Jan

8

What Are The Risks Of Fad Diets?

Filed Under Diets, Healthy Diets, How To's, Main Content, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

So-called “fad diets” seem to spring up all the time, offering a diet plan to help you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. Often, they do this by focusing on one or two types of food to either eliminate from the diet completely or to dine on exclusively. Examples of this type of fad diet are Cabbage Soup Diet, Sugar Busters! and the grapefruit soup diets. But can these diets help you lose weight, and do they pose other health risks?

Well, they certainly can help you lose weight. They are all designed to do that, and on that level they are almost all effective, at least for a little while.

But there are risks to many of these diets. Often, vital nutrients are eliminated from your diet for too long, leading to a variety of complications, some of which can be very serious.

Starvation diets where you either limit your diet to one or two foods or reduce the total intake of food can be very dangerous. Your body needs a wide variety of nutrients, balanced effectively for maximum use. If it fails to get what it needs, you can suffer from a variety of issues, some of which can be serious and result in permanent injury.

Many of these diets are especially dangerous to people with diabetes. They can take so drastically lower the dieters blood sugar level that serious complications, even death can result. Studies have also shown that diabetics can be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease when on poorly balanced diets. If the dieter is not aware they have diabetes they have no way to avoid those risks. This is why it is so important to consult your physician before starting any significant weight loss program.

How can a dieter avoid these risks and still lose weight? There are many diets out there that offer sensible and safe ways to shed weight and still be healthy. Some of those plans are outlined in books you can find in your local bookstore. Others can be found online at sites like www.stripthatfat.com. Each of these plans focus on the key things to remember when trying to follow a safe diet.

First, your body needs a balance of sugars, carbohydrates and fats. Research your diet plan for signs that it is balanced and includes the proper nutritional balance of foods, then be sure to follow that plan carefully. Avoid those plans that focus on one or two foods or types of food to the exclusion of all others.

One advantage to on-line programs is that many of them have menu generators that can help you plan healthy meals that still help you lose weight. Others may have on-line food diaries, which have been proven to be effective in helping a dieter manage their diet.

Using these resources will help you stick to a diet that will not only help you lose weight but will do so in a healthy way that will not pose an even greater risk to your health than the excess weight will.

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Dec

7

Atkins Diet Plan - Are Low Carbs Diets Doomed?

Filed Under Diets, Low Carb Diet, Main Content | Leave a Comment

According to Veronica Atkins, the widow of Dr. Robert Atkins, the cause of his death was from falling on a slippery sidewalk with subsequent irreversible brain damage (from a CNN interview, February, 2004). Many critics of the Atkins Diet Plan claim the fall was due to a heart attack. This has not been verified to date.

He was 72 years old.

With all due respect to Veronica Atkins, I would like to assume Dr. Atkins did in fact suffer a fatal heart attack. This is in order to answer the following questions…Is it right to use his death as evidence against the safety of the Atkins Diet Plan and other low Carb diets?

Does the recent bankruptcy of the Atkins Corporation provide evidence for the ineffectiveness of low Carb diets?

Many critics of low Carb diets say yes to both questions, but are they right?

The Atkins Diet Plan & Cardiovascular Risk

Medically speaking, it is incorrect to associate Dr. Atkins’ fatal heart attack to the use of his low Carb diet. There are two reasons for coming to this conclusion.The increased risk for cardiovascular events associated with Atkins Diet Plan are not from restricting carbohydrates. Instead, the higher risk of cardiovascular events comes from replacing carbohydrates with foods high in saturated fats.

Dr. Atkins died at the age of 72. Beyond the age of 72, the risk for a cardiovascular event is the same for everyone. Granted, he was diagnosed with a cardiomyopathy (diseased heart muscle) when he was 69 and he suffered a heart attack in early 2004.

However, both events occurred well above the age of 55…the cut off used for men to assign an increased risk for cardiovascular events to their first degree relatives. He was at an age which allows for the exclusion of any significant cardiovascular risk passing to his children.

From an epidemiology view point, risk behaviors like smoking or eating a high fat diet are no longer considered as primary contributors in Dr. Atkins’ death.

Yes, eating a high fat diet may have played a role, but this is only speculation. Because Dr. Atkins was 72 at the time of his death, no risk for similar events is passed onto his first degree relatives and the risk for cardiovascular events is the same for everyone at that age.

With all due respect, he died of old age. To blame the Atkins Diet Plan and low Carb diets in general is medically irresponsible. At 72 years old, there are several factors to consider when faced with a fatal heart attack, including the aging process itself.

Veronica Atkins was quoted by CNN…
“My husbands health at the time of his death is a sad and distracting sideshow, taking time away from an intelligent debate of the known science.”

For a more detailed discussion on cardiovascular risk and age, please visit…  www.medscape.com

Low Carb Bankruptcy — Evidence for its Ineffectiveness?

The only correct way to measure a diet’s effectiveness (or lack there of) is to study the evidence provided by clinical trials. Recently, a few good studies have reported on the effectiveness of the Atkins Diet Plan and other low Carb diets.

In short, low Carb diets, measured at one year, are safe and effective in helping dieters lose weight.

Like all diet types, the evidence for long term effectiveness (2 to 5 years) is sparse and inconsistent.

Cardiovascular risk increases for some dieters on low Carb diets, not because of the carbohydrate restriction, but because of the consumption of foods high in fat. Also, sticking with the low Carb diet appears to be tough for most dieters beyond one year.

And lastly, low Carb diets that promote long stages of measurable ketosis may cause rapid weight loss that is too extreme. This is a great way to guarantee weight regain in the near future.

