Everyone:

I received this from a colleague today. For those of you who don't know, PCRM is a vegan propaganda group closely allied with such wonderful organizations as PeTA and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), classified as a terrorist organization with the FBI.

You all may want to register with the mentioned sites to voice your SUCCESSES with the Atkins Diet (or other L/C plans).

You can also see my papers on vegetarianism or high-protein diet myths on my website for a closer discussion of the supposed health risks of L/C eating.

SCB


For Immediate Release
Friday, August 2, 2002

"Got a Beef with the Atkins Diet?"
Doctors launch campaign, warning of possible health and legal risks with high-protein diets

Washington, D.C.-The nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is launching a provocative new campaign about the potential medical and legal risks of high-protein diets.

A consumer ad, "Got a Beef with the Atkins Diet?," will debut on Yahoo.com on Monday, August 5. An ad targeting primary care physicians-with the headline "Could Prescribing a High-Protein Diet Put You at Legal Risk?"-will debut the following week on The Journal of Family Practice's Web site.

Additional placements will follow. Both ads can be viewed now at the campaign's site, http://www.AtkinsDietAlert.org.

Central to the new Web site is an online registry with which PCRM will track adverse health effects from high-protein diets. Anyone who has been on a high-protein diet and believes he or she developed health problems because of it-or anyone who has just begun one of these diets-is invited to register.

Studies show that the foods consumed on meat-heavy, high-protein diets are linked to osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, and renal disease, and have particular complications for people with diabetes.

PCRM is also concerned about legal liability-both from the physician's perspective and that of patients. The site, which features both a consumer and a physician advisory, counsels doctors that liability could be an issue and explains to consumers that they may have legal recourse.

"Given the health problems associated with high-protein diets, doctors who prescribe them may be assuming serious legal liability," says PCRM's president Neal Barnard, M.D.

PCRM hopes its campaign convinces physicians and patients to be wary of high-protein diets. "There's no need to put yourself at risk when there are safer and healthier alternatives, especially low-fat, plant-based diets," says Barnard. "Not only are vegetarians, on average, 10 percent lighter than omnivores, but they enjoy dramatically lower rates of heart disease,
diabetes, and several forms of cancer."

The Web site also resolves common diet myths. For example, people whosubscribe to the myth that Americans have gotten fatter while fat intake has dropped will learn that the fat content of the American diet has actually risen over the years. Although the percentage of fat has gone down, Americans are eating so many more pounds of food that the total amount of fat has increased.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, particularly good nutrition, and conducts clinical research trials. PCRM also promotes higher standards in research.

Ms. Simon Chaitowitz, Communications Director
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20016, U.S.A.
202-686-2210, ext. 309; simonc~pcrm.org
http://www.pcrm.org

I registered at there sight and this is what I wrote in the comments section.

On the Protein Power Diet I have lost 42 pounds(started at 225 and now weigh 183) and went from 30% body fat to 16%. Most of the pounds were lost in the first 100 days on the diet. I have not experienced any of the listed adverse effects and have experience a number of beneficial effects such as lowered blood pressure and heart rate, lowered bad cholesterol(LDL), raised good cholesterol(HDL), and lowered tryglicerides. The above benefits were detected after the first 4 weeks on the diet. As of three weeks ago my total cholesterol was 135mg/dl(245 before the diet) with a breakdown of LDL 85 and HDL 36. All of this was accomplished by eating a minimum of 120grams of protein (from animal meat sources such as beef, pork, chicken and fish) a day with less then 30 grams of carbohydrates. I continue to lose fat as I ad lean muscle mass using an exercise program started after the first 100 days. This exercise program consists of lifting weights and doing interval aerobics three times a week each. I look forward to seeing the results of this survey published. Pleas e-mail me if you have any questions or would like further information.

Forgive me for being a skeptic, but aren't the low-fat diets responsible for the obesity and diabetes problem North American's now experiencing?

Should the doctor's and government who prescribe THESE diets be held liable for making Americans ill? This is total bullcrap and irresponsible for these people to attack the one thing that is actually helping to get people's weight down. This is just more propagandia to save their own arses and throw attention from their own diet suggestions.

Not sure how much good it will do, but I registered and pointed out that all my pre-existing health conditions are improved or gone since I started low carbing. I also noticed that they don't ask any questions about how you follow a low carb plan, so they could very well be getting negative responses from people who never bothered to read anything and just did it completely wrong (as we see here so often) and had problems because of it. I also wonder if they will even bother to include the responses from people who have had positive results with low carb, but it's worth trying just to show them that they are wrong.

I folowed your example and registered and expressed my approval of the Atkins diet...

We shall see.......

I just added my comments.

;-Deb

WHATEVER!!!
I registered with them and I let thim have it. I spun off a long list of all the previous complaints I had (sinuses, heartburn, etc....) and told them how all my conditions have disappeared and even if I didn't loose another lb. I would continue with this way of life b/c I feel so good!!!

I also noticed that PCRM is hosted by VegSource.com. And who is a reigning member of VegSource??? Dr. Dean Ornish MD the very same man on the Dateline interview trying to push his own book!!!!

