Press Release Source: Atkins Health and Medical Services

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040129/nyth165_1.html

The Atkins Copycat Revolution; A Statement from Dr. Stuart Trager, Chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council

Thursday January 29, 3:59 pm ET


NEW YORK, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a statement issued by Dr. Stuart Trager, Chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council:

With emerging research consistently validating the safety and efficacy of controlled carbohydrate nutrition, there seems to be no end to the list of "authorities" trying to capitalize on its popularity. These self-styled experts share the same agenda -- trying to pass themselves off as "the next Dr. Atkins." Clearly these imitators think they stand to gain by trying to pass off "new" ideas that are in reality nothing more than reiterations of the approach Dr. Atkins championed for decades. Because he is no longer here to set the record straight, I have taken that job upon myself.

Imitation has always been the sincerest form of flattery. Courage and conviction are apparently qualities far less common than willingness to jump on the bandwagon. How else to explain why so few nutritionists and physicians were willing to step forward and stand by Dr. Atkins' side when he began his "revolution." Where were they when he was crusading against low-fat diets full of sugar, white flour and high fructose corn syrup that have resulted in today's twin epidemics of obesity and Type 2 diabetes?

As the lone voice promoting control of carbohydrates long before it was fashionable, Dr. Atkins withstood countless attacks. Try as they may, neither these copycats nor the media intent on stirring up debate, can rewrite history. Since the publication of Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution in 1972, Atkins has always advocated controlling both the quality and quantity of carbohydrates. With a better understanding of how different foods impact the body, millions of Atkins followers have taken control of their weight, their health, cardiac risk factors and, yes, their very lives.

While Dr. Atkins loved working one on one with individual patients, his vision was vastly larger: He wanted to change the way the world eats to promote good health. His legacy lives on not only in his many books and current research, but also in the spirit and energy of the millions of Americans who have benefited from his innovative thinking.

The media has always found the controversy surrounding Dr. Atkins' ideas a fertile field to plow, but it has also fueled the opposition. While representing the Atkins as the "red meat diet" sold newspapers, the Atkins has never been about eating only beef. Dr. Atkins always recommended a balance of protein and fat sources, including fish, shellfish, poultry, lamb and pork. Nor has doing Atkins ever been a recommendation to gorge. Rather, it has always been about controlling carbohydrates -- omitting those that are refined and devoid of nutrients and concentrating instead on appropriate amounts of vegetables and other nutrient-rich choices -- and eating a healthy balance of fat and proteins. Instead, Atkins is misrepresented to catalyze controversy and polarize the debate between high-fat and low-fat consumption. Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of this misrepresentation perpetuated by copycats for self gain that most worries me is that science is being trivialized. After three years and 17 studies confirming the validity, health benefits and safety of the Atkins protocols as first described by Dr. Atkins in 1972, copycat doctors muddy the scientific waters and potentially confuse the public. This game defies every rule of medical ethics.

Repeatedly, Atkins is described as a program that eliminates carbohydrates altogether or bans fruit forever. Time after time the Induction phase is presented as the whole ANA, instead of the merely the first phase of a lifetime way of eating.

While others have attempted to capitalize on the "new" awareness of the role that excessive and poor quality carbohydrates play in causing obesity, it is crucial that we not forget the final lessons offered by this true innovator in Atkins for Life (St. Martin's), published in January 2003 four months before his death. In it he introduces several concepts that his imitators have passed off their own. First, he makes clear that a trim body is not first and foremost about vanity but about disease prevention, which is why the ANA is not a quickie "diet" but a lifelong way of eating. Using a new tool called the Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibrium, he helps people find their carb threshold, which allows individualization of his weight-control program. Dr. Atkins also examines how various carbohydrate foods differ in their impact on blood sugar. For years he advised using the glycemic index and the glycemic load as aids in making food selections, but he understood that most non-nutritionists found these concepts difficult to implement. Instead, he came up with the Atkins Glycemic Ranking, a simple three-tiered approach to judge the impact on your blood sugar of common foods. Like the concept of Net Carbs-basically subtracting fiber and other components that don't impact blood sugar from total carbs-which he also devised, the AGR makes it easier to select the right foods.

Finally, the idea of "good carbs," those full of nutrients and fiber, as opposed to "bad carbs" like sugar, white flour, sugary soft drinks, and most packaged foods, originated with Dr. Atkins. Don't be fooled by others who are trying to take credit for making this distinction.

I have gained tremendous insight into the power of the Atkins Nutritional Approach as I have incorporated it into my own life. Although many would argue that exercise alone, or exercise and calorie reduction is the key to weight loss. As a physician and triathlete, I know first hand how difficult this can be. When it takes 35 miles of running to burn one pound of body fat, it is simply no wonder that many become discouraged with exercise alone for weight management. Add to this the self deprivation associated with low-calorie, reduced-fat dietary approaches, and the energy depletion that occurs with caloric restriction, and it becomes easy to understand why so many people -- including me -- find Atkins to be a better way.




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Source: Atkins Health and Medical Services
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040129/nyth165_1.html

I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that the idea of deducting fiber counts from total carbohydrates was first done by the Doctors Eades.

All the low carb diets that came after owe a great debt to Dr. Atkins. Almost all of his recommendations are right on the money. That said, I dont think he had everything right and I think other people have improved upon his general principles.

The net carb count is in the '72 Atkins Diet Revolution book.

"Lone voice"?? What about Lutz, who published his first book prior to Atkins. I don't recall when the doctor from Poland also started along those lines, but I thought it was early 60's as well.

Reading between the lines, I think this is targeted towards SBD. But they do have a point. Every new book seems to attack the Atkins Diet as extreme zero-veggie, zero fruit, drop your kidneys dangerous, in order to justify why their low-carb book/diet is so special and different, and allows some forbidden fruits and vegetables

Wa'il

Wa'il

If you have the 1972 book, OHGal, could you please check that for me and give me a quote from the '72 book stating that? The reason i ask is that everyone i have spoken with who has a '72 Atkins book says he counted all carbs in that one.

This is true, as far as I know, but I don't think the article gave the credit to Dr. Atkins for this concept.

Hi, Pam. I don't guess it's that big of a deal on one hand anyway lol. Maybe i am misreading this part?

"Like the concept of Net Carbs-basically subtracting fiber and other components that don't impact blood sugar from total carbs-which he also devised, the AGR makes it easier to select the right foods."


i think Doctor Atkins did a wonderful thing, made wonderful strides, and faced a lot of opposition when his ideas, if not the man himself, should have been embraced. I, too, feel, and I have a feeling he would as well, that credit should be given where credit is due, which I think this article was about, at least on one level of it.

I think we might be confusing two things, the effective carb count (ECC) and net carb count. ECC is carbs - fiber. Net carbs is a bit more mystereous, and was introduced for Atkins Nutritional product labels, and is presented as:


http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/10/9-819097.html

Wa'il

Thank you, Wa'il, Mister famous man You .. grins.

I guess I thought they were essentially the same thing?