OMG. Bullshyt!
 

"apparently healthy 16-year-old girl who collapsed suddenly and died after spending one to two weeks on a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet."

:bash:LIES!! :bash:

There probably was something else wrong with her that the drs couldn't figure out, ey probably heard she was on Atkins and blamed it on them right then and there. I'd be more apt to believe this story if she was doing it for months. Not 1-2 freakin weeks. Hell, annorexics can go on for months eating nothing but salads, and they don't die....

Theres deffinetly pieces missing from this story.

Re: OMG. Bullshyt!
 

Actually anoxeria is a very serious disease that kills a lot of people. But yes it usually takes years of abuse.

We can vent....
 

Let's get it out here... but we can be proactive too!!!!!

I just heard about this story on Good Day Live and of course had to run hear to read the discussion that I knew would be going on. ;)

I agree with the posts in this thread. The story is missing, well quite a bit of the story. But we all know that doctors have been *WAITING*WAITING*WAITING* for one person to die that they could blame on low-carbing in hopes of starting a landslide, and to make it worse we all know that the media has been waiting just as long to report it. I am certain this is just the beginning.

The best thing we can do is fight it in our own circles of family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, communities with facts. Perhaps we could even compile a fact sheet that can be downloaded and printed out. I realize that with so many plans it could get detailed but it could be done off of Atkins and people could add their own changes for their own plans. I am talking something that covers what this story accuses. Nutrients, hydration (for pete's sake, I drink 100 oz of water!!!), muscles, fat/protein/carb ratio, etc.

Any input??

--------------------------------------

p.s. the biggest problem I have with the original artical is not low-carb related at all. The Dr.'s accounts of anorexic and bulemics as complainers of being fat is so very misleading. After having a best friend who was bulemic, I did a study paper on it in college. Often anorexics but more often bulemics hide their eating disorder so very well that even their own families don't know. And furthermore a high number are often bulemic, not because of their weight or eating issues but because of other personal issues and abuse that has gone unreported and undetected. Bulemics can die from a torn esophogus (sp?) that is often never caught. Doctors will say that their electrolites and nutrients were off (because they were) and leave it at that.

Now tieing it in to low-carbing... The fact that an educated professional would blow off an eating disorder as a factor in the cause of death because she wasn't touting that she was fat is highly irresponsible. She obviously had weight related issues or she wouldn't have been low-carbing in the first place.

full report from Southern Medical Journal
 

Sudden Cardiac Death of an Adolescent During Dieting

Source: , Sep2002, Vol. 95 Issue 9, p1047, 3p


ABSTRACT
We describe a 16-year-old girl who had sudden onset of cardiorespiratory arrest while at school. She had recently attempted weight loss using a low-carbohydrate/high-protein, calorie-restricted dietary regimen that she had initiated on her own. During resuscitation, severe hypokalemia was noted. At postmortem examination, no other causes for the cardiac arrest were identified. Toxicologic findings were negative. The potential role of the dietary regimen as a contributing factor to the hypokalemia and subsequent cardiac arrest are discussed.

INTRODUCTION
The pressures to meet our society's definition of beauty may lead young women to jeopardize their health to lose weight and stay thin. More than 40% of female adolescents in the United States have been on a diet at some point, and 80% of teenagers report that they diet to look better.(n1) We present the case of an adolescent who was following a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet and who had sudden onset of cardiorespiratory arrest. Laboratory evaluation during resuscitation revealed severe hypokalemia. Other potential causes for the condition were ruled out by parental history, autopsy findings, and postmortem toxicologic evaluation.

CASE REPORT
Emergency teams were summoned to a local high school to care for a 16-year-old girl who had suddenly collapsed. She was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed approximately 80 to 85 kg (176 to 187 lb). The patient had been in good health with no known history of medical problems. She had started a low-carbohydrate/high-protein diet 1 or 2 weeks earlier in an effort to lose weight. She had learned about the diet from video tapes, purchased from an advertisement on television. Her mother had been on the same diet. She had complied with the dietary regimen, eating meat, cheese, and salads without fasting.

When the paramedics arrived, the girl was pulseless and apneic. The electrocardiogram revealed ventricular fibrillation. The patient's trachea was intubated and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated. Resuscitative measures, including defibrillation, were without effect. On arrival in the emergency department, the patient remained pulseless, with no evidence of cardiac activity.