They also have a banner which says basically "We applaud the McDonalds lawsuit" oh really.....and how about the legal issues page which suggests you contact your lawyer if your experiencing problems.....I wonder just who is backing this non-profit site????
The next silly lawsuit will be someone suing his friends, brothers, girlfriends uncle who lost weight on low carb and suggested it to him!!!!

Instead of registering with the PCRM and complaining, I decided to write to the site that I saw the advert on—MSNBC, at http://www.msnbc.com/news/788799.asp?0si=- . Here's the letter that I sent to them:

==============================================
"I am particularly offended that you are accepting advertisements from the “Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine,” which is actually a vegan propaganda group closely allied with PETA and ALF (Animal Liberation Front). Note that ALF is classified as a terrorist organization with the FBI.

The “Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine” is spamming all the major news media Web sites—including yours—with advertisements that say “Got a beef with the Atkins Diet?” and “Could prescribing a high-protein diet put you at legal risk?” When you click the ad, it takes you to their Web site; which looks like an official medical Web site, but it is not.

I am surprised that you would allow this organization to use your Web site to mislead people. The fact that the “Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine” feels that it must practice obfuscation and subterfuge to make its point is one thing; the fact that you blithely allow them to do so is another.
==============================================

DrByrnes, I hope you don't mind that I "borrowed" a few words from your post. Now if only I'd had that VegSource/Ornish info from Niksauntie before I sent my e-mail!

At any rate, I hope that my e-mail piques this news-media giant's interest enough so that they launch an investigative report. There's got to be a good story in here somewhere: special interest group promotes litigation, and conveniently neglects to reveal its true affiliation on its Web site.

-G.

Here's one of their statements



They disparage Anecdotal accounts yet that is all they are collecting with their silly registry.

The whole site is full of misleading statements.

I used to think the pcrm people wer'e just in it for the money, but now I'm beginning to think they are evil.

Though I could barely stand being at that pathetic site, here's what I wrote.

--

I adopted a low-carb lifestyle to lose weight as well as to counter the symptoms I feel every time I consume sugar, pasta, bread, potatoes or other starchy foods. These symptoms include heart palpitations, rapid heart rate, confusion, concentration problems, and excessive tiredness. These problems, as well as my PMS and acne, have virtually disappeared during the last nine months that I've maintained this lifestyle. I feel like a teenager again.

I don't understand why your survey doesn't address the issue of whether or not the registrant followed their diet *properly*, including proper intake of water, vegetables, lower-carbohydrate fruit, etc. Failure to do so will undoubtedly cause symptoms, just as the case would be with any other diet.

Let me share with you the problems I had with low-fat dieting: dry and dull hair, brittle nails, depression, low energy, food obsession, bingeing, sluggish metabolism, and a borderline eating disorder. Low-fat dieting simply doesn't work without an iron will. Adequate protein and fat are necessary for long-term success and *having a life* outside of dieting.

For the record, the staples of my diet are plenty of vegetables, lower-carbohydrate fruit, soy products, eggs, cheese, butter, peanut butter, and some legumes.

--

I should have added at the bottom, "oh, by the way: thanks to low carbing, I'm 5'7" and 135 lbs. PTHLBPTHLBPTHLB!!"

Don't get too worked up folks, these organizations usually make lots of "claims" that they are scientifically objective, but it is clearly an off shoot of PETA itself. There is some credence to the no-fat vegan diet, but it is more like the Ghandi diet(very hard to follow and not at all enjoyable). And the results of the last two studies on the Very low carb diets were impressive.

Like many other sites, it is far more political than scientific.

Hmmm ...... isn't it odd how most of the criticism of low carbohydrate dieting comes from those who don't know what they're talking about? Looks like this is no exception. After all, there's a "sugar free" discussion forum at http://www.vegsource.com/talk/sugarfree - how ironic.

I also registered, and added my cholesterol results to the comment section. Since the results are in an Excel file, and I did a cut-and-paste job, I am not certain that the info came out in good order on their end, but that is their problem. I am sure that they will not want to reproduce the results as "proof" that LCing does not work. And I reported no adverse problems while being on the diet

But it is clear that they are out to threaten doctors through legal action against doctors. I did not put my doctor's name down on the form, and am very glad that I did not. He is a good man, even if he does not recommend LC. He does not need threatening phone calls from advocacy groups.

The letter back to MSNBC was a great idea. Any other ideas as to how we can threaten legal action against them, and turn their weapon against them?

I registered and added my comments about how good I feel, the weight both my husband and I have lost, how he is no longer taking Lipitor because his cholesterol improved so much, etc. Also told them about not needing prescription Pepsid any more, and added that contrary to popular belief, Atkins recommends eating lots of fresh veggies and fruits and exercising. We do eat carbs, just not REFINED carbs (white flour and sugar), and we do not feel that we are endangering our health by not drinking Coke and eating candy, cookies, chips, and other junk.

That's another good way to tell if an organization is on the "up and up". When they seriously lack vital knowledge of what it is they are criticizing, you know they can't be. PCRM fails on several levels to demonstrate adequate knowledge of the real low-carb diets in order to make any criticisms(much less have them justified).