Worrying findings
Hi
I am in the Uk and last night there was a programme on TV about a monitored
Atkins test.
Three UK doctors had a full health check before going on the Atkins diet for
a month, then the were tested again. Before starting the diet they all had
low cholesterol and were given a clean bill of health.
One woman Doctor who was younger, wasn’t massively over weight and had a
hectic life style and vigorous training programme did well losing 11lbs and
the tests showed her bad cholesterols went down and she lost a little of her
body fat even though she had cheated a couple of times and even drank
champagne.
But I found what happened to the other two very worrying.
The other older woman was quite a bit larger. She stuck to the book
rigorously but only managed to loose 5lbs during the month and had felt
tired for most of the time. However when the month was up she was pleased
at having lost some weight and was going to continue with the Atkins in the
hopes that she could loose more until she read the results of her “after”
health check since her bad cholesterol count had gone up from 2.7 to 6.9 and
she had actually gained body fat rather than losing it.
However what happened to the male doctor was more worrying.
He was in his early forties, didn’t look overweight and already did a lot of
track type training but he said he needed to loose a few pounds. Went on
Atkins felt OK at first, cheated near the beginning because he took a flight
to Boston and had to eat in-flight food and had a few drinks on the flight
but otherwise stuck to the diet and exercise requirements. After a while
he became constipated and three weeks into the diet developed stomach cramps
which got bad enough for him to be admitted into hospital where he as told
the stop the diet immediately. His tests showed elevated bad cholesterol
levels and increased body fat.
He returned to the old style three meals a day with carbs and the problem
cleared and he has had no repeat, he lost 7lbs on the diet.
All three experienced tiredness, irritability and concentration gaps during
the trial and not the increased energy levels the book promises.
When Atkins was approached about it they said the diet has a very tight
structure and if you cheat then you are not on the Atkins and whatever
happens is down to you - yet my book clearly says if you eat something that
isn’t allowed don’t let it bother you just go back to the programme the next
day and that is what the two doctors who cheated did and they ignored the
fact that the third doctor hadn’t cheated but still experienced the same
problems. As to the male doctors need for hospital treatment they said he
must have had an existing intestinal problem ignoring the fact that he had
been given a clean bill of health before starting the programme and that the
‘intestinal’ problem had never occurred before and immediately cleared up
when he stopped Atkins.
The programmes conclusions were that the diet didn’t suit everyone and there
was no sure fire way of telling if you were one of the lucky few it would
suit - in fact in their test only suited one of the three people on it and
that if you were not one of the few it did suit you risked elevated
cholesterol levels and an increased risk of developing heart, stroke,
kidney, bowel and diabetes problems.
I find all of this very worrying
My cholesterol levels were in the 6’s before I started this, I have also
been on the diet for a month, am more tired than I used to be and yesterday
we measured ourselves to find I have gained an inch round the waist despite
loosing 7lbs in weight.
Has anyone else shared these problems? as I am worried enough to consider
coming off the diet and returning to a more balanced lower fat way of
living.
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August 21st, 2004 at 9:35 am
Atkins himself said you may need to wait 6 months before having your
cholesterol checked. It takes a while for some people’s bodies to adjust to
the new eating habits.
.
August 23rd, 2004 at 9:31 pm
I have to have my cholesterol checked in February which will be 6 months. I
will let you all know how it turns out. Sharon
August 24th, 2004 at 10:39 am
Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 10:29:53 -0000
From: “Rita ntl”
Atkins test.
The programmes conclusions were that the diet didn’t suit everyone and there
was no sure fire way of telling if you were one of the lucky few it would
suit - in fact in their test only suited one of the three people on it and
that if you were not one of the few it did suit you risked elevated
cholesterol levels and an increased risk of developing heart, stroke,
kidney, bowel and diabetes problems.
Hi Rita,
I would first like to know how long these doctors were on the diet. Am
I correct in understanding that it was only a month? That’s certainly not
long enough to really study the effects of the diet, including cholesterol
levels. That said, I think that the rigid Atkins diet may not be for
everyone. Yes, it works beautifully for a lot people. But I’ve been in a
stall for almost five months, despite trying all sorts of things. I’ve lost
17 pounds but it took 4 months to do it and then I stalled and can’t lose
another ounce. I’m now exploring all sorts of variations of the diet to see
if I can jumpstart the weight loss again.
I’m firmly of the opinion that the “healthy” low-fat diet espoused by
the medical establishment almost ruined my health. So I am a low-carb
believer. I do not think we are all stamped out of the same mold, however,
with the same genetic background. Therefore I do not think that any one
diet will work for everyone. I have a cousin who tried all sorts of eating
plans until she hit on vegan. She is now trim and full of energy. That
works for her. She’s been eating that way for a couple of years or so.
Conversely, that diet would kill me. In trying to lose weight over the
years I went practically vegetarian and my health suffered and my weight
climbed.
I guess what I’m trying to say, Rita, is that anytime a news story is
done I always wonder what hidden agenda might be involved. Seldom are the
news media objective, as they are supposed to be — at least here in the
States, and I imagine the same is true where you live. I don’t think the
Atkins diet is the perfect answer — I would suspect, if Dr. Atkins were
still alive, he would still be learning and evolving his approach. I just
wish the folks who study the darned thing were objective and then maybe we’d
learn something.
This study also sounds like it was very informal — even haphazard,
since the subjects admitted cheating, etc. — and didn’t apply the rigorous
standards that there really should be during “research.” How did they know
what the subjects were eating? Did they just rely on the doctors’ keeping
tally? Were the doctors keeping strict track of the number of carbs they
were scarfing down? If they underestimated the carb count and were eating
more carbs than they should, plus adding fat to the diet, then they, in my
opinion, probably would gain body fat.
I’m glad you brought this to our attention though, Rita. It’s always
good to have every bit of input involved with our health.
Sherry