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.

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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

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

Now I haven't read Atkins's book, because I don't have time, I don't want to go on a diet and I don't care what it says. But two points:

1) The human brain runs on glucose or ketones. Running on glucose it is a supercomputer. Running on ketones it goes, but it hurts. Your liver can make glucose from proteins and fats and send it to the brain but not nearly as well as it can from starch. However if you sugar cram, you will also mess up your metabolism and your head will hurt. If you go with either extreme your brain will not thank you for it.

2) Amino acids are poisonous in the body unless they are built together as proteins. If you eat so much protein that amino acids are coming into your blood faster than leaving it, many parts of your body will not work very well.

3) Cholesterol: (here (http://www.coursework.info/i/1278.html))
"Diet is one such environmental issue that affects the development of coronary disease. In your blood three types of cholesterol affect the coronary heart condition: - low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), and very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDLs).

LDLs are considered to be the bad cholesterol molecules as they can accumulate on the walls of your arteries, forming plaques causing arterosclerosis. This only occurs if LDL particles are in excess and therefore stay in the blood. If LDL receptors do not receive the LDL particles or there are to few of them then they are not broken down in the liver and so they are deposited on the artery walls. HDL picks up excess LDL and takes it to the liver to be disposed of so a higher concentration of HDL than LDL is good. High LDL levels are caused by eating too much fat from dairy products, meats and hydrogenated oils."

If you follow the link, I didnt write it, I know you don't spell "affecting" like that, but they are right about the cholesterol.

[x-mass.livejournal.com]

um on Atkins teh dat points to a drop in vldl and ldl cholesterl and a rise in HDL

I'm intreted by the statement that HDl's come from hydrogenated fats - are you sure on this point?