Conclusion

Atkins death, from whatever the cause, can not be associated with his diet because he was 72 years old at the time of his death. Even if Dr. Atkins’ death could be associated with his diet, no correlations could be made to similar low Carb diets, too much variation exists between them.

Bankruptcy does not belong in a scientific discussion of a diet’s effectiveness.

To Healthy Living!

Please visit his site at…
The Weight Loss Professional
written by: Michael A. Smith, MD

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Nov

15

What Percentage of the Atkins Diet is Fat?

Filed Under Atkins, Diets, Healthy Diets, Low carb foods, Main Content, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

The Atkins Diet focuses on protein and carbohydrates. They don’t adhere to any particular percentage of fat. They do recommend that none of it be trans fat.

Atkins knows that the right kinds of fats in the diet are essential. They are a vital energy source, help slow digestion, and keep you feeling full and satisfied longer. The right kinds of fat help your body absorb vitamins such as, A, D, E, and K.

The Atkins Diet shows you that it is not healthy to try to banish all fats from your diet. They will help you determine good fats from bad so you won’t have to worry about the percentage.

Monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and omega-3 fatty acids are all heart healthy fats. The rule of thumb is that good fats are liquid at room temperature and may thicken when refrigerated.

Most vegetable oils fit in this category. Omega-3 fatty acids come from fatty fish such as, salmon, albacore tuna, herring, and mackerel.  Walnuts, flaxseeds, and flaxseed oil are other good sources.  These are all allowed on the Atkins Diet, but there is no percentage given as they feel none is needed.

Saturated fat is semisolid to solid at room temperature. Animal products are the main sources of saturated fats. Tropical oils and cocoa butter are also high in saturated fat. Smaller amounts are present in some plant foods like olive oil and nuts. The Atkins Diet believes that by substituting healthier fats like olive oil and canola oil for butter, they don’t have to count the percentage. You will still lose weight.

They do not recommend trans fat, however. Trans fat is produced when hydrogen is added to liquid oils to make them solid and extend their shelf life. They are found in packaged products and almost every food that contains shortening. The Atkins Diet helps you avoid trans fat by teaching you to read food labels.

Manufacturers are allowed to claim zero trans fat for any food containing up to one half gram per serving.  Go to the ingredients list where the words hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated are a warning flag that it contains trans fat. The bottom line on the two different types is that unsaturated fats don’t clog your arteries and saturated fats do.

The Atkins Diet relies on the fact that you will concentrate on low carbs and protein and the fat percentage will just fall into place. Of course, you still have to be aware of the type of fat you’re consuming.  The percentage of fat won’t hamper your weight loss efforts if you pay attention to what the Atkins Diet teaches you about healthy eating.

All of the Atkins Diet recipes give the nutrition breakdown and you will know what type and percentage of fat is in each meal.  For those of us who think fat makes food taste better, it’s nice to know that some fats are okay.

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Oct

26

How Long Should You Stay On Atkins?

Filed Under Atkins, Diets, How To's, Low Carb Diet, Main Content, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

One of the common questions about a diet is how long should I stay on the plan? Some diets, especially some of the more radical “fad” diets do have time limits on them. They are drastic changes to the diet designed to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. Is Atkins one of those plans?

No, it isn’t. the Atkins Diet is intended to be a lifelong change in eating habits and not just a short-term weight loss plan. Certainly most people focus on the weight loss aspect of the diet, and that is no doubt a major factor in its wide popularity.

But if you examine the full plan, you find it is designed as a permanent eating program and not just a way to lose weight. The Atkins Diet is designed to help you lose the weight and keep it off for the rest of your life. In effect, you can (and according to true Atkins devotees should) stick to the plan for the rest of your life.

Now, this isn’t to say that the various phases of the diet don’t have time limits on them. The Induction phase is designed to last two weeks. It could last even less, or be skipped altogether if your weight loss needs are very modest.

The Atkins plan recommends that induction not last more than two weeks, as it is designed to help bring about a rapid change in the way your body reacts to food. The indication phase is too low in carbohydrates to make for a healthy long-term dietary plan.

The ongoing weight loss phase (often called the OWL phase) is designed to last as long as it takes for you to reach your desired weight. At an average loss of 2 pounds per week, it could take most of a year to lose a large amount of weight on this phase of the plan.

There is no real time limit on this phase of the plan, but it is designed to end. It ends as you get within 5 pounds of your desired weight, no matter how long it takes you to get to that point.

The “pre-maintenance” phase will take 5-6 weeks. This is how long it will take you to raise your carb levels to the maintenance level, then lower them again just a bit to shed those last few pounds.

Then comes the lifelong phase of the diet, maintenance. This is the one part of the Atkins plan that is intended to last the rest of your life. Here, you are eating a diet that will help keep off the weight that you have lost while still maintaining a healthy overall eating plan.

So overall, the real answer to the question “how long do I stay on the Atkins Diet” is “for the rest of your life.” Of course, all but the last phase of the diet actually are designed to end after a certain period of time.

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Oct

21

High Energy Food - What You Put In Your Body is Important

Filed Under Diets, Healthy Diets, Main Content, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

There is the old adage that “you are what you eat.”  Although the phrase may be cliché, it really is true, especially when you investigate how the body uses its food energy.  The key to having more energy, feeling better about yourself, and having high stamina, all relates back to the type and quality of food that you are ingesting.

Your body process food to be used as fuel.  Think of it the way that you would think about oil or gasoline an automobile.  You know that if you put good quality oil in your car that it is going to run better than if you use the cheap stuff.  The same thing applies to the way that your body uses food for energy.  If you eat healthy, nutritious high energy foods, you body will perform better than if you feeding it junk food.

Read the full article at BistroMD.com

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