This article was on the front page of The Times this morning in the UK. At first I laughed, then I got angry ... it seems they'll say anything to try and rubbish Atkins
Health warning to Atkins dieters as the heat goes on
By Sam Coates and Patrick Barkham, The Times
PEOPLE following the Atkins diet during the current heatwave could be endangering their health, a leading dietician claimed yesterday.
As temperatures in Central London reached 35.7C (96F) a record, nutritionists advised slimmers to come off Atkins and other high-protein diets or risk collapsing.
In June, two American medical studies ruled that the Atkins diet, which bans bread, fruit and potatoes in favour of meat, fish and cheese, was nutritionally safe, prompting a surge in the number of followers.
But yesterday a leading member of the British Nutrition Foundation told The Times that they were concerned that the hot weather could exacerbate the negative effects of the diet.
High-protein foods are harder to digest than carbohydrates, meaning that the body has to expend energy which otherwise would be used for keeping cool.
Dr Sarah Schenker, a dietician and spokesman for the foundation, said: “We have respiratory quotas on food, so when a carbohydrate or protein or fat is being metabolised it generates its own heat.
“The body has to work harder to metabolise protein than other food types. This means that on a really hot day, people on the protein-based diet who are facing, say, the Underground could have problems. My advice would be avoid the Atkins diet in hot weather.”
Nutritionists estimate that around 10 per cent of the body’s energy is needed to break down food.
The Atkins diet, devised by Dr Robert Atkins more than 30 years ago, has inspired millions of women worldwide to rise up against the temptation of carbohydrates in favour of a juicy steak with a side order of spinach or rocket.
It recently came back into fashion after a number of celebrity endorsements, including Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger and Robbie Williams.
Dr Atkins's book, New Diet Revolution is at No 2 on the bestseller list and is outselling everything but Harry Potter by three to one. Nearly 15 million dieters already own copies of his earlier volumes. The diet warning came as Britain recorded its hottest day for 13 years with Gravesend in Kent recording the day’s high of 36.4C (97.5F). Predictions that the 100F (37.8C) barrier would be broken proved wide of the mark — much to the relief of bookmakers who had taken huge numbers of bets that that record would be broken.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/articl...-770118,00.html