That is not true. Dr. Atkins has never said that carbohydrates are essential in the diet for anyone. Dr. Atkins himself ran marathons on low-carb. The Atkins website has personal testimonies from marathon runners reporting great success on low-carb.

James Fixx, author of the book Complete Book of Running stated in the book that his study of college alumni showed the athletes had a shorter life span than the couch potatoes.

Dr. Michael Eades on his website suggests athletes eat low-carb for lifestyle and training to prevent insulin resistance and eat some carbs for competition. Carb loading may give a slight edge in short races but marathon runners are forced to burning fat in the middle of the race. The switch over is called "hitting the wall" because their body is not used to burning fat normally.

The Metabolic Typing Diet theory claims that everyone testing "carb type" should eat a high level of carbohydrates for optimal health. That theory is flat wrong.

Carbohydrates cause nearly all age-related diseases. Age-related diseases are thought of as unavoidable. Many people consider it normal to get one or more of these diseases as they age. They rationalize that they are simply unlucky or that others have "better genes," neither of which is true. Their health problems are most likely caused by their belief in the many popular myths and distortions about nutrition. Most likely they got hooked by the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet craze and are now suffering as a result. The most common excuse used instead of identifying the real culprit, carbohydrates, is heredity. People flippantly say, "It runs in my family." or "My mother also had diabetes." or "My father also had high blood pressure and heart disease." Age-related diseases could best be described as "Excessive Carbohydrate Consumption Syndrome."

Top Ten Nutritional Myths, Distortions and Lies That Will Destroy Your Heath.

Kent