I know i am new at this low carbing but i feel i have to say this about the Tonight show i watched it with intrest and as usual it was mostly the against brigade that were on saying it was this and that to be fair tho i thought Ramsey didnt slate it he just said it maybe needed longer to see if their would be any adverse results on doing atkins he did say the atkins bars n stuff were pretty awful and as one that hasn't tasted atkins stuff i would still be wary buying that stuff as i have tried various slimming products and they were pretty awful but i would have to try atkins bars n stuff before i would write it off and as a 3 star chef surely he wouldn't bullshit about the taste of stuff?
Regarding the girl that died all i can say is the human body can endure a lot more than this girl endured regarding lack of whatever they may say she had because of Atkins(if it was indeed caused or brought on by Atkins) and i would suspect whatever happened was only misfortunate and highly unlikely to happen on a regular basis as it seems to prove as we would hear more about folk dropping dead if it was happening?
I dont want to sound callous but that story regarding the girl was downright unfounded for the masses of people on Atkins as i say it would be reported with glee if more were dropping like flies.
So until that happens it looks like scaremongering without real foundation.

PS i work beside a guy who used to be into weightlifting in a big way and was a member of one of the top clubs in Edinburgh and every one of the Nutritional experts that he came across advocated low carbing big time and he never ever came across anyone who harmed theirselves in any shape or form and when he actually explained a lot of what the body uses as energy sources and all the other nutritional stuff he knew it totally made me rethink my eating habits and as a result of this here i am folllowing the atkins diet.


PPS I have told a lot of folk i am on the atkins and everyone says oh i wouldn't do that its not safe,I ask why they think that and everyone says coz they seen someone dissing the atkins diet and this girl that had died etc etc etc it really annoys me that they would take the word of someone on TV instead of doing a wee bit of reaseach on the pro's and con's of Atkins and if they did instead of slating it based on others they could make their own mind up. One guy actually gives the impression he wants something to happen to me so to prove HIM right about atkins i say the proofs in the pudding and even tho i haven't weighed myself yet i know i have lost weight specially on my face and i used to be a 1 notch belt now i need to put it on 3 notches plus when i used to do certain tasks at work my overalls would pop open under the strain of my belly,they don't pop no more but he just shrugs and says we'll wait n see if atkins is any good.Whats he going to wait for to see if i'm gonna keel over 1 day from atkins disease some folk are amazing.

RANT OVER

Hi Carbcutter

Know what you mean. See this post which also discussed the Tonight programme.

As you say the girl dying was unfortunate, but as it happened in 2000, if it was really connected to her diet then there would be law suits out galore, and it has just not happened.

Unfortunately Atkins does sell papers and I can understand why people are so polarised for and against it. However, no one describes it in simple terms and the facts behind it. It is a diet that works and you can stay slim this way. Most other diets you can not maintain forever and consequently stay slim. Hence the slimming industry is founded on yo-yo dieters. I've been there and done that. Never again!

And remember that Dr. Atkins himself had over 30,000 patients at his clinic since the 1970's and none of them died of the diet. And NONE of them developed kidney or liver problems from the diet.

Dr. Atkins publicly and repeatedly challenged (on TV) anyone to bring forward EVEN ONE case where low carbing had caused liver or kidney disease in a healthy person. No one ever has come forward.

However, it is important to follow your low carb plan just as the authors of the plan wrote it. At lower carb levels, the side effects can be somewhat stronger but should subside by the 5th day. If not, then add some carbs on the list of allowed foods.

And of course, all the reputable plans want you to be checked out by your doctor and not have any EXISTING kidney or liver problems. That's very responsible of them but it is up to the individual to follow the instructions. No one knows exactly what that poor young girl was eating nor if it actually was "Atkins as written" or something else.

Hope this helps.