Arterial blood gas analysis revealed a pH of 6.89, with a base deficit of -19.8. Other laboratory values were serum sodium 142 mEq/L, ionized calcium 1.12 mEq/L, and serum potassium 3.8 mEq/L. Further resuscitative efforts were without effect. Postmortem and toxicologic examinations revealed no apparent cause for the death. Subsequent cardiologic evaluation of the patient's 12-year-old sibling including echocardiography and electrocardiography was within normal limits.

DISCUSSION
Low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets have fallen in and out of popularity since the 1960s, resurfacing in various forms including the Stillman Diet, the Scarrsdale Diet, the Zone Diet, the Carbohydrate Addicts' Diet, and the Atkins Diet. The Atkins Diet was developed by Robert C. Atkins, MD, in 1970 and has gained recent popularity once again with the release of the revised and updated book Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution.(n2)

Low-carbohydrate/high-protein plans seem attractive to many dieters because these diets set no limit on the amount of certain types of foods one can eat, exclude hunger from the dieting experience, reduce appetite, and at times, produce steady weight loss, even after dramatic failures or weight gain on other diets.

With a high-protein/high-fat intake, there is the release of cholecystokinin, a known appetite suppressant. The lack of glucose in the diet also avoids the 1-hour postprandial insulin surge associated with stimulation of neurogenic feeding centers. Additionally, the increased reliance on fat to meet the metabolic demands results in the production of ketone bodies and systemic ketosis, which may also suppress the appetite and curb feelings of hunger.

However, low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets are not without the potential for adverse biochemical and physiologic consequences. Ketone bodies compete with uric acid for renal tubular excretion, which can exacerbate disease in patients with gouty diathesis. Bloom and Azar(n3) reported that postural hypotension can develop in subjects on low-carbohydrate diets. Using an isolated, perfused rat heart model, Russell and Taegtmeyer(n4) showed that the beating heart loses contractile function (more than 50% in 60 minutes) when oxidizing acetoacetate alone.

Although results are contradictory, some studies have linked these diets to increases in serum triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.(n5,n6) Elevated levels of free fatty acids may promote both vascular thrombosis and cardiac arrhythmias.( n7,n8 ) Plasma lipolysis and infusion of albumin-bound free fatty acids have been associated with the development of serious arrhythmias in dogs, possibly through a detergent effect on mitochondrial and cell membranes.(n7) These diets have also been associated with hypothyroidism characterized by a decrease in thyrotropin and a marked decrease in triiodothyronine, as well as alterations in the metabolism of diuretics and cholesterol medications.(n9)

More importantly, deaths associated with other specialized diets have been reported. In the 1960s and 1970s, liquid protein diets were associated with several deaths.(n10) Some of these deaths were related to QT prolongation with pathologic findings of myocardial atrophy and myocarditis. Other findings in patients who had sudden cardiac death related to liquid protein diets included electrolyte disturbances such as hypokalemia, hypocalcemia, and hypomagnesemia.(n10) Restriction of caloric intake to less than the basal needs results in the catabolism of protein and glycogen stores, which have a high water content, leading to a diuretic effect with the loss of free water and electrolytes. Ketone bodies undergo urinary excretion with a cation to maintain electrical neutrality, resulting in the additional loss of cations, including calcium, magnesium, and potassium.(n11) When compounded by inadequate intake, deficiencies of these cations may ensue. Caloric restriction is not generally recommended on most low carbohydrate diets, including the Atkins diet, further emphasizing the dangers of using these diets without strict adherence to their recommendations.

Our patient's sudden onset of cardiorespiratory arrest occurred without an underlying cause identified by history or on postmortem examination. Initial electrocardiogram revealed ventricular fibrillation, an unusual presenting arrythmia in a 16-year-old adolescent without underlying cardiac disease or electrolyte disturbance. During resuscitation, with a pH of 6.89, the serum potassium level was 3.8 mEq/L, suggesting profound hypokalemia if corrected for the pH. The ionized calcium level was 1.12 mEq/L (normal, 1.10 to 1.22 mEq/L). As with serum potassium, correction for the pH would indicate significant hypocalcemia. Serum magnesium level was not measured. Because potassium and magnesium undergo similar handling mechanisms in the renal tubules, hypomagnesemia is another potential cause of our patient's cardiorespiratory arrest. When considering the potential causes of these electrolyte disturbances in an otherwise healthy female adolescent, questions arise regarding the potential role of the low-carbohydrate/high-protein diet compounded by a period of inadequate caloric intake and the resultant catabolic state. It is also possible, although no such history was obtained in this case, that associated problems such as bulimia, anorexia, and diuretic or laxative abuse can cause or potentiate electrolyte losses in such patients.

