 |
|
CREDIT: Chuck Stody, The Canadian Press
|
|
B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell before the Atkins diet and
...
|
 |
|
CREDIT: Ric Ernst, CanWest News Service
|
|
...after.
|
For 30 years, diet guru Robert Atkins was treated as a crank by the medical establishment for his high-protein regimen. Now, a month after his death, two scientific studies suggest Dr. Atkins was right -- steak and lobster can be slimming.
Millions of North Americans had already softened to the Ronkonkoma, N.Y., doctor's view that carbohydrates are a curse on the waistline, but many doctors staunchly refused to believe it. Until now, scientists had not compared the diets in a belly-to-belly trial.
"Our results may be surprising to some people," said Linda Stern, co-leader of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs study.
"Diabetics in particular did very well on the low-carbohydrate diet."
Both studies found obese patients who followed the Atkins diet lost weight faster and enjoyed greater reductions in their blood fats than patients who ate a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet. Blood fats such as triglycerides can lead to clogged arteries.
The studies are published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers said larger studies are needed.
Gordon Campbell, B.C.'s Premier, credits the Atkins diet with helping him shed more than 25 pounds.
"There's an awful lot of people who don't like the Atkins diet," he told The Vancouver Sun recently. "I happen to like it, it works for me and I don't do it necessarily the way they want, but I've just cut way back in carbohydrates."
"I feel good. It's great to have some clothes on that used to be too tight."
A short, trim man, Dr. Atkins fit the grandiose mould of the archetypal American pitchman. Last year, he told a reporter, "I want to eradicate obesity and diabetes. I believe God wants me to do that." And his heady message was easy to take. He recommended heavy cream in coffee, butter sauce on lobster, but banned such carbohydrates as white bread, sugar and pasta. His 1972 diet book, Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution has sold more than 15 million copies.
He argued the body reacts to carbohydrates by converting them rapidly into glucose, which it stores as body fat if not used up immediately. Proteins and fats take longer to digest and are more satisfying, so people end up eating fewer calories.
But the medical establishment hit the roof when the book was published.
The American Medical Association called the diet potentially dangerous and deemed its scientific underpinning "naive" and "biochemically incorrect."
The AMA argued that dietary fat made people fat. This line of thinking spawned thousands of low-fat products, ranging from diet mayonnaise to soda. Paradoxically, amid this sea of low-fat food, North Americans have never been fatter.
In the Veterans Affairs study, researchers put 132 obese men and women on either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet for six months. The low-carb group limited its intake to 30 grams of carbs a day, but had no limit on fat intake. The low-fat group was limited to no more than 30% of daily calories from fat.
The volunteers on the low-carb diet lost an average 13 pounds, compared with four pounds in the low-fat group. And the low-carb group enjoyed a 20% decrease in blood fats, compared with only 4% on the low-fat diet.
"There are aspects of what Dr. Atkins was saying that were not being taken seriously and perhaps should have been," Dr. Stern said.
In a second study, researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania tested 63 obese men and women on either an Atkins diet or a
conventional, low-fat diet. The Atkins group lost twice as much weight at
three and six months, although at the end of 12 months, both groups had lost
about the same. Dr. Atkins died last month at age 72 after slipping on a patch
of ice and suffering a severe head injury.
Source: National Post.
Home - Table of Contents - Donate Now - About Diabetes - Warning Signs - Complications - Screening Test - Diabetes Terms - Site Search - Meet Mr. Diabetes® - Wake Up And Walk® Tour - Latest News - Headlines & News Stories - Health & Fitness - About Us - FAQ - Research Form - - Message Board - Privacy Policy - Legal Notices - How to Contact Us - Comments form - Suggestion Form - Our E-Mail Addresses - Our Address and Phone Numbers - Links - Contact Us