Hi Dolphinblu,

Everybody says Atkins in unhealthy. It's totally unsubstantiated. Have a look around the Research and Media forum for many discussions of how poorly the media treats the issue.

As for your friends... here is some advice on how to deal with other people's comments.

Hi Dolphin blue--I just ignore all this negative garbage that is being put out on the news. They have been fighting Dr. Atkins on this diet for a long time but if you research--even the research done by Harvard University is finding that Dr. Atkins was correct. After I started Atkins WOE- my cholesterol and triglycerides became the best they had been in years. Both under 200-- and my blood pressure went from 220/ 117 to 128/78--so I think--Blah to all those gloom and doomers!! Good luck to you!! Alice

Hi Dolphin blue,

I think that as long as you have balance in your diet, you should be okay. If you eat eggs, bacon and cheese all day long, that probably is not healthy! My doctor recommended a low-carb diet for me, but he said NOT to do Atkins as it can be hard on your kidneys. However, there are many people on this forum who use Atkins with great success. I have had very good sucess in a less-strict type of low-carb WOE. I do have to force myself to eat lots of veggies and salad though. I need those nutrients, and I find I lose more weight when I do!
Good luck in whatever WOE you choose!

Dianna

Karen--one of our long term Nurses on this web has researched this kidney problem question many times. If you do not have kidney problems to begin with-A there is no validity in the fear of Atkins diet causing you to get kidney problems. This is another misconception that is constantly being thrown out to scare people back to the national high carb way of eating. Thanks for your kind remarks dolphinblue. Read Dr. Atkins book and do what he says--drink that water everyday and you should be fine. Alice

Dolphinblu, one thing people get in their minds about this WOE is that ALL we ever eat is meat and fat and very little vegetables or fruit. Sure, that's basically how it starts out, but carbohydrate intakes are increased as a person goes along until they find their comfort zone--as in how many carbs they can safely consume without losing weight. Basically that's what all low-carb diets are about.

The Atkins WOE takes us down to practically no carbs in order to re-train us to eat proper carbs instead of all of the junk food most of us have been previously accustomed to.

Edited because I forgot to say:

If you look at what each person on the Atkins diet eats in a single day there really isn't a ridiculous amount of protein. I generally start the day with a couple of eggs, and if not eggs something else proteinous. By the time my day is done I've generally eaten 3 good servings of protein (2 eggs, 4-5 ounces of meat for lunch, 4-5 ounces of meat for dinner and an ounce or two of cheese along the way).

I think the real teller of this tale was Dr. Atkins himself. He started eating like this in 1967. I think if this diet had been harmful, he would've suffered damage from it long ago.

One thing I've found with people that tell me that Atkins is unhealthy is that they know almost NOTHING about the diet. When I ask them questions, it is clear that they think that induction is the only stage and that you never eat fruits and veggies. It's impossible for you to make any decisions based on news reports you haven't seen but I would ask your friends what the "serious complications" were. They are probably the same old things about kidneys and heart disease that have not been proven.

I know someone who keeps telling me that Atkins is dangerous and "eating all that bacon and no veggies will kill you". I eat bacon once every few months. I was once eating a plate of veggies when she told me this. It seems like the negative messages about Atkins are so pervasive that people who are critical of it can't be objective. I give up . I won't hide that I'm on Atkins but it is seldom worth discussing it with people that are critical. They seem to never "get it".

Atkins has gotten me to eat only unprocessed foods--vegetables and meat as is--and that feels a lot healthier than what I was doing. I'm not a medical expert, but I feel so much better since stopping the sugar, coffee, and bakery items.

For me,
I get fewer headaches,
No cold sores, yet
I fight off colds and throat infections easily,
I sleep more soundly, work and play more easily
(There is no cardiovascular disease in my family anyway)

If Atkins is dangerous it hasn't been proven yet, and it's likely a lot safer than what I was doing, gaining 5 pounds per year for the past 12 years.

My blood pressure has gone down,
I have more energy,
my allergies have significantly diminished,
i sleep better and no longer snore, which my wife loves.


My doctor originally disapproved of the diet mostly out of ignorance, but I just found out that he has changed his mind since one his partners has educated him after he lost 50lbs doing Atkins.

Good Luck!

My blood pressure, always normal range at about 120/80, now is regularly in an even healthier 114/76 range when I test it.

I have been following Atkins for most of the last 5 years and have had numerous kidney and liver function tests before my 2 major sugeries in 2000 and 2002. Perfect health and good recoveries.

Dr. Atkins repeatedly and publicly on television challenged the medical community to come up with EVEN ONE CASE of kidney damage or any other adverse health condition caused by low carbing. NOT ONE case was ever brought forward. Not even by his harshest critics. Because Low Carbing does not hurt healthy kidneys. That's why all his books stress that you should have the appropriate blood tests before beginning.

I agree with several of the posters above who say that people think the Atkins plan is "bacon and eggs, huge steaks, gobs of butter and no fruits or veg." Not even Induction is like that. The salad & vegetable list is huge for Induction and gets bigger after that.

The Research and Media area here has lots of articles which include medical studies that are proving the reverse of those scary claims: even the studies that expected to see Atkins' plan not working or causing harm, are having to admit that people lost more weight without health problems than on low-fat/low-cal.

So relax and enjoy. And tell those critics that you won't listen to them until they can PROVE what they are saying.

It’s a question of habeas corpus. The government and nutritional establishment have been complaining about the Atkins diet for thirty years. Millions of people have been on the diet. Where are all the bodies? Where are the emergency room admissions with kidney disease, osteoporosis, acidosis, etc.? Eventually they will find them. Right after they find the weapons of mass destruction.

"The comments weren't about kidneys or heart... it was about the brain. Somehow it can be bad for your brain"

This come from many misinformed people who belive the brain can only use glucouse. The brain will also use Ketons. And even if it did only use glucose there should be more than enought protein in our deit to convert to glucose for the brain.
Rod