By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A nutrition advocacy group said on Thursday the popular Atkins diet has caused heart disease and could have killed a teen-age dieter and urged the U.S. government to monitor the high-fat weight loss approach.

The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine stressed it could not prove the diet hurt or killed anyone, but one dieter said he was convinced the approach clogged his arteries and the parents of a teen-ager who died while on the diet also blame her meat-heavy regimen.

The PCRM called on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news - web sites) to monitor diet approaches and check for evidence that the Atkins and other high-fat, high-protein diets may be harming people's health.

"You can never say this diet caused this death," PCRM director Dr. Neal Barnard cautioned. That is why he said the CDC should monitor large groups over time to see if there is an association.

The CDC had no immediate comment.

But Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. said its diet was safe. "There is no logic and no science to support any association between these individuals and the ANA (Atkins Nutritional Approach)," said Colette Heimowitz, vice president of education and research for the company.

The Atkins diet has made headlines around the world with a radical approach that flies in the face of most medical advice. First published in 1972 by Dr. Robert Atkins, who died after a fall last April, it is based on the theory that carbohydrates make people fat.

It encourages dieters to shun bread, pasta, fruit and many vegetables in favor of meat, butter and other fatty food.

"What I contend is that the Atkins diet gave me heart disease," Jody Gorran, a 53-year-old Florida businessman, said at a news conference. He said his arteries clogged and cholesterol shot up while on the diet.

DEATH OF TEEN DIETER

Paul and Lisa Huskey of Columbia, Missouri, say their 16-year-old daughter, Rachel, died of a heart arrhythmia in 2000 while on the diet. Dr. Paul Robinson, a pediatrician at the hospital where Rachel died, said the diet could have caused her death by leaching calcium and potassium from her body.

Many doctors and the American Heart Association (news - web sites) have warned that the diet could be dangerous. The Heart Association advocates a diet based on whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

It warned that over time the Atkins diet and similar approaches could raise cholesterol. Other experts have said it might also increase the risk of kidney disease and the PCRM adds osteoporosis and colon cancer to the list of risks.

The PCRM, which advocates a strict vegetarian diet, set up an online registry at www.atkinsdietalert.org for people to offer complaints about the diet.

Barnard said 188 people had logged on and complained of minor issues such as bad breath, constipation and a lack of energy. But then the complaints became more serious and included kidney, heart and gallbladder problems.

"These are all the conditions that physicians warned would be likely to occur in individuals on low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diets," Barnard said.

Doctors say anyone who loses weight will lower cholesterol in the short term.

More than 60 percent of American adults ore overweight or obese so the need for effective diets is clear.

"The skinniest people on the planet are vegetarians and Asians," Barnard said.

are you kidding me?! I gained 30 pounds as a vegetarian!

Such Stupidity!

But look who is behind the study...The "vegetarians".

Birdy...

PCRM had the same release last year, and in 2001 for the same teen girl, with yet to be shown evidence. The claim has been refuted since 2000!

Shey should look for new material.
It's interesting they promote being "skinny", while calling themselves responsible. That type of thinking and eating disorders is what kills many teens

Wa'il

I've said it for most of my professional TV Director life: people who misrepresent facts and call it news should have their press credentials removed on 1st violation. Crap shoveled as news is still crap.

Because of the current importance of Atkins to the health and well-being of so many new converts THIS made news. If it bleeds it leads. This smacks of "Grocery Store Newsrag"...you could change some of the words around, and IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, with the "truth" they report you could put in added parts for Elvis sightings and then say that this poor unfortunate child's demise was due to (fill in the blank).

I feel for the family of the girl.

BUT the more this diet is accepted AND found to be a more healthy alternative to the high carb diets you will see far more of this as all sorts of special interest groups (bakers, candy makers, soda makers, high carb beer bottlers, potato and rice farmers, and pharmaceutical companies that see their profits fall rapidly as people get healthy and off drugs!) try to bust any kind of low carbing in the tailbone.

Here is to truth in reporting. Here is to truth in politics. Here is to truth from corporations.

I don't report this as anything more than my personal opinion BUT I figure a little research will find many more positive reports (using fair medical data and not some fixed criteria) on Atkins and most other low carb diets than the few bad reports on atkinsdietalert.org. PETA groups, vegans, and the like are not about to be pro meat eating and will try their damnedest to get their point accross. The fact that this story got out is as close to print Jerry Springer-ism as I have seen in recent days.

Hi, folks -

I opened my online connection today and found the ridiculous assertions about the potential dangers of the Atkins diet. How maddening!

