Goodness, they are really going to town knocking Atkins in the UK today - here's what they just had to say about it on the BBC evening news

People who go on extreme diets could be seriously damaging their health, experts have warned.
They are particularly concerned with diets that encourage people to cut out whole food groups.

Many popular diets involve reducing the intake of or cutting out completely food groups like carbohydrates.

But experts believe people who go on these diets could be storing up problems for the future.

They have called for more research into the long-term effects of some of today's most popular diets.

They also urged the government to do more to encourage people to eat healthily.

'Pseudo science'

Speaking to journalists in London, Dr Susan Jebb, from the Medical Research Council's Human Nutrition Research Centre in Cambridge, singled out the Atkins diet for criticism.

She said it would be "negligent" to recommend the diet to anyone overweight and said many of its claims were based on "pseudo science".

She added: "We simply do not know the long-term health implications, and it's such a profound change from what we're doing at the moment.

"I certainly think we should be adopting a precautionary principle in terms of public health."

Dr Jebb's warning comes two months after two teams of American scientists declared that the Atkins diet was effective and safe.

The two studies, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that the diet resulted in more weight loss than conventional low-fat diets.

But Dr Jebb said these studies and others focusing on the Atkins diet were too small, short and limited to provide any meaningful evidence.

Lyndel Costain, a dietician, said people should not do the Atkin's diet or similar diets over the long term.

"The problems with that sort of diet is that it may be low in fibre.

"You might also restrict very important vitamins and minerals that you get in fruit and vegetables and wholegrains.

"In the short-term it is probably not to much of a problem. It will make you eat less and you will lose weight.

"But in the long-term we just don't know how healthy it is and it actually might not reduce our risk of heart disease and cancers."

Wendy Greenroyd, who has been dieting since she was a teenager, has tried numerous different diets.

She is against diets which involve cutting out whole food groups and now simply watches her calorie intake.

"If you restrict yourself something you always want it which is why counting calories is so good because you are not restricted.

"You just decide what you are having one day at a time."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3144409.stm

It's also been announced that there will be a debate tomorrow morning on GMTV (a UK breakfast tv show)!

Counting calories is not restricting? Sounds like she's restricting the biggest food group of all: food!

I did not know we cut the carbohydrate group out completely! If we did, then there would be problems. No veggies and little fibre. All we are doing is reducing the amount of one food group to an acceptable level and controlling our bodies insulin production in the process.

So, its a good thing to not eat enough food and keep you body in starvation mode forever. To me, that sounds a great deal worse than avoiding potatoes, rice, white flour and a few fruits.

I find all these critisms so funny. How can anyone say my current diet of vegetables, nuts, meat, berries, fruit and water is worse than my previous of french fries, hamburgers, potatoe chips, choclate bars, coke, pizza, white bread and so on. Of course I ate all those things in moderation, watching my calories, trying to keep in starvation mode to get rid of my exess pounds.

For starters, Carbohydrates is NOT a food group. Carbs are a macronutrient along with Fat and Protein. Carbohydrates [despite claims by some Nutritionists that you need 150g/day to survive] are the only macronutrient which serves NO function other than providing energy. Protein and Fat are required by the body to build certain tissues. Even Cholesterol is used for vital bodily functions...But, your body can make Cholesterol if need be.

Second, and most important --

Food Groups:

Fats & Oils -- Quantity not limited on Atkins. Only restriction is no Trans-Fats and no Polyunsaturated Fats for Hi-Temperature applications.

Meats, Nuts, and Beans -- Meats [except liver and shellfish] are not limited on Atkins [at any stage.] Green Beans are allowed throughout Atkins and are counted as a Vegetable for Induction purposes. Peanuts (which are actually a bean, not a nut) are allowed [along with nuts] in OWL and later. All other beans can be added back in Pre-Maintnance. Meats and Beans allowed during induction are sufficient to meet USDA recomendations.

Dairy Products -- Cheese is limited to a few ounces on induction. Milk is not allowed on induction. DANDR is not clear on when it can be added back. I believe AFL addresses this, though. Cream is allowed (a few ounces) throughout the diet. Butter is unrestricted. The quantities of Cream products (Cheese, Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, etc...) are sufficient to meet USDA recomendations.

Fruits -- Fruits are restricted during induction. Avocados, Olives, and Cucumbers are allowed throughout the diet. Quantities [of these three] allowed during induction are sufficient to meet USDA recomendations for Fruits. Berries and other lower-glycemic fruits can be added back during OWL. Higher Glycemic fruits are not addressed in DANDR, but I believe AFL addresses the issue.

