What's the theory behind the Atkins diet?

Authored by Dr. Robert Atkins in 2001, this diet regime is a high-fat, high-protein diet. Very few carbohydrates are allowed, even those considered healthy by dietiticans today, such as multigrain bread, brown rice and rolled oats. The theory behind the Atkins diet is that when you cut your daily carbohydrate intake, your body will be forced to burn fats to provide energy. Since you burn more kilojoules when burning fat compared to burning carbohydrate (1 gram of fat is 36 kilojoules versus 1 gram of carbohydrate is 16 kilojoules), you can loose weight more quickly.

When your body depletes its carbohydrate stores it switches to a chronic fasting mode and this is called Ketosis. Ketosis is a physiological response to chronic starvation which may result in tiredness, weakness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and stinky breath (Wikipedia). Constipation may also occur due to avoiding fibre rich foods such as wholegrain breakfast cereal, fruit and vegetables.

The magic bullet behind the short-term success of this and other low carbohydrate diets is their effect on the body. For every gram of carbohydrate your body stores (glycogen), it stores 2 - 3 grams of water, therefore if you decrease your carbohydrate intake by 500g grams in one week, it will result in a fluid loss of about 1500 grams. When using the scales you will see a decrease in almost two kilograms, providing a great motivational boost (www.wellbridge.com/wellbridge/cambridge/lifedesigns.php?ID=30 - 34k -). Even though many studies have found that low carbohydrate diets produce weight loss in the short term, no studies have been conducted to see how safe or effective these diets are for long term use. Mr Atkins himself even advocated that over 30 years he has helped more then 60,000 patients at his weight loss centre, however he has never published a study where his patients where monitored over a period of several years (www.atkins.com).

Is there any research to support this diet?

The only long term study to date was conducted in 2003, where after six months the subjects following the Atkins diet lost the identical amount of weight as the subjects on the more conventional weight loss diet (http://www.nutritionaustralia.org). Also many health professionals are concerned that the high intake of fat, particularly the bad type (saturated), may increase the risk of heart disease. Also due to the unbalanced nature of this diet, nutrient deficiencies may cause problems later on in life. For example low intakes of antioxidants found in fruit and vegetables are linked to a whole range of health problems, such as heart disease, cancer and premature aging (http://www.nutritionaustralia.org). Also due to the high intake of protein, health professionals are concerned that the high in take of red meat may cause kidney problems or weaken bones (http://www.nutritionaustralia.org).

Pros and Cons of the Atkins diet - Is it good for you?

Pros of the Atkins diet:

Con of the Atkins diet:

Rachel’s verdict on the Atkins diet

Like other fad diets, the Atkins diet almost definitely decreases your daily energy intake, resulting in weight loss. Even though this diet allows you to eat endless amounts of calorie packed cream, butter, mayonnaise, the foods you would normally consume these products are banned from this diet. For example butter is normally enjoyed with bread or potatoes and cream is commonly added to pasta sauces or drizzled over fruit and chocolate desserts. All of these foods are off limits when on this diet, therefore leaving you with fewer choices, resulting in fewer kilojoules consumed.

I believe instead of bacon and eggs for breakfast you will start to crave a bowl of cereal in a few weeks if not days! I find it alarming this diet allows you to eat as much fat as you like considering the high energy content and the well known health complications of doing so.