Weight Loss, Dieting & Obesity

Dr. Atkins Diet Plan - Book Review.

(A copy of the Atkins Diet Plan, which includes the Atkins diet menu plan, is available through Amazon via the image/link to the right. This is exactly the same book that is sometimes colloquially referred to as The Atkins Carb Counter Diet.)

Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution turned the world of weight loss upside down with its revolutionary high protein / low carbohydrate thinking. His diet plan (often, though incorrectly, spelt as the "Adkins Diet Plan") has now been promoted for over twenty five years and has outlasted hundreds of highly popular short-term fad diets over this period.

Dr. Atkins' diet plan has been through some modifications during that time (such as the types and role of sweeteners in the Atkins diet menu and recipes), though in essence still retains its basic premise - that carbohydrates (particularly sugars and starches) stimulate insulin production, and that insulin is a "fat hormone".

The world is divided into two schools of thought regarding Dr. Atkins Diet Plan even today. There are those who have tried it, stuck to it, and are raving fans of what they say is the most successful weight loss plan they have ever tried. Then, there are the text-book critics, those who ridicule Atkins' departure from orthodox adherence to the traditional 'food pyramid' (despite the rise of the obesity epidemic the more the 'food pyramid' was promoted) and who question the health benefits of the high protein and elevated fat diet approach that Dr. Atkins Diet Plan promotes.

Some say that Atkins "pioneered" the concept of low carbohydrate, high protein weight loss dieting. This is untrue. He was preceded by Dr. Herman Tarnower, whose "The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet" was popular in the 1970's after having been recommended to patients since the early 1960's. And, thousands of years prior to that, anthropology teaches us that our paleolithic ancestors had predominantly high protein, low carbohydrate diets.

Still, Atkins took the concept to greater extremes. His Atkins Diet Plan has even lower carbohydrates and even more proteins and fats than "Scarsdale".

Even today, the critics argue that high protein and fat intakes, particularly of saturated animal fats, must be bad for heart health and certainly for indicators such as cholesterol & triglyceride levels and blood pressure. Those critics are still arguing from "old" text book theory, largely discredited. As topsy-turvy as it sounds to those taught that all animal fats and saturated fats are "bad", the overwhelming weight of experience and even numerous published medical research studies which originally set out to debunk Atkins has concluded that adherence to Dr. Atkins Diet Plan results in significant improvements in all heart related parameters, including reducing cholesterol & triglyceride levels and blood pressure.

Dr. Atkins died in his early '70's in 2003. This gave his critics even greater glee in debunking his Atkins diet plan. From a "leaked" autopsy report, they argued that:

1. Atkins died of heart disease;
2. Atkins died morbidly obese, at 237 lbs.

Neither claim is accurate.

Atkins died WITH heart disease, not OF heart disease. He contracted a heart disorder as a result of a viral infection - not diet related - many years earlier. This was common knowledge and something he himself spoke about quite freely for many years before his death.

Atkins died as a result of complications arising after falling into a coma after hitting his head in a fall.

At the time of that accident, Atkins entered the hospital at the start of his coma weighing 200 lbs - for a tall man, that was within a normal weight range, though maybe slightly above optimum.

During his coma while in the hospital, complications arising from the coma saw progressive organ failure, resulting in significant fluid retention. It was that fluid retention that was responsible for the 37 lb weight increase while in the coma (and obviously not adhering to his own diet plan while in a coma).

Even so, the critics arguing that he died "morbidly obese" just isn't true. For a tall man, not even 237 lb can be called morbidly obese. (Overweight, yes - for the fluid retention reasons just discussed.)

Is Dr. Atkins Diet Plan appropriate for everyone?

No. There are some people for whom it is not appropriate. These include (possibly amongst others):

1. People with a prior history of kidney disease, who should moderate their protein intake, &
2. Elite athletes and endurance athletes, who generally have higher carbohydrate requirements due to their heavy physical training regimes than the general population.
3. Pregnant and breast feeding women should never embark on any diet without first discussing it with their medical practitioner.

