You do not have to suffer withdrawal from high fat foods since you can still eat cheese, cream and meat.
* Getting hungry is not an issue since you can eat as many portions as you like of the foods that are not prohibited.
* Other low calorie diets prohibit many kinds of food so chances of cheating are high. With Atkins diet, there is a huge variety since there are many kinds of food that are allowed.
* Foods that are rich in dietary fiber can be eaten. This is due to the fact that fiber is not digested. This is another leeway in the variety of food that can be taken in.
* Based on an argument, low-carbohydrate diet is more natural for the human body since grains (wheat, rice, etc.) have just been part of the human diet 10,000 years ago. The main point is that the human body has not progressed enough to cope with the grains in a satisfactory manner.
* There are also researches which show that people with type 2 diabetes benefits from a low carbohydrate diet because it will enhance their sugar control and insulin function.
Disadvantages:
* The New England Journal of Medicine concluded that even though there was more weight lost after six months on the Atkins diet rather than on the low calorie diet, the difference was immaterial after one year.
* Also, the New England Journal of Medicine cited that the number of people dropping out of the low calorie diet and the Atkins diet are both large which means that the variety of food allowed on the Atkins is not adequate enough to keep the people on the diet regimen.
* If fat is utilized in metabolic processes instead of carbohydrates the chances of kidney problems, gout and headaches increases because of the amplified uric acid and ketones.
* Constipation and chronic bowel diseases are more likely since there can be lower amount of dietary fiber on the Atkins diet.
* The cholesterol level can be affected badly and it may lead to cardiac diseases since animal fat can be eaten in high amounts.
* Another case is reducing carbohydrates can lead to reducing calories as well since most of the foods which are high in fat becomes unpalatable in huge amounts without carbohydrates.
* Based on the American Heart Association’s, the Atkins diet does not conform to its dietary guidelines for a healthy heart.
* The Atkins diet is not friendly on vegetarians since it is a protein diet which is mostly meat products.
After presenting the benefits and drawbacks on the Atkins diet, you should decide if you want to follow it or not. A popular diet does not mean it is the right one for you. Determine if Atkins diet can help you lose weight but at the same time you do not feel fatigue, weakness or headaches.
A diet plan is truly successful if it can change your eating habits. It does not matter if a certain diet plan can lead to a rapid weight loss if you cannot stick to it because the weight you have lost will surely get back if you go back to your old eating pattern. Try to remember that when you have lost the extra pounds, eat healthy to avoid rapid weight gain and weight loss.
Tags: Atkins, pros and cons, diet program
3 comments ↓
One’s choice of a diet plan is very personal. Many people have had success with Atkins and similar plans, but many others have had success through the Sonoma Diet, Weight Loss 4 Idiots, or plans emphasizing exercise. Ultimately the choice is yours and the lifestyle from your chosen diet is yours. Do your research and choose well the first time and you won’t have to worry about yo-yo dieting.
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This article seems a little anti-Atikins biased. I’ve read a study where the atkins dropout rate was half of the low calorie. Even if the weight loss after six months is the same as Atkins, at least the Atkins people were not starving. Ketosis has a nice way of blunting the appetite.
As for constipation this goes a way after a few weeks on Atkins, this is also a sign of dehydration. Stools become hard mainly because the large intestine removes needed water. So when properly hydrated stools are not hard.
Funny thing about cholesterol is that there is a lot of dogma about how bad it is but if you do the research you will find at best a weak link. Please read “The Great Cholesterol Con” which to understand the how cholesterol became such a buggyman.
There are vegetarians who are on Atkins using soy products for protein. Look it up on the web.
Atkins does not conform to the American Heart Association’s dietary guidelines because it’s much closer to the diet of our hunter gather ancesters who were eating this way 100,000’s of years. Do you really think the human body has adapted to the high carbohydrate diet of the last 10,000 years? Are bodies have barely adapted diegesting milk in this time let alone a radical shift to high carbohydrates. Apealing to authority is not a reasonable argument.
It’s unfortunate that this advice against a reasonable way to keep off large amounts of weight is being smeared this way. I’ve know a lot of people who have lost 50, 70 and 100 pounds on Atkins only to put it back on from the fear mongering of this type of article. Do you think being 70 pounds overweight for the rest of their lives is better? It would be nice if people who achieved their weight goal were not scared out of the diet that got them there to regain all their weight.
Hi,
I do agree Atkins diet has side effects. I can sometimes lead to heart attacks and kidney problems if prolonged.
But it can be highly useful for obesity people.This diet regime is mostly concerned with low carbohydrate diet.I saw more information on The Atkins Diet. in the below site.
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