Atkins Diet in new Row!

[john8pies]

The diet pioneered by the late Dr Robert Atkins recommending a carbohydrate-free and sugar-free regime to be replaced with excessive protein has landed in hot water.

The ASA (Advertising STandards Agency) has refused to allow a series of "Atkins" -type high protein, low/nil carbohydrate products be marketed as `forming part of a healthy diet`

Because presumably they don`t think it is healthy

Though others who have lost stones will no doubt disagree![/SIZE]

[abbey]

john8pies wrote: The diet pioneered by the late Dr Robert Atkins recommending a carbohydrate-free and sugar-free regime to be replaced with excessive protein has landed in hot water.



The ASA (Advertising STandards Agency) has refused to allow a series of "Atkins" -type high protein, low/nil carbohydrate products be marketed as `forming part of a healthy diet`



Because presumably they don`t think it is healthy



Though others who have lost stones will no doubt disagree![/SIZE] I remember going into Boots the chemist and asking what supplements they could suggest i take on a low carb diet, and the pharmacist told me she could'nt suggest anything as Boots did'nt agree with the diet.

Two years on and the shelves are crammed with Atkins foodstuff and supplements, obviously saw a buck could be made out of Atkins!

Dont know how thats related to your post, it just popped into my head.

I do agree that long term the Atkins type diets are'nt good for anyone, my doctor was very interested in it when i started it and kept an eye on my progress and was most impressed, more so when he saw that my cholestral level had lowered while i was on it!

Atkins has had such bad press, its very rare you hear the success stories, probably because it deviates from the norm.

[capt_buzzard]

I never go in for these fads. If one eats at regular times, keeps fairly fit, has a good 7 to 8 hours sleep. All these get rich fads coming on the market. And most are 'Women who fall for them. Join a gym.

[abbey]

capt_buzzard wrote: I never go in for these fads. If one eats at regular times, keeps fairly fit, has a good 7 to 8 hours sleep. All these get rich fads coming on the market. And most are 'Women who fall for them. Join a gym.:yh_ttth No disrespect Paul, but statements like that are enough to send a person who is 140lb overweight straight to the fridge!

[capt_buzzard]

abbey wrote: :yh_ttth No disrespect Paul, but statements like that are enough to send a person who is 140lb overweight straight to the fridge!What did our parents and grandparents do before these fads all started? And most of them lived long lives. In Ireland anyway;)

[abbey]

capt_buzzard wrote: What did our parents and grandparents do before these fads all started? And most of them lived long lives. In Ireland anyway;)I once told my mum i was thinking of going on the Atkins, she told me the same thing that you've just said.

She also added," Cut out the potatoes, bread, pies, pastrys and dont eat any sweet things"

She was describing the ethos of the Atkins diet! :wah:

[capt_buzzard]

abbey wrote: I once told my mum i was thinking of going on the Atkins, she told me the same thing that you've just said.

She also added," Cut out the potatoes, bread, pies, pastrys and dont eat any sweet things"

She was describing the ethos of the Atkins diet! :wah:Tell your Mum, she was right. Its the Buzzards diet:D

[anastrophe]

a few points related to several of the posts here.



first, the atkins diet does not replace carbs with 'excess' protein. since there is *no dietary requirement for carbohydrates* (you can eliminate them all from your diet long term without suffering diseases from their absence), the atkins diet merely reduces their overall amount in the diet. there's more to food that protein, fat, and carbohydrates, but you'd never guess it from food labels. for example, on the atkins diet, you can eat virtually all the broccoli you want. or salad greens. or spinach. or many squash. very low in carbs, but definitely not 'excess' protein or fat, either.



secondly, the atkins diet is not a 'fad' diet. that it gained tremendous popularity in recent years doesn't mean that it's the typical 'here's something new lets everybody try it' sort of thing. atkins wrote his first book on the diet back in 1975, and it was based on research done long before that. 30 years is a fad diet? hardly. there is a large body of scientific evidence to back up the basis of the diet.



that said, obviously the diet is not right for everyone. a person with certain pre-existing might not be able to do it. for one thing, a full-bore diabetic would have to be quite careful initially, because the diet puts the body into ketosis - and acid ketosis is a common and dangerous symptom of diabetes. however, carefully managed even a diabetic can do atkins (doctor supervised certainly) - and it can *reduce* the diabetic tendencies in the balance (depending upon the kind of diabetes).



there's a lot of political reasons behind some people being rather violently against the diet - for one, the reliance on higher intake of meats, which the PETA crowd won't stand for (and they set up a shill 'medical ethics' group threatening to sue atkins at one point claiming it was dangerous - never came about, all they wanted was lots of press coverage about the threatened lawsuit).

[abbey]

I did the Atkin for a year and really intended it to be a long term thing,

unfortunately i'm not a big meat eater and realised that i had to come off it as the sight of meat made me feel ill!

you're spot on about diabetics having to be careful, i was only on it for 2 days and my body was in the state of Ketosis.