So here's what I did. I went to the site where we can all log our troubles with the diet (www.atkinsdietalert.org). In the section where I was asked to checkmark my particular difficulty, I entered the following:

I now suffer from extreme agitation - I lost 70 pounds which I have kept off, during which time I was monitored by my doctor who pronounces me to be in continuing excellent health at this time - I become extremely agitated when I read about attempts to discredit the Atkins diet by agencies and organizations that have an obvious bias - it is shameful for so-called scientists and doctors to 1) skew the facts to support a philosophical point of view, and 2) disguise an animal-rights platform as medical information and a public service. What about the hundreds of thousands of obese Americans who can benefit as I did, but who buy your propaganda instead? What about "First, do no harm?"

Not that I think anyone will listen, and maybe I will wake up with rotten eggs on my windows (no, make that egg beaters) since I had to enter my name and address. But it sure felt good to write.

Got to go. TIme for my nightly dead-animal feast.

All of which could easily have been pre-existing conditions (and probably were) that those reporting them were unaware of prior to beginning a low carb regimen. Wonder how many of them followed the advice in the book and had a complete physical (including blood work) before they began which a person considering ANY diet change should do? Ever see the warnings from folks such as WW: "Always consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program".
I'd also like to note that they also likely got many responses to their survey reporting positive results with low carb (many from folks here on this site) but as I suspected, they're not releasing that data. Maybe the CDC should ask to see ALL the responses, not just the ones that PCRM wants them to see.
As for that "massive heart defect", I've never heard of what you eat causing a physical defect in the heart; strep infections, viral infections and congenital abnormalities yes, but not diet.
Come to think of it, I developed gallbladder problems in a low fat diet. Maybe the CDC should look into the problems associated with low fat diets.

In a report like this, would it be too much to ask for the reporter to explain that the advocacy group is connected to, and funded by, a pro-vegetarian group that has a vested interest in seeing that people are scared away from the Atkins diet for motives other than the public good?

If there existed a credible study that proved that low carb eating was detrimental to my health, I'd stop today. I haven't seen such a study. I'm really not a radical defender of low-carb; if it was unhealthy, I wouldn't do it. I've got no stake in it.

I just want to be healthy - I ain't here to be part of a crusade, although it appears the advocacy group who released that website obviously is.

So if one girl dies from heart arrhythmia while Atkins and they blame low-carb. Shouldn't you blame low-fat for all the other young people that die of heart arrhythmia.

Statistically speaking, people get sick of many different things and we would have to expect much of this to happen regardless of what you have been eating for the last month. It not like the Atkins diet diet could have clogged her arteries in that short a time.

Here's one of the goals of this organization, from their website:

"Physicians and other health care practitioners who prescribe high-protein diets may be putting themselves at legal risk if their patients develop complications associated with those diets. Consumers who believe that a high-protein diet contributed to their health problems may have legal recourse."

(link to the legal issues page)

What this means is, we're scaring doctors. If enough doctors are scared to put their patients on low-carbohydrate diets, we'll kill this thing as a mainstream way of eating.

I'd like to see a comprehensive study on these charges - that would have some heft with me. Trying to scare doctors into demonizing low-carb diets won't. Although I dread going into my guy the next time and having to endure the lecture I'm sure I'm going to get.

My dad recently went to the hospital and was diagnosed with heart arythmia, they caught it in time and he lived. He is definately NOT on Atkins, or any other lo-carb diet. He eats lo-fat because of his cholesterol levels!!! No he has to eat even lower fat, so I can't believe that someone would blame a girls death on Atkins!! I think that the gain in popularity of the "way of eating" is just plain bringing the fruitcakes out of the closet. Remember, some people are just not going to let anyone else be happy, and they always have to have something to complain about!!

My Uncle died from Hypertension/Diabetes most likely caused by years of eating that Low-Fat/Low-Calorie [and consequently Hi-Sugar/Hi-Carb/Hi-Salt] crap these folks try to pass off as "food." Hypertension/Diabetes is most of the time caused by diet...Heart Arrythmia OTOH is not related to diet.

If they want to compare numbers, we could make a list alot longer than their's of folks who've died while on a Low-Fat and/or Low-Calorie diet. Hell, there's probably more folks in my own family who took an early dirt nap due to heart disease/diabetes [which we know is caused by eating too many carbs and trans-fats]...than there are folks on PCRM's entire list.

Check this out. It is purportedly a group of concerned physicians, and there is a register for people to indicate their health problems due to Atkins...I registered, gave them a glowing account, and a serve for their bias etc. If a whole bunch of folks do this too, it might be interesting...bombard them with pro-low carb stories!
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2...9027307658.html

Val

This was taken from another forum that I am with:

'Well yet again we read the same old story about Atkins causing death. This
article also gives the website of an US association of doctors who are
actively campaigning against Atkins and low carb diets. In fact, there is a
registry for complaints. I am notifying them of my success, rather than all
the terrible conditions they associate with Atkins in particular. Perhaps we
could all bombard them with the positive aspects?'

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2...9027307658.html

Yeah, I wrote the site that published the article, twice!