Is Dr. Atkins Diet Plan safe for everyone else?

The debate rages. Personally, after two decades of struggling with obesity and studying the pros and cons of almost everything ever written about weight loss, I conclude that Atkins is one of the safest and more sensible diet plans available.

It is not, however, perfect. It does have some fundamental flaws.

1. Dr. Atkins recommends taking vitamin supplements while on his program. This is tantamount to an admission that his diet program is not sufficiently balanced to provide adequate vitamin nutrients. (If he recommended broad spectrum mineral supplements, I'd be less critical. Even the freshest of foods in the western world today are grown in soils that are seriously mineral depleted. It is almost impossible to gain all your mineral requirements from diet alone. The same cannot be argued in regards to vitamins, however.)
2. Dr. Atkins recommends artificial sweeteners as a substitute for sugar. Most artificial sweeteners actually stimulate the appetite. Some are known to also be neurotoxins. (One recent commentary I've read claims that just the 'sweet' taste of artificial sweeteners 'tricks' the body into producing more insulin as it would with sugar, anyway. An interesting theory, though I have not seen any serious research justifying the claim as yet.) More and more evidence of adverse health consequences of popular artificial sweeteners are arising as time goes on. They should be avoided at all times. If you really must use a sweetener, ask your health food shop about Stevia Drops. Stevia is a herb whose juice contains no calories, contains the import chromium mineral that helps regulate insulin, and is very sweet.
3. Dr. Atkins recommends exercise (despite the criticisms of many of his critics who obviously haven't even read his books), though I am concerned that he doesn't place enough emphasis on exercise. If you double the Atkins exercise recommendations, you'll be on the right track.
4. Although Dr. Atkins Diet Plan is a genuine attempt at producing a "whole of life" weight loss / management plan and is not intended merely as a short term quick fix, he fails to adequately or seriously address psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects of a person's life that contribute to weight gain. Accordingly, it only goes about 2/3_rds of the way towards my requirements in an obesity or weight management program of "majoring on health, in every sense of the term."
5. Counting carbohydrates and measuring grams of intake per day constitutes a part of Dr. Atkins Diet Program. Thankfully, there is no such requirement in relation to proteins and fats, because experience has taught me that few people persist long term on any diet if they are burdened with "weights and measures". The requirement of Atkins' to do so for carbohydrates is an unfortunate burden that will deter many people from persisting.
6. While seafoods are included as part of the protein content of the diet, given that one of the major dietary changes (for the worse) of the past century or more in the developed western world has been the dramatic reduction in Omega-3 oils and corresponding dramatic rise in Omega-6 oils in the diet, I believe greater emphasis should be placed on including fish and shellfish in the diet. In addition to the Omega-3 improvement, seafoods are a stronger and more diverse source of many of the minerals now lacking in land based foods. (I would qualify this point by saying that the fish and shellfish should be sourced from clean, relatively unpolluted waters, due to heavy chemical poisoning risks. Many northern American and European waters are quite contaminated. Wild Alaskan fish, and most Southern Hemisphere fish - except the "long life deep sea" fish such as tuna, swordfish and shark - are generally safe.)

I've read other commentaries about Dr. Atkins Diet Plan that criticize it on the basis of lack of attention to the importance of food quality. For example, eating fish even though in some parts of the world fish may have high mercury content. Or eating red meat or eggs without question as to whether they were organically raised on natural grass diets as opposed to penned & grain fattened.

While these are valid points, they are not "central" to whether or not Dr. Atkins Diet Plan is valid and useful. They are "finer points" looking towards dietary perfectionism, an idealist's position.

There is no "perfect" obesity or weight management diet plan.

The question that must be answered is whether Dr. Atkins Diet Plan is a lifestyle and behavior modifying program with proven effective results for most people, sustainable in the long run, and with significant health benefits compared to "normal" or "average" western diets.

The answer is undoubtedly "YES", though a severe question mark in regards to the necessity of vitamin supplementation to compensate for nutrient deficiencies caused through the extremely limited intakes of fruits and vegetables on the Atkins Diet remains.