Why is there controversy over Atkins?

[Riprorin]

Bacially, you eat meat, fish, fruit, non-starchy vegetables, dairy prducts (whole plain yogurt and cheese), nuts and some cereals (oatmeal, Fiber 1) and eliminate sugar, bread, pasta, soda and fruit juices, and junk food.

What's so controversial about that?

My only explanation is that it threatens the billion dollar diet industry so they have to attack it.

 

[minendo]

Long term effects are unknown. Many people think the philosophy as you stated is to elimante sugar, carbs, etc, but glucose is required for the brain to function.

 

[Ranger X]

It's a diet to eliminate carbs and I'm not sure if fruits were included in the Atkins diet.

A controversy exists because it may be dangerous to your health in the long run.

 

[agnitrate]

Because it's not healthy for your body. You need vegetables/fruits to make a balanced diet. Certain people take it to the extreme and decide to eat pounds of meat a day, no fruits or vegetables, and claim they are healthy.

I think if you want to do it for like 2-3 weeks to lose lots of initial weight (it will make you lose weight very quickly), then it's ok. I wouldn't be doing it any longer than that for fear of hurting my body.

There are probably much better descriptions, but I am no nutritionist so I don't have all the answers.

-silver

 

[guapo337]

because it sucks.

 

[notfred]

Because some people think that there might be a problem with a diet that allows you to drink bacon grease but not eat a peanut butter sandwich.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: agnitrate
I think if you want to do it for like 2-3 weeks to lose lots of initial weight (it will make you lose weight very quickly), then it's ok.

A majority of that intial weight loss is simply water.

 

[ElFenix]

our understanding of the way the human body interacts with food is like the average yuppie's understanding of how his BMW works... he knows he puts gas in it to go, and has to take it to the bmw dealer to do some maintenence.... but other than thats hes totally clueless. and yet, we're still told what to eat and how to eat by a few shmucks who don't understand cellular pathways... and because they've been talking about what people should eat for the last 20 years they can call themselves experts... they're the modern day equivalent of the 19th century dr with a jar full of leeches...

 

[royaldank]

Most people are uneducated on the subject. They believe everything the school system told them about the food pyramid and balaced diets.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: agnitrate
Because it's not healthy for your body. You need vegetables/fruits to make a balanced diet. Certain people take it to the extreme and decide to eat pounds of meat a day, no fruits or vegetables, and claim they are healthy.

I think if you want to do it for like 2-3 weeks to lose lots of initial weight (it will make you lose weight very quickly), then it's ok. I wouldn't be doing it any longer than that for fear of hurting my body.

There are probably much better descriptions, but I am no nutritionist so I don't have all the answers.

-silver

what i just said, plus the fact that people like agnitrate have no idea what the atkins diet is and don't realize that after breaking the body of its additiction to carbs for the first two weeks you start adding carbs back in and quickly can eat many kinds of vegetables and fruit

 

[guapo337]

the diet's rules basically go against ALL previous rules of how to eat healthy. it's a fad. some people pick it up, and watch the initial weight loss, and claim how great it is. that initial weight loss is water loss.

not eating fruits and vegetables and eliminating carbs (which give you energy) and eliminating glucose (a simple carb which makes the brain function) seems worthless to me. however, the initial weight loss from water loss is obviously enough to make people love it.

 

[Riprorin]

Uhmmm, where do you folks get that you're not allowed to eat fruits and vegetables?

Has anyone that criticizes this approach actually read any of the books or educated themselves about it?

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
Uhmmm, where do you folks get that you're not allowed to eat fruits and vegetables?

Has anyone that criticizes this approach actually read any of the books or educated themselves about it?

Many fruits are actually not permitted by the guidelines. The ones permitted must only be consumed it small quantities.

 

[vash]

I really wish some people who complain about the unhealthiness of the Atkins diet would read past chapter 3.

vash

 

[Riprorin]

Some fruits are lower in carbs that others. The lower carb fruits should be eaten regularly and the higer carb fruits should be eaten occasionally.

Personally, I eat a lot of apples, strawberries, blueberries, melons, nectarines, grapefruits and peaches and avoid high carb fruits like bananas.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: guapo337
the diet's rules basically go against ALL previous rules of how to eat healthy. it's a fad. some people pick it up, and watch the initial weight loss, and claim how great it is. that initial weight loss is water loss.

not eating fruits and vegetables and eliminating carbs (which give you energy) and eliminating glucose (a simple carb which makes the brain function) seems worthless to me. however, the initial weight loss from water loss is obviously enough to make people love it.

another person who doesn't have any clue what the diet is.