Supplements are also a must, especially multi-vits and extra Calcium. Potassium and Magnesium.

[hotsauce]

My hub did Atkins and lost a ton of weight. He got really skinny for a while. He got too skinny. He has put back on a little weight and looks perfect. He now does Atkins 4 days a week and eats whatever he wants 3 days a week. It works well for him.

[anastrophe]

Lexi wrote: My friend went on this and was rushed to hospital with liver failure, yet other people i know have done really well on it.

At 5 ft 2 i have to watch my weight as a couple of pounds weight gain is noticable but i eat a balanced diet, excercise dailey and try not to get stressed and seem to do ok.

A bit more than a couple of hours sleep would be good though.

I did consider atkins after i hurt my back and couldn't exercise but when my friend became so ill i decided against it, plus the amount of meat the recommend put me of.
the atkins diet alone can't cause liver failure. there had to be a pre-existing condition of one sort or another. that's the reason (welll, one of the reasons) virtually every diet book specifically advises that you see a doctor before starting the diet.

[abbey]

I found that if i did'nt drink at least 2 litres of water daily, i would get pains in the liver & kidney area.

If you do the Atkins correctly, read the books and follow the advice given you should'nt have any problems.

I suppose just like anything, it does'nt always suit some people.

I agree with Anastrophe, maybe your friend had a dodgy liver before going on the Atkins and not flushing the Ketones out of her system exacerbated the problem.

I hope that they recovered and are ok now x.

[abbey]

Sage wrote: Just thought I'd jump in here and say that you CAN do Atkins veggie style. I'm a living example of that. Lacto-ovo vegetarian here. :DHiya Sage, welcome to FG.:-6

How do you do it, what do you use in place of meat?

[anastrophe]

not to be a pain in the arse (translation: i'm about to be a pain in the arse), but do keep in mind that the amazon is being destroyed at a faster rate to create farmland for growing soy than it was being destroyed previously to create grazing land for cattle. on that basis, i try to avoid soy products.

it's also worth bearing in mind that *non-fermented* soy products are of questionable value in nutrition. there's no doubt that they have lots of protein and vitamins, that's not at issue. but there's a lot of evidence coming to light that high soy intake is just plain not good for you. with rare exception, soy products consumed by asians are fermented soy products - tofu, soy sauce, etc.....

[abbey]

Sage, i have to say i've never eaten soy as a meat substitute, my BF is a lacto-ovo veggie, and he eats mainly quorn.

The only reason i never used it on the Atkins was because of the amount of carbs in it.

I am off Atkins for now as i can't afford to lose any more weight, but i shall certainly look at replacing some of my meat with tofu if and when i go back on it.

Cheers me dear x.

[alobar51]

capt_buzzard wrote: I never go in for these fads. If one eats at regular times, keeps fairly fit, has a good 7 to 8 hours sleep. All these get rich fads coming on the market. And most are 'Women who fall for them. Join a gym.


Something that's been in fairly widespread use for over 30 years can hardly be considered a fad.

The food pyramid qualifies more as a fad. Implemented with absolutely no scientific review. Humans have never eaten this way in the entire history of our species, and doing so immediately set in motion the conditions leading to the current obesity epidemic discussed in the fat thread.

I find most people who bash Atkins really don't understand it, or just plain haven't read it, cover to cover.

No one has ever died from, or had liver or kidney problems, or suffered a heart attack, directly as a result of going on the Atkins diet. And no, Atkins own heart problem during his life was not the result of his diet, it was the result of a virus. This is over 30 years.

Most heart attacks, cases of diabetes and strokes, have a diet based on the food pyramid as a major contributing cause.

I hate being put in a position of defending Atkins, because there's much that's biochemically incorrect, or, at least there's more to the picture, but calling it a fad simply isn't accurate.

[Lizzie Love]

where do you get quorn from in the US? I am healthy eater, mainly veg. fruit and meat no more than 3 times a week, fish or tofu the rest. Don't like cheese and eggs that much and southbeach gives a good set of recipes to try.

I emphasise healthy eating as opposed to dieting.

I walk everywhere I can, despite the smell of a zillion cars and the exhaust fumes everywhere here, (near to DC) and funny looks. I love dancing and swimming and singing and rollerskating and I eat half as much now than i did 20 years ago.

Common sense really is what it is all about, just look at a programme about starvation and orphans in Africa, asia, south america .......that should take the edge off the appetite. Well it does mine.

namaste

Lizzie Love :-4

[Tombstone]

capt_buzzard wrote: What did our parents and grandparents do before these fads all started? And most of them lived long lives. In Ireland anyway;)
It's the famous Irish Whiskey!

[Lizzie Love]

thankyou, and i apologise for being such a sanctimonious cow!

a good diet is the seafood diet, "I see food but I don;t eat it"

namaste

Lizzie love :-4