The reason to not avoid saturated (primarily animal ) fats is because your body needs them. Things like bone density are dependant on them. If you try to follow Atkins without them, You are eating a lot of mono- and poly- unsaturated oils for fats. Contrary to the propaganda of the last 50 years, large amounts of polyunsaturated oils are bad for you. I strongly urge you to do the research, starting with Dr. Mary Enig's work. DLB