 

[yukichigai]

The key problem with the Atkins diet isn't the glucose/sugar thing really, so much as the effect it has on your renal system. (Kidneys, bladder, etc.) The Atkins diet initiates a state of Ketosis, which means you start to get rid of a lot of water. A good deal of the weight you lose in the first few weeks is water weight. The problem with this is that it taxes your kidneys pretty hard, possibly leading to renal (kidney) failure. There are some genetic backgrounds that can handle this -- Germans and Eskimos most noteably -- as historically they have existed in a meat-rich, carb-low environment. The rest of the world is kind of iffy on that unfortunately.

Aside from that you have to make sure you get the proper vitamins and a lot of exercise. Assuming the Atkins diet is indeed what early man survived on it should be a package deal, excercise and all, not to mention the fact that most farm-raised cattle and other meat sources don't have as vitamin-rich a diet as wild animals would. (Vitamins and such would be passed on by eating meat of animals with diets rich in these things) If you just sit on your tookus all day it's not going to be the best thing in the world for you.

 

[agnitrate]

Originally posted by: ElFenix

what i just said, plus the fact that people like agnitrate have no idea what the atkins diet is and don't realize that after breaking the body of its additiction to carbs for the first two weeks you start adding carbs back in and quickly can eat many kinds of vegetables and fruit

I work at the nation's only certified organic food store and there is a reason we don't carry Atkins products. I know of the basics of the diet and nothing more because we don't recognize it as a healthy way to lose weight. That should say something about the diet in general... :Q

-silver

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
Some fruits are lower in carbs that others. The lower carb fruits should be eaten regularly and the higer carb fruits should be eaten occasionally.

Personally, I eat a lot of apples, strawberries, blueberries, melons, nectarines, grapefruits and peaches and avoid high carb fruits like bananas.

Doesn't a medium sized apple already contain more carbs than permitted at the beginning stage?


Edit: 100g of Apple has approximately 15.2g of CHO.

 

[hdeck]

Originally posted by: notfred
Because some people think that there might be a problem with a diet that allows you to drink bacon grease but not eat a peanut butter sandwich.

nicely put =)

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
Some fruits are lower in carbs that others. The lower carb fruits should be eaten regularly and the higer carb fruits should be eaten occasionally.

Personally, I eat a lot of apples, strawberries, blueberries, melons, nectarines, grapefruits and peaches and avoid high carb fruits like bananas.

You're eating fructose, fructose, fructose, a lot of fructose, ditto, a little fructose and fructose, respectively.

Almost every fruit contains fructose. Fructose is a fruit sugar by definition. Pretty high in carbs there.

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Riprorin
Some fruits are lower in carbs that others. The lower carb fruits should be eaten regularly and the higer carb fruits should be eaten occasionally.

Personally, I eat a lot of apples, strawberries, blueberries, melons, nectarines, grapefruits and peaches and avoid high carb fruits like bananas.

Doesn't a medium sized apple already contain more carbs than permitted at the beginning stage?


Edit: 100g of Apple has approximately 15.2g of CHO.

I'm at my desired weight level (5'8" 155 lbs) so I'm basically in maintenance mode. I eat an apple with peanut butter every day after lunch and eat fruit for breakfast and dinner too.

I lost 20 lbs in about 6 weeks and never did the inducton phase i.e, limit carbs to <20 g/day for a limited time period.

How many carbs you can tolerate before you gain weight depends on your metabolism and excercise level.

 

[glugglug]

Originally posted by: Riprorin
Personally, I eat a lot of apples, strawberries, blueberries, melons, nectarines, grapefruits and peaches and avoid high carb fruits like bananas.

Grapefruits are high carbs. Fairly sure they have more than bananas.

I bet 20 years from now there will be tons of stories about people who fvcked themselves up royally on Atkins. My theory on why its accepted as much as it is that starving the brain of the glucose it needs gives some people a buzz.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: hdeck

Originally posted by: notfred
Because some people think that there might be a problem with a diet that allows you to drink bacon grease but not eat a peanut butter sandwich.

nicely put =)

Hah, And if you go off the diet for one day you are pretty much screwed for the whole week. Plus once you are off the diet you gain the weight back quickly.

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: hdeck

Originally posted by: notfred
Because some people think that there might be a problem with a diet that allows you to drink bacon grease but not eat a peanut butter sandwich.

nicely put =)