I’d like to point out that my blood pressure is WAY down after doing the Atkins diet. As in, it’s the lowest it’s ever been in my life (112/74, which as far as I know is optimal).
Yep, that excess cholesterol is killin’ me. 
Check out this site and this site for low-carb research.
The second site has sections which address various areas of low-car research. The section on “Bone Health and Osteoporosis” has the following article summary:
That said, while I think low-carb dieting works well for many people (myself included – I lost 30 lbs and improved my HDL & LDL and triglyceride levels), other kinds of diets work equally well for SOME people. Use what works for YOU.
You’re seriously offering this as a rebuttal? I’m reading this as “since we’re all going to die someday, let’s throw caution to the winds and eat whatever we want”. I don’t think that deserves a serious response.
If what you meant is that all foods have a negative impact on your long-term viability, then yes, but some have a more negative impact. You still have to be careful of what you eat if you want a long, healthy life.
But this is all secondary to the debate. My point about trans-fatty acids was a response to jonpluc’s oversimplified assertion that fats are good for you.
There seems to be a little bit of confusion as to what exactly the issues are in the debate over Atkins. Fact is, it works for a lot of people to take off weight in the short term. No one’s debating that. What we are debating is whether it’s safe in the long term, and how effective it is at keeping the weight off. And there’s just not a lot of evidence either way.
I seem to recall reading about a five-year study going on with a fairly lage sample group comparing the Atkins diet to a more traditional healthful diet (which the much-touted study of this summer didn’t do). When that’s done and published, we’ll have answers. Until then, it’s all just speculation.
I believe the whole misunderstanding about the Atkins diet stems from the fact that people who havent read enuf about the diest only know about thru “sound bites” or heresay.
The Atkins diet is not a NO Carb diet. The induction phase which lasts for about 2 weeks of the start of the diet limits the dieter to 20 grams of carbs a day. This is to help the body learn to not depend on carbs but use up fat for energy. When the dieter starts to lose weight, more carbs are allowed into the diet to control the weight loss.
All these examples of ketosis and bone loss and whatnot are what happens when you are in a starvation phase. Hardly what Atkins recommends. You eat a lot of meats with fat but fat is also a trigger for satisfaction. You become fuller faster and you tend to eat less fat anyways.
We used to have a food pyramid high in meats and fats and low on grain. Then studies about heart attacks (triggered by processed flour and sugars) showed high levels of fat in the blood, the ADA turned the food pyramid upside down. The result was obesity rate rose right along with the rate of introduction of diet foods in the market. If low fat works, why are people still getting obese? Maybe its time to turn the food pyramid back the way it used to be.