Atkins Diet is dangerous pseudo-science

[ciphergoth]

The Atkins Diet is a pile of dangerous pseudo-science. Not that this comes as a surprise, but here's the word from Dr Susan Jebb of the Medical Research Council's Human Nutrition Research Centre.

(Note: questions about TrustFlow here will be deleted, post them in trustmetrics.)

Update: Post made friends-only. Thanks to babysimon for pointing out that vampwillow had invited people in atkins_uk to join the thread, resulting in some incredibly lunatic contributions. Update: Public again.

Comments

[babysimon]

Incidentally, how old was Dr Atkins when he died of a heart attack? I've heard conflicting reports...

[shadow-jess.livejournal.com]

72, i believe.

I'd heard a different story

[barking-watcher.livejournal.com]

I was under the belief that he'd died in an accident and according to this< a href ="http://atkins.com/atkinslegacy/atkinslegacypress.html"> page that seems to be the case.

Of course it could all be a cover up.

Re: I'd heard a different story

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Yes. He suffered a non-fatal heart attack last year, but slipped on an icy pavement and suffered a brain haemorrhage in early April.

Atkins claimed that the heart attack was due to infection and not related to diet.

However, it's pretty well established that high cholestrol diets like the Atkins diet lead to an early heart attack. ISTR a remark from one doctor along the lines of "it's like recommending someone take up smoking in order to lose weight".

Re: I'd heard a different story

[barking-watcher.livejournal.com]

I agree entirely. The father of one of my work colleagues decided to put himself on the diet even though he's had a heart bypass operation.

Needless to say the minute his GP found out he was advised to stop.

Re: I'd heard a different story

[vampwillow]

For the record, the Atkins diet was not originally created as a weight-loss program, but as a diet benfecial to heart patients (Atkins was a cardiologist). There are very many cases of GPs and MDs who have researched the issues *putting* patients on lo-carb diets in order to improve their life expectancy.

Re: I'd heard a different story

[vampwillow]

pretty well established that high cholestrol diets like the Atkins diet lead to an early heart attack

source??

sfaiaa the issue is that it is only if there are high levels of carbohydrates AS WELL that this may be an issue. There are two basic types of cholestrol (effecticely one good one bad) and going through the four stages of Atkins generally reduces the bad and improves the good. Plenty of sources on file for that, including many postings of people reporting tests on themselves on the Atkins LJ communities.

Re: I'd heard a different story

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

source??

Only members of The Conspiracy To Keep People Ill believe this, ie the NHS, American Heart Association, US National Institute of Health and practicaly the entire medical profession. It's disputed by that well-known authority Dr Uffe Ravnskov.

Re: I'd heard a different story

[hlu.livejournal.com]

They had something in the news and in the newspapers back home in Buffalo, that the Atkins Nutritional Approach was BETTER than the AHA's diet plan!!! LOL!!! How are those apples for ya??

Re: I'd heard a different story

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Mmm, full of sugar thanks :)

[vampwillow]

he died from an accident, not a heart-attack ...

[babysimon]

I asked because I didn't know. Thanks for the abuse.

[hlu.livejournal.com]

Abuse? This whole thread is abusing thousands of peoples way of eating!

[ruis.livejournal.com]

No it isn't.

This whole thread is debating the pros and cons of the Atkins diet. Abusing thousands of peoples way of eating is when people start to force feed you all carbs.

[hlu.livejournal.com]

Let me rephrase-

Dr. Atkins the cardiologist didn't die of any heart attack. He died of an accident - slipping on the ice outside his NYC office. Nothing Diet Related.

There.