Atkins diet health risks

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Authored by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, the diet regimen is a low carbohydrate, high protein diet. According to the popular way of following this diet you are allowed to eat as much fat as you like as long as you consume very little carbohydrates. The magic behind the short-term success of low carbohydrate diets lies in their effect on the body: the body's preferred energy source is glucose. When carbohydrates are significantly restricted, the body runs short on its constant supply of glucose, the breakdown product of carbohydrate. The body anticipates these situations by storing glucose (glycogen) in the muscles and liver. For every gram of glycogen the body stores, it must store with it three grams of water. If carbohydrates are significantly limited, the body will break down these glycogen stores to obtain glucose for energy. When the glycogen is broken down stored water is released and excreted. The more aggressive the carbohydrate restriction, the more dramatic this effect. Hence, water loss.

Proponents of the diet mention that low-carbohydrate diets have been the subject of heated debate in medical circles for three decades [1], but are still "damned knowledge", so much so that until recently no serious research has been done on Atkins or other low carbohydrate diets. They mention that a few small research projects, as well as a great deal of anecdotal evidence, have shown such diets to help participants lose weight.

A research study carried out by the Weight and Eating Disorders Program at the University of Pennsylvania, reported in May 2003 that the Atkins diet raised levels of HDL (or "good") cholesterol by an average of 11% and reduced the amount of triglycerides in the bloodstream by 17%. In the study, conventional dieters' HDL cholesterol raised by only 1.6% while their triglyceride levels did not improve significantly. Weight loss was also statistically greater in the Atkins dieters after three and six months compared with the conventional dieters (although this did not remain statistically significant after a year). The study followed the diets of 63 obese men and women. (See New Scientist, May 21 2003) Two other large-scale studies are planned, one funded by Atkins's nonprofit foundation.