Here I pit something I trust and believe in deeply, Correct Scientific Method. I do this because, to my knowledge there is no scientific evidence that the Atkins diet works. Yet I have just come back from Xmas with my Brother and Sister in-law. Last time I saw them they were getting beyond tubby and heading towards obese, I was seriously worrying about their health. This time they are looking so much thinner and healthier, and their reason is that for the last 6+ months they have been using the Atkins diet.
I have no reason to doubt this, and they show no signs of being more physically active than before, or eating less than before, so I can only conclude that their weight loss is due to this new diet. Possibly they both have the low-grade insulin problems that Atkins has been shown scientifically to be helpful for, but that seems doubtful.
So I am left to face the evidence that Atkins works for a subset of people which includes my brother and sister in law, but that scientific method has been unable to identify that group, or even show that the low carbohydrate, normal calorie, intake diet can be worth trying to those for whom other diet regimes have failed.
I thought the scientific community (whatever that means) recently flipped on Atkins. The first studies were shot down but later tests, done by someone not selling it, were done and it was effective.
I seem to recall that but I may be wrong.
No cites, but the last I heard was a comparison of the current fave diets and what was demonstrated was that they all worked equally well, though unspectacularly (something like a pound a month), IF you followed them and stayed on them. Which most people don’t. The people I know IRL stay on the “no carbs at all” version of Atkins if they stay on it at all, though that is SUPPOSED to be done only for the first couple weeks, followed by a low-carb but generally balanced (and pretty generic) diet for the lion’s share.
I think mentioning “the lion’s share” after Zebra had just posted was a little insensitive 
I had seen some evidence about Atkins being no better or worse than other fad diets, but nothing to say that it could work for some people for which the earlier fad diets had failed.
I am intregued by the lack of blood cholesterol increase that one might expect to see in a diet full of fairly high cholesterol sources. It worries me, being an ex-gaul stone sufferer, that Atkins may put extra strain on the gaul duct system. I havn’t seen any data about the effect of Atkins on such systems.
There was a study done recently at the University of Ottowa by Komorowski et al. that examined the effect of a low-calorie, low-carb diet and found that it was pretty super for fat loss in the obese. I believe that the title was “Low carbohydrate diet induces weight loss and changes in fuel oxidation during exercise in obese adults”.
I believe the Atkins diet works for some people. (Insert standard “IANADietician/doctor” disclaimer here and read on)
A Dr Abravanel has developed a diet called “The Body Type Diet” (http://www.bodytypes.com/about.htm), based on the following theory: Everyone has a dominant gland in their system, that is responsible for their energy levels and food cravings. The Atkins diet would work for the T-type person (dominant gland is the Thyroid), because the high-protein diet does not place too much stress on the thyroid (which is stimulated by carbohydrates).
I read his book, and it seems to make sense. So perhaps the truth is just that the Atkins diet works best for specific body types and is not ideal for everyone.
[emphasis added]
Wouldn’t any low-calorie diet cause weight loss? That almost seems like truism; if you take in fewer calories, you would have to lose weight. How does that prove that a “low-calorie, high-carbohydrate” diet wouldn’t do the same thing?
It doesn’t, and a low-calorie, low-fat diet will lead to weight loss if you stick to it. The question at hand is whether low-carb works, not whether it’s the only method.
Strictly anecdotal here:
A good friend of mine was doing ultra-ultra low fat for the longest time. His cholesterol and triglycerides kept going up and up. His Dr finally suggested he try Atkins.
Within weeks, his cholesterol and triglycerides plummetted to well within the normal range.
I’ve known this guy for almost 30 years, and he’s the type to follow things to the letter. He also said he no longer gets heartburn and he’s sleeping thru the night and his energy level has gone up. His wife is doing the program too, and her migraines have eased. Neither of them was overweight by any standard.
Take it FWIW.
I’ve lost nearly thirty pounds in about 20 weeks, so I’m feeling pretty good about this Atkins thing. I’m not getting as much exercise as I should to really help the diet, but it still seems to be working. After all, my scale and my pants don’t lie.
I got my gall bladder out about ten years ago and it still causes mental anguish to think about eating like some Atkins dieters do!
I’m not sure there was ever much evidence provided by the scientific method that we should be eating high-carb, low-fat diets in the first place. It seems like a reasonable place to start, but I would imagine things like the long term effects of diet are difficult to study under the strict controls that would make it meaningful.
My question of the day would be: Is it eating fat and cholestorol thats bad for you? Or is it having cholestorol and triglycerides in your blood thats bad for you?