In light of the previous reports of mortality related to liquid protein diets and the lack of information on electrolyte and physiologic changes during low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets, we do not recommend such dieting regimens. We continue to suggest moderate caloric restriction with a balanced macronutrient and micronutrient intake and increased physical activity under a physician's guidance. While it is possible that the patient's dietary regimen had nothing to do with her sudden cardiovascular collapse, continued surveillance for similar cases is suggested.

KEY POINTS
• More than 40% of female adolescents in the United States have been on a diet at some point, and 80% of teenagers report that they diet to look better.

• Low-carbohydrate/high-protein plans seem attractive to many dieters because these diets set no limit on the amount of certain types of foods one can eat.

• Plasma lipolysis and infusion of albumin-bound free fatty acids have been associated with the development of serious arrhythmias in dogs, possibly through a detergent effect on mitochondrial and cell membranes.

• Ketone bodies undergo urinary excretion with a cation to maintain electrical neutrality, resulting in the additional loss of cations, including calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

• In light of the previous reports of mortality related to liquid protein diets and the lack of information on electrolyte and physiologic changes during low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets, we do not recommend such dieting regimens.

REFERENCES
(n1.)Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ: Weight-related behaviors among adolescent girls and boys: results from a national survey. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2000; 154:569-577

(n2.)Atkins RC: Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution. New York, Avon Books Inc, 1999

(n3.)Bloom WL, Azar GJ: Similarities of carbohydrate deficiency and fasting: weight loss, electrolyte excretion, and fatigue. Arch Intern Med 1963; 112:333-337

(n4.)Russell RR III, Taegtmeyer H: Changes in the citric acid cycle flux and anaplerosis antedate the functional decline in isolated rat hearts. J Clin Invest 1991; 87:384-390

(n5.)Council on Foods and Nutrition: A critique of low-carbohydrate ketogenic weight reduction regimens. JAMA 1973; 224:1415-1419

(n6.)Rickman F, Mitchell N, Dingman J, et al: Changes in serum cholesterol during the Stillman diet. JAMA 1974; 228:54-58

(n7.)Oliver MF, Yates PA: Induction of ventricular arrhythmias by elevation of arterial free fatty acids in experimental myocardial infarction. Cardiology 1972; 56:359-364

(n8.)Peyreigne C, Bouix D, Aissa Benhaddad A, et al: Hemorheologic effects of a short-term ketogenic diet. Clin Hemorheol Microcirc 1999; 21:147-153

(n9.)Ullrich IH, Peters PJ, Albrink MJ: Effect of low-carbohydrate diets high in either fat or protein on thyroid function, plasma insulin, glucose and triglycerides in healthy young adults. J Am Coll Nutr 1985; 4:451-459

(n10.)Surawicz B, Waller BF: The enigma of sudden cardiac death related to diet. Can J Cardiol 1995; 11:228-231

