Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet is the brainchild of Dr. Robert Atkins, who introduced this diet as “Dr. Atkin’s Diet Revolution” in the 1970’s. At that time, people believed that eating fatty foods was the main contribution to obesity in people. But statistics prove that excessive eating of carbohydrates causes fat build up in the body if it is not utilized quick enough. So how does Dr. Atkin’s famous diet work?

The Atkins diet begins with the induction period. During the two weeks of this diet, dieters are permitted to ingest a maximum of 20 grams of carbohydrates. Then their diet will consist of unlimited amounts of meat, sausages, poultry, seafood, eggs, cheeses, oils, butter, margarine and bacon. During this period food rich in carbohydrates are eliminated from the diet. Such foods involve milk, cereals, fresh fruits, and also vegetables like potato, peas, grams and carrots.

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But, since these are carbohydrate-enriched food items, small amounts of these nutritious staples on the Atkins Plan are provided to the dieters in the form of additive pills. After the initial 2 weeks on the diet, patients are allowed to add 5 grams to their carbohydrate intake on a weekly basis.

People who follow the Atkins Diet for an extensive period, are allowed consume carbohydrates in a range of 40 to 90 grams. This is called the maintenance phase of the diet. This range of carbohydrate consumption is considered safe by major health organizations and health experts.

In comparison to the diets suggested by doctor’s to prevent cancer, the Atkins Diet is somewhat the same, only scaled down to minimize carbohydrate intake as much as possible. Cancer preventing diets consist of 3 to 4 extra helpings of fresh fruits, helpings of beans and grams and consumption of lesser amounts of red meat as compared to the Atkins Diet.

Eating carbohydrate causes the population to become fat and a number of diseases are related to obesity. If they follow the Atkins Diet they would probably see the difference in 4 weeks time.

Basically Atkins diet promotes the decrease in serum triglyceride levels, it increases the amount of HDL in the blood and decreases the amount of LDL, the cholesterol which can cause harm to the heart. The Atkins Diet really makes it obvious to the dieter that carbohydrates are weight gaining edible substances whose intake has to be limited. The lesser amount of carbohydrates you eat and the more weight you lose, the more successful Atkins Theory is.

The Atkins Diet also possesses health risks to those who follow it strictly. High intakes of protein cause the dieters urine to become acidic. Acidic urine in turn, washes away valuable calcium with it when it is being excreted. Loss of calcium in the body makes the bones brittle and susceptible to injury.

Depleting body calcium also significantly increases the risks of kidney stones and osteoporosis. Calcium aids in blood clotting, unavailability of calcium near a wound, causes prolonged bleeding, in the case of an accident, and may cause death by bleeding. Tragedies have occurred to those who did not manage the great calcium deficiency, like a woman in Florida, whose blood pressure rose drastically, causing her to suffer and die after a severe heart attack.

The American Heart Association does not recommend high protein and high fat diets, such as the Atkins Diet suggests, because of the increased risks of colon cancer, heart diseases and high blood pressure. Hardly any carbohydrates spell out that there will be less fiber, glucose and cellulose, which form the basis of our energy levels.

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It has been estimated that eating a healthy diet including things like fruits that burn fat can avert 33-55% of cancerous abnormalities in humans. These recommendations have poured in from health related universities from all over the world. Hundreds of research reports prove that the Atkins Diet increases the risk of inducing cancer.

Real foods like fruits vegetables, legumes and grams contain several substances called phytochemicals, which have proved to prevent cancer in humans by their consumption. The Atkins Diet restricts the consumption of such natural delights.

Thus if some one is following Atkins he is more susceptible to grow cancerous cells due to absence of important vitamins and minerals. Atkins have tried to substitute these chemicals in the diet by supplying additives like pills, but how many chemical nutrients can they fit in a pill or several pills for that matter?

Millions have tried the Atkins Diet and have received agreeable results. Millions of Americans alone have received good results from this diet and have made Dr. Robert Atkins book the best seller for years.

Tips for doing the Atkins diet right

1. Experienced reduced carb dieters report that the Atkins can reduce faster than other plans but you’re likely to lose the weight in stages with more stalls and plateaus along the way.
2. People who consider themselves to be serious carbohydrate addicts prefer the adkins diet because of its strict reduction of carbohydrate.
3. If you’ve been eating low fat; easing into the ketogenic diet gradually by slowly increasing fat intake and decreasing carb intake may help you avoid transient stomach upset or occasional nausea.
4. Current research into optimal health and prevention of disease focuses on phytonutrients–nutrients found only in vegetable foods. Use your daily carb allowance to consume a maximum of fresh vegetables, or consider adding green food diet supplements. (ditto for fiber)
5. Real whole food purists are already alarmed by some of the questionable ingredients listed in the newer low-carb food alternatives. Infamous aspartame (Nutrasweet) and indiscriminate use of soy head up the hit-list. Despite some reservations, these food items can help the more mainstream dieter’s transition to making healthier food choices.
6. Dr. Atkins did not differentiate between the benefits or drawbacks of the various sources of fat in his book. Nutritional science knows better now. Inform yourself and stick with the healthy fats.
7. Low to moderate exercise can be supported on the ketogenic diet. Individuals wishing to perform high intensity exercise or engage in body building routines should modify the diet to include more carbohydrate to support muscle glycogen stores.

Want to Try The Atkins Diet?