Weighing in on Atkins risks

Dieters blame popular program for heart disease, death
Reuters News Service
WASHINGTON -- Jody Gorran was proud of his 32-inch waistline -- until a heart scan showed an artery had become almost entirely blocked during the two years he was on the Atkins diet.
Lisa Huskey was happy about being on a diet with her 16-year-old daughter, Rachel, until Rachel dropped dead from a heart arrhythmia in class.
Both say the high-fat, high-protein approach advocated by the Atkins diet was responsible.
"What I contend is that the Atkins diet gave me heart disease," Gorran said at a news conference sponsored by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine.
The Atkins diet has sparked both admiration and debate with its radical approach based on the theory that carbohydrates make people fat.
It calls for a stringent break-in period designed to induce a metabolic change called ketosis. Dieters are advised to shun carbohydrates in favor of fats and meat.
The body, overloading on fat and protein, theoretically breaks down fat cells for energy and sheds pounds of water as it struggles to get rid of toxic breakdown products.
Studies have shown the diet -- like many diets -- can help people lose weight.
But many doctors and the American Heart Association have repeatedly warned that the Atkins approach could be dangerous because it is too high in fat and protein and too low in fiber and vitamins.
Anyone who has even been on this diet can tell you they spend the first few days in the bathroom, urinating," said Dr. Paul Robinson, director of adolescent medicine at the University of Missouri hospital, where Rachel Huskey was taken.
The body is shedding water to clear out the breakdown products from fat in the diet, Robinson said at the news conference. The danger comes because the process pulls calcium and potassium from the blood.
Robinson said Rachel's calcium and potassium levels were abnormally low. "These are very important electrolytes in regulating heartbeat," he said.
"Adolescents, particularly, should not go on this diet, until there is more research," added Robinson, who published a paper in the Southern Medical Journal about the case.
Dr. Richard Fleming, a cardiologist who has studied high-fat diets, attacked the premise that carbohydrates make people any fatter than any other food.He said the high fat content of the Atkins diet could worsen heart disease through raised cholesterol and inflamed arteries.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2238309

Professor Atkins himself said on a documentary that was shown in the UK last year that the diet was not checked out by the FSA in America - a warning sign if ever you needed it. And as mentioned by NoOneButYou1975 anyone with a heart defect shouldn’t go on it as in the initial stages the diet put more stress on your heart as your body gets used to the idea of how the diet works.

any one here on that diet?

not me, no diets for me

Nor me :)

Im on detox

i am doing the South Beach one

i have been on Atkins before also

and I have a ticker problem too....

I have not had problems with the diets in fact i have gotten healthier..

I would lay money down if those folks took 3000 mg of vitimin c and some C O Q10 everyday those blockages would be gone quickly--

i know this from personal experience

whats the south beach one?
where after 2 weeks you pick one carb and have what you want of it?

kinda
only the carbs are 'rarely or infrequently'

I am on the Atkins diet and I believe I am trully additted to carbs. because when I eat any non-complex carbs. I start loosing control again over how much I eat. Also, I think I suffered the lowering of electrolytes (calcium, potassium, magnesiun).

I lost 15 pounds on the first 6 weeks. Since I've stopped I regained about 5. I am going to do it again because when I was on that diet I really was not hungry anymore. This time before I start again I'll go to my doctor and have a complete blood work (electrolytes, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.) and I'll retest again in a couple of months and see what happens. Dr. Atkins recommends to take supplements also. Only on the first 2 weeks you don't eat almost any carbs., but little by little you start incorporating complex carbs. I understand that on "Atkins for life" phase you only stay away from potatoes, white flour, white rice and refined sugar, which coupled with fat are the main cause of obesity since the last 100 years.
Obese people have high cholesterol, triglycerides that can cause heart disease. Dr. Atkins claims that with his diet those lipids can considerably decrease.
In conclusion I think that crush diet and yo-yo weight loss are more harmful than the Atkins diet. Also, anybody who starts a diet should consult his doctor first, especially a young person. And taking vitamins and mineral supplements is important when doing any diet.

First off all.. I went all the way back to page 92 cos I'm bored and putting off homework right now and wanted to bring an old topic up.

My mum has been on this diet for about three years now and she has lost A LOT of weight...she is incredibly skinny. Unfortunately, the whole household has to live with some nasty diet food.. I hear that low fat diets are better because once you eliminate carbs, and then cheat for a little and have some carbs, your body bloats up and you become bigger than you would've if you cheated on some other diet (or something like that..) Besides, people consume waaaaaaaaaaaay too much fat on low-carb diets, it's crazy.