(n11.)Zeman FJ, Hansen RJ: Diabetes mellitus, hypoglycemia and other endocrine disorders. Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics. Seman FJ (ed). New York, Macmillan Publishing Co, 2nd Ed, 1991, pp 409-410

~~~~~~~~

What I find interesting is this....
 

How many people have died as a direct result of using those very popular cholesterol lowering statin drugs and yet you hear barely a peep from the media or the medical establishment and yet one girl dies while following a low carb regimen and the media is all over it even though it has not been shown to clearly be the cause of death?
I know that this is just the beginnig of the attack against low carb, but let's get real here. She obviously had an issue with her weight or she would not have been dieting, so I agree with Cre8tivgrl that it's irresponsible to simply dismiss the possibility of an eating disorder or laxative/diuretic abuse simply because her parents weren't aware of it and she wasn't constantly talking about needing to lose weight. As Doreen pointed out, hypocalcemia isn't something that would normally develop in a matter of a week or two. Use of laxatives and/or diruetics to speed weight loss is very popular among teen girls these days (and even some adults who should know better). If they truly wanted information about this girl's habits, they would have probably gotten more (and better) information interviewing her friends than her parents. How many 16 year olds do you know who would say to their mom or dad "Hey...that was a great meal...I'm going to go throw up now and pop a few laxatives and a diuretic or two for good measure."?

Re: full report from Southern Medical Journal
 

He basically says that her electrolytes levels are usually associated with a eating disorder but dismisses it saying there was so such history in this case.

He also says the symptons she manifested are often found in high-protein liquid diet, but she wasn't following such a diet.

He then says that inadequte caloric intake causes problems, but unless she wasn't following guidelines, this wasn't the case here

So how exactly does he conclude that an Atkins style diet could cause these problems, if the diet itself does not correspond to any of the situations where problems are cited. Atkins is not a high protein liquid diet, nor even a high protein diet and does not advocate inadequate caloric intake (on the contrary).


It's ridiculous to conclude that someone could die from simply cutting out certain foods from her diet for a period of 2 weeks. You can fast for much longer with no problems. They simply didn't look further than they had to, because they liked the conclusion. Plain bad science.

Well this forum has really really opened to eyes to the politics of the medical establishment. Basically push your own personal agenda for gain or reputation and cover it up with a lot of medical blah blah

Former Bulimic
 

I use to have bulimia... when I was younger, I would make myself sick after eating, and use other methods to purge myself of food... it was very unhealthy, and I realized just how unhealthy it was, and forced myself to stop. Eating disorders is not just about anorexia nervosa and bulimia, it is also about dieting to an extreme, being obsessed with dieting,and unrealistic body image. How many people are at a weight that is considered right for their height and think they are fat? Too many... that is how many. Dieting is responsible for more deaths than it should be. I am not saying that this girl died from doing a low carb/high protein diet... but the facts show that she was not getting the proper nutrients/ minerals/vitamins that her body needed. The family says she did not have an eating disorder... did they truly know that? Not one person in my family, or any of my friends even had a clue as to what I use to do when I was bulimic... and yes, I did fit the diagnostic criteria for being one.The following is a form that is on the website for eating disorders: I invite all to read it, and see where you are at with what it says...
No Weigh!
- A Declaration of Independence from a Weight-Obsessed World -
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Signing this declaration from a weight-obsessed world may help you accept your body's natural shape and size.

I, the undersigned, do hereby declare that from this day forward, I will choose to live my life by the following tenets. In so doing, I declare myself free and independent from the pressures and constraints of a weight-obsessed world.

I will accept my body in its natural shape and size.

I will celebrate all that my body can do for me each day.

I will treat my body with respect, giving it enough rest, fueling it with a variety of foods, exercising it moderately, and listening to what it needs.

I will choose to resist our society’s pressures to judge myself and other people on physical characteristics like body weight, shape, or size. I will respect people based on the qualities of their character and the impact of their accomplishments.

I will refuse to deny my body of valuable nutrients by dieting or using weight loss products.

I will avoid categorizing foods as either “good” or “bad.” I will not associate guilt or shame with eating certain foods. Instead, I will nourish my body with a balance of foods, listening and responding to what it needs.

I will not use food to mask my emotional needs.

I will not avoid participating in activities that I enjoy (i.e., swimming, dancing, enjoying a meal) simply because I am self-conscious about the way my body looks. I will recognize that I have the right to enjoy any activities regardless of my body shape or size.

I will believe that my self-esteem and identity come from within!!

SIGNATURE:_____________________DATE:_________________
Interesting eh? I am not saying that a person should not lose weight for health reasons. I am not saying that ppl should not lose weight at all... I am simply asking ppl to evaluate their bodies in a realistic manner, and be healthy about the way that they are trying to lose the weight. I put the above form up as a reference point, and whether or not you can sign it or not is a personal decision, and should be made by someone of their own choosing, and not as something forced. I hope that I have made some sense here about healthy body image, and opened some eyes up to unhealthy dieting... there are reasons why the plans include supplements, and warnings not to go below certain caloric levels... it is for the benefit of the one following the plan~

WHY DIETS DON'T WORK (click here to read)

You guys are so quick. I saw this this afternoon and was gonna post it but it was already here! It has really scared me to be honest. I know sugar and white flour is BAD but is it possible to die from too much meat?


