Review Summary
 The Atkins diet is by far one of the most famous diets advertised worldwide. Seldom does a week go by that the news media does not mention the Atkins diet.
The Atkins diet, first introduced in 1972 by cardiologist Dr. Robert Atkins, is considered the most extreme of the low carb diets. Hundreds of research studies by universities and research teams throughout North America, Europe, and Asia have been conducted on the Atkins diet.
The Atkins diet, as with any diet program, has its good and bad points - but, whatever side you are on, one thing is for sure. Dr. Atkins, and the Atkins diet, has done for the diet and nutrition industry what Mohammad Ali did for the boxing industry. Dr. Atkins created new awareness and introduced new concepts that will forever affect how we look at diets for weight loss as well as diets for health. Although the low carb diet was first written about in the late 1800's, low carb dieting truly came to life with the birth of the Atkins diet.
Let's take a look at three good and bad points of the Atkins diet
Atkins diet - the good stuff
Also, you'll often hear "we have no way of knowing the long term safety of low carb diets". Fact is, the Atkins diet has been around for over 30 years - longer than most other weight loss programs. Although first written about at the end of the 19th century, the low carb diet has actually been around for centuries prior to that.
How so? The North American Eskimo. Their diet has primarily been no or very low carbs. Yet chronic diseases that are epidemic today, such as diabetes and heart disease, were practically unknown among the Eskimos. At least this was true until they were introduced to sugar and white flour. The Eskimos have been well studied and found to be a healthy and hardy bunch, even after centuries of living on a low carb diet. Yes - a low carb diet much more extreme than even the Atkins diet.
Atkins Diet - The Bad Stuff
- THE ATKINS DIET CAUSES FATIGUE. Yes, initially it does - for a couple of reasons. First, switching fuels from glucose to ketones is stressful to the body. It's a drastic change in your metabolism. You might say it's similar to mild drug withdrawal. Many people actually do have a "carb addiction" and not even realize it. Secondly, as we learned a minute ago, your body will quite likely be working hard dealing with toxic overload if burning fat too fast, as early in the Atkins diet.
- THE ATKINS DIET BURNS FAT TOO QUICKLY. The primary concern here is toxic overload. When toxins enter you body, either from environmental sources or from additives in prepared foods, your body's defense mechanism will quickly try to eliminate them through the liver and kidneys. Quite often the overload is such that the body will also hide some of these toxins in your fat cells. When burning fat these toxins are released again into your bloodstream. You can experience toxic overload when you burn fat too fast, as in the first weeks or months of the Atkins diet.
- THE ATKINS DIET LACKS GOOD NUTRITION. Plant life is the basic nutritional source for all living creatures, including humans. When an animal eats plants, some of the nutrients, such as calcium and other minerals, are sent to different parts of the body where needed. And even if we eat an animal from nose to tail, including the bones, we are still missing some of these nutrients and essential enzymes that are burned up in the metabolic process. Good nutrition suffers when we drastically limit carbs, particularly with the induction phase of the Atkins diet.
Atkins Diet - Is It Right for You?
Whilst the Atkins Diet has been around for years now, it still remains as popular today as it ever was. Most people you talk to will have either tried the diet or they will know somebody who has. The truth is, whilst there may be many people who have tried the diet and succeeded, the Atkins Diet will certainly not be for everyone. Every single person is different and what works for one person may not work for another.
The main question however is does the diet provide results at all? Well it seems that people certainly lose weight over a six month period. In fact they lose quite a lot of weight and that obviously makes people feel amazing. However, studies have shown that most people who lose that weight over six months tend to put it back on within twelve months. So, whilst it may seem to work at first, the weight does eventually come back on and you are then left exactly where you started.
Final Thoughts
The theory behind the Atkins Diet is that you lose weight by cutting out carbohydrate foods. There is no real limit as to what you can eat calorie wise or fat wise, in fact it seems that the diet allows you to eat as many high fat foods as you like. Who wouldn't want to go on a diet like that?
One of the main problems with the above theory is that cutting anything out of the diet, no matter how bad experts say they are for you, usually creates a problem. The body needs various different foods including foods in the carbohydrate category and if it does not get them it could well cause various health problems.
Secondly, the fact that people can eat basically what they want, causes many people fail to lose weight because they are still eating extremely unhealthy and high fat foods. Fat is by far one of the main things that you need to cut down on if you want to lose weight and keep that weight off so obviously eating really fatty foods will not help you to lose that extra weight.
Overall the Atkins Diet may be one of the most famous diets around but it is certainly not one of the best. Whilst it may give short term, pretty good results, in the long term it simply does not work. So, save yourself some money and opt for a better, healthier and longer term solution instead!
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