Vegetables -- Quantities are limited to 2-3 cups [which includes some Beans and Fruits also] during induction. This is sufficient [even allowing for full recomended intake of fruit] to meet USDA recomendations. Tubers [except Daikon and Radishes] are not allowed until Pre-Maintance. See my note on Tubers below.

Whole Grains -- Whole Grains are the ONLY food group cut out [entirely] during induction. Whole Grains can be added back during Pre-Maintnance. The quantities [pre-maintnance and later] are limited only by your CCLL/CCLM. For most people, their CCLL/CCLM will not be high enough to meet USDA recomendations for Whole Grains. Whole Grains are therefore, the ONLY food group Atkins fails to meet USDA recomendations for. See my note on Whole Grains below.

Tubers, Vegetables, Fruits, etc... -- I believe the government erred in not listing Tubers as a seperate food group. I would define Vegetables as the edible flowering part of a plant. Tubers do not fall within this definition. Tubers are the Starch/Sugar sack of a plant. They serve a function similar to the Liver in Animals (storing excess carbohydrates for later use). Tubers are almost pure starch/sugar and starch/sugar stored for later use is almost ALWAYS very high glycemic. Normally, higher than Refined Sugar. Tubers are so nutritionally and botanically different from edible leaves/flowers, therefore...Tubers should be considered a seperate food group. If they had to stand on their own, they would be empty calories. They are low in vitamins and minerals [despite claims by the potato industry] and are very high in carbs/calories compared to other plants. Tubers have gotten a free ride by being called vegetables. THEY ARE NOT VEGETABLES BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION.

A number of Fruits have been misclassified as vegetables and vice-versa. There is not currently a sufficient legal definition to prevent such misclassification. Legumes are sometime considered vegetables (The USDA lists them with meats and nuts). They are not vegetables. They are closer to fruits...than vegetables, but are in reality neither.

Whole Grains have little nutritional value. Touted for their fiber content and "many" vitamins and minerals...most whole grains [naturally] are almost void of minerals and are rather low in vitamins (< 2% for most). Their fiber content (as a percentage of carb/calorie content) is in fact much lower than vegetables, legumes, nuts, and many fruits. In order to reach your RDA of fiber, one would need to eat 1/2 loaf [or more] of Whole Wheat Bread. Oat [and other] brans are slightly higher, but still would require several cups a day to meet your RDA of fiber. In reality [despite claims by nutritionists and the wheat industry,] grains [including whole grains] are for the most part nutritionally deficient, empty carbs/calories...which have no place in a healthy diet. In fact, grains tend to lower HDL (Good) Cholesterol and increase Triglycerides which increases one's risk of a Heart Attack.

Correct me if I'm wrong but do not vegetarians cut out a 'food group' ie meat and fish from their diet but that is not considered to be strange, in fact some would say it is healthy (I'm not one of them I'm afraid) and vegans are even stricter. Why is it just carbs that are picked on? I am gladly cutting out my food group of sugar, white flour, allergy inducing wheat and rib sticking pasta. What nutrients are there exactly in these products that I can't get from my green veggies? Why will I suffer so if I don't eat them? The blurb always says I need my carbs for energy, but I have plenty of energy from my body fat being burned up. Someone in an article even said that the human body wasn't designed to run on body fat and needed carbs because that was the natural way. Well pardon me but I thought that refined sugar, refined flour, pasta and wheat products were all a fairly modern invention and the more natural way we choose to eat when low carbing dates back from the dawn of man. Somebody has got their wires crossed. If it's me, somebody help me get untangled please.

Oh, I am so sick of all this crapity-crap in the media.

I eat more healthy foods, greater variety of foods and take more exercise more consistently than I have in the past decade. The blood sugar swings which plagued me for years have gone; my energy levels are through the roof; and I've lost thirty pounds into the bargain. I fail to see how a regime which has done all of this, is bad for me.

Emily

Well, actually...in their infinite wisdom (I use that term sarcasticaly,) the USDA decided Beans and Nuts should be part of the same food group as Meat. So, it is possible for a vegetarian [Lacto- and/or Ovo-Vegetarians] to eat all food groups. Vegans OTOH can't. Dairy is a food group...and the USDA has yet to figure out a way to fit a plant product into the "Dairy" Food Group.