Not liking this scary information :(

I can't help being a bit irate at this so called medical paper!

1. My condolence to her family.

2. Did it occure to anyone that she just died? I mean, just plain died? Do I have to check what millions of other teens ate a few days before they died? People die, don't they?

3. Did these objective doctors take into account that she was a female teenager, doing all the teenage drugs and eating disorder thing that teenagers do? I mean, I lost 70 lbs as a male teenager in a month eating nothing but water and coffee. Yes, it was low-carb, but it was low everything as well. So I can only imagine what teenage girls might do to "fit" in.

4. Is it ethical to publish conclusions based on an interview with parents? And form a case study of one subject and only after the fact? Did they monitor her before all this took place? I mean. do parents really know what their teenagers are doing, much less eating, or injesting?

5. Did they ever consider what other diets she tried before this so called "high protein" diet she followed based on a TV commercial?

6. If, according to the good doctors, people can die within 2 weeks of eliminating sugar and high carbs, wouldn't they at least consider enforcing that we all eat sugar and high carbs to avoid this eminent death? Or, don't they feel silly publishing such offensive paper? We have malnourished populations, who eat no carbs, no protein, no fat and nothing, nada, and they survive months. Why would eating protein and fat without sugar cause death within a week or two of eliminating sugars/carbs?

7. If this was meant as a score against low-carbing, should we we start counting how many died while eating the so called healthy low-fat, high sugar diet they want to brain-wash us in to? If so, low-carbing would win hands down, it's like a score of 1000 to 1. Otherwise, maybe some wanna-be scientists should admit that people, including teens, do die every now and then, just random death.

Wa'il

I recalled reading somewhere about the liquid protein fasts that the article makes a note of, which were popular back in the late '60s, early '70s. Yes, people died ... but it was later determined that the protein was a poor-quality collagen formula, with a low bioavailability. Very different from the isolated whey and soy proteins we have now, which have a very high biological value. Also, the diets were extremely low-calorie ... 300 to 400 cals per day.

I found this interesting piece on the topic:Most sources now acknowledge that hydrolysed bovine collagen (from cows) is an incomplete protein. Ever found a piece of tough gelatin-like gristle in your steak? That's collagen.

Interesting too that the experiments on dogs showed the exact same type of heart damage following a low calorie, LOW protein diet.

Doreen

The truth behind the report
 

News release:

The reporter had just been dumped by his long-abused girlfriend, who had lost 100 lbs on the Atkins diet in the past year and had just accepted a job modeling for Chanel. The parents were less than forthcoming about their daughter's history, because like most parents today, they simply had absolutely no clue what she did all day. Unclear whether they considered that Dr. Atkins would be rich enough to justify a law-suit. The news agency was looking for a little sensationalism on yet another boring day of the "black is white" Bush reign.

America's brain is shrinking. We are now entering medieval America: superstitions, myths, lies, idiocy. Turn off your TVs and turn on your brains before the dark ages return.

We have only ourselves to blame. And only ourselves to reverse the tide.

FIGHT BACK. Write emails to the news source. Find out who the reporter is. Dig. Respond. Make a difference. Be part of the solution, not the problem.

Your roaming reporter,
M

If you haven't seen it, check Dr. Atkins response to this article:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=68840

Wa'il

I skimmed through this very quickly, so I may have missed this, please let me know if I did. Does anyone have any idea how much water she was drinking a day?
Recently, there was an article in a womans magazine that said to drink a gallon of ice water a day. I've talked to some other women on the web that have followed this advice and landed in the hospital from severe electrolyte depletion-they had low levels of potassium and calcium to name a couple. Their muscles became so weak, they couldn't hold up their heads and had to go on IV's to replace their potassium.

For some people, you can drink up to a gallon of water a day and it's ok, for some it's not. If you drink too much water, you do flush out your electrolytes, vitamins and supplements that you take (if you take any). Potassium is necessary for your heart to beat regularly.

To the parents who said this girl had no history of buliemia: are you retarded? How many bulemics tell everyone they are bulemic? DUH! Parents today....grrr.
Also, the point about not drinking enough water is also a good one. Another thing is that this girl might have been eating high protien and low fat, while also not drinking enough water....if she was dieting at 16 years old, I am sure this wasn't her first diet. She may have still had the mentality of fat is bad...and if fat is bad, and now carbs are bad, that leaves her with only protien, which can be harmful if there isn't a balance.

McRUMI: here here! I totally agree with you! The media and television is turning our society into a bunch of idiots! Well, I guess we were pretty stupid before...didn't your mother tell you not to believe everything you read? I know mine did, and my mother is a lunatic...so if she can come up with good advice like that...'nuf said!
Start thinking for yourselves and you will start to see what is going on right under our noses! And it isn't just America...this really is a global problem. The entire world needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

Water Water Everywhere
 

Nicki, I drink OVER a gallon of water a day, it is always ice cold, as I like drinking it that way, and I am not having any problems with everything washing away... except pounds that is :lol: And that washing away is just fine by me! I have read that drinking ice water is also beneficial, as your body has to expend some energy, although who knows how much, to "warm" the water... hmmm is it true? I don't know.... don't care... it's just the way I prefer drinking it~
My best friend told me that his mom told him when he was young, to believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see. I think it is even more true for this day and age. Media is a great hype, and just because it is in the media, doesn't necessarily make it true!