As far as I know the studies have linked the blood tests to ill-health, but have not linked eating high-fat foods to ill-health directly. The reason I wonder is because I eat a high-fat diet, but my cholestorol < 150 and my triglycerides are < 90 (and I’ve lost 80lbs). Prior to the diet both were at unheathly levels…
Thanks bsane you added well to my rant. Why can’t scientific method create good tests for allmost any diet ideas. OK I sort of know that long term testing of Humans is difficult, especially when judging food intake which is not well recorded for anyone not permanently institutionalized.
Does anyone else remember that Woody Allens film about him turning up in the future and learning that all we thought was healthy was in fact unhealthy, and that everyone should eat lots of fat and red meat, whenever they hear about the Atkins diet.
Now I think I understand your rant Bippy, and I agree.
I’m sure that someday we’ll be able to get to the bottom of all this and decide once for all what we should eat.
I haven’t seen that Woody Allen movie, but that sounds funny…
The thing about Atkins is that it isn’t a “fad” diet, in the usual sense of the word. Yes, it is very popular at the moment, but don’t lump it in with the hollywood juice or cabbage soup type diets. It has been around for many years, and used as a treatment for diabetes and epilepsy etc. It has worked for many people who haven’t had luck with the traditional low fat high carb approach. And some peole do use it as an excuse to gorge on bacon cheeseburgers sans bun, but many more do it right and get great results.
Why are so many people resistant to the idea that it can work?
LunaSea many of those who don’t believe it can work would site the lack of scientific evidence that it does work (except for diabetics) as reason to not believe. I think it is quite reasonable to doubt the diet is efficacious on these grounds. But personal experience and much annecdotal information does indeed suggest that this diet can work and work well for some who have failed on other diets. Hense my rant against the fact that scientific evidence cannot be easily gained to show how these annecdotal results are occuring. It seems to me to be highly unlikely that the Atkins diet does not work on at least a significan portion of people who try it. Yet no one has been able to show it working through scientific controlled studies.
The fact that science cannot at this moment show me how it works, or how I am being misslead into believing it works, worries me greatly. Especially considering the age of the Atkins diet and how long it has been used.
I have been on Atkins for over 6 months now. My doctor recommended that I read the book because of high cholesteral and tri g’s. I had been on Lipitor for 6 months which lowered the cholesteral but the tri g’s were very high. She wanted me to go on another medication to see if I could reduce the tri g’s. My wife bought me the Atkin’s book and it really clicked. I had been eating all the wrong foods for my condition. When I started the diet on Memorial Day I stopped taking the meds. Three months later I had lost over 35 lbs. and my blood test was great so my doctor kept me off the meds. She was amazed. I did the blood test again after three months and the results were even better and my weight has stayed off.
I eat a lot of chicken, and salmon, some beef, lots of salad veggies, a lot of cheese and avocado and three eggs every morning plus lots of nuts. For me the Atkins diet has been a very high calorie diet.
My wife is worried about all the eggs and cheese but so far the two blood test have been great. I am going to to keep doing the blood tests every three months to make sure that everything stays good. And I weight myself every few days to make sure my weight does not go up.
Bob
I suppose one reason that some people don’t do well on low-fat high-carbo diets is that they are essentially making their body work like a cow’s. You don’t see cows packing away fat and protein, but they put the pounds on (quite deliberately for the farmers) Some people will, I’m sure, do fine. I suspect many others won’t.
To be honst with you Bippy, we don’t understand how any diet, certainly including the low-fat high-carbo diets really affect people. People are simply too complex for our comprehension right now, and there’re precious few ways to know in advance what will and willl not work. Atkins is as reliable as any other diet, and its been around long enough that it appears safe. If you’re holding out for perfection, don’t. Whatever you eat will kill you eventually, if something else doesn’t get you first. Its just a matter of time, so pick a method that’s tolerable to you.
When was there a low fat-high carb approach that was proven?
Back when I dieted seven or eight years ago, I was taught a low fat, low carb, low calorie portion control method. Two servings of bread or other starch per day (four if you used “diet” bread). Two servings of meat (the size of a deck of cards) or other protien. Three glasses of milk (or other dairy) and lots of vegetables and fruits. I know that in Atkinsland, veggies and fruits that are high carb need to be watched (and you did on this diet as well - for instance potatos and peas counted as bread).
I also know people for whom Atkins has worked really well. I think its a disiplined approach for someone who likes to sneak m&ms (because you start with NO carbs and move to 20 - which is nothing - my dad is a diabetic and gets 70 per meal), or considers french fries a vegetable, or gravy calorieless. It allows you the freedom of always being able to eat something.
It is claimed somewhere on the Atkins site that the diet actually helps prevent gallstones because it makes the body constantly flush out the gall bladder, keeping stones from forming.
I know many people it has worked well for and can’t argue with success.