angelweave

November 23, 2003

Atkins Watch


As I have long suspected there would be, negative articles about the Atkins diet are circulating through the news feeds.

My focus on this post is going to be on what isn't being said in this particlar article, though.

    Jody Gorran was proud of his 32-inch waistline -- until a heart scan showed an artery had become almost entirely blocked during the two years he was on the Atkins diet.

    Lisa Huskey was happy about being on a diet with her 16-year-old daughter, Rachel, until Rachel dropped dead from a heart arrhythmia in class.

    Both say the high-fat, high-protein approach advocated by the Atkins diet was responsible.

    "What I contend is that the Atkins diet gave me heart disease," Gorran said at a news conference sponsored by the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. "I traded a 32-inch waist for heart disease."
The article later discusses both cases individually. I'm going to focus on Gorran.

    Gorran said when he started the diet, his total cholesterol level was a very low 148. In May 2001 it had gone up to 230. Anything above 200 is considered unhealthy.

    A scan of his arteries before he started the diet had shown no evidence of heart disease.

    "Two and a half years later, after being on the Atkins diet for that length of time, I had heart disease," the 53-year-old Florida businessman said.

    A new scan showed one artery was 90 percent blocked.

    Three weeks ago, Gorran had an angioplasty -- a procedure to clear his clogged artery. A mesh tube called a stent was inserted to keep his artery clear.
Smoker? Non-smoker? Heart disease in his family? Previous scan ever conducted? We don't know. All possible factors/contributors/exacerbators.

For Huskey, we don't know what she weighed from this article, arrythmia can occur naturally and/or be caused by multiple factors, and, well, I just don't see much here. I believe three high school-aged kids at my school in the 80's died during athletic activities, usually because of hidden heart conditions.

In another article from November 20, 2003, CBS mentions Dr. Neal Barnard from the Physicians (sic) Committee for Responsible Medicine. Dr. Barnard is a raving vegetarian (no, those two words don't always go together), so you can guess he's not a meat-friendly chap. I also think he and his organization might carry a bit o' bias, you?

PCRM conducted an online survey - which the article and I must point out are not exactly strong scientific evidence. Still, it made the news. Dissent!

What I agree with?
    Because fiber is found only in plant foods, and high-protein, high-fat, carbohydrate-restricted diets tend to be low in plant foods, these diets are also typically low in fiber. Low fiber intake is associated with increased risk of colon cancer and other malignancies, heart disease, diabetes and constipation.

    Some high-protein, very-low-carbohydrate, weight-loss diets are designed to induce ketosis, a state that also occurs in uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and starvation.

    When carbohydrate intake or utilization is insufficient to provide glucose to the cells that rely on it as an energy source, ketone bodies are formed from fatty acids. An increase in circulating ketones can disturb the body's acid-base balance, causing metabolic acidosis. Even mild acidosis can have potentially deleterious consequences over the long run.

    For these reasons, high-protein, high-fat, low-fiber and carbohydrate-restricted diets, such as the Atkins Diet, especially when used for prolonged periods, are expected to increase the risk of multiple chronic diseases and other health problems, despite the weight loss that may accompany their use, Barnard says.
I say this just about every time I write about it - Atkins may cause you to drop weight, but what you may be trading...we don't really know yet. Common sense from nutrition knowledge - what we already know - would agree with these statements.

hln

Posted by hln at November 23, 2003 09:21 AM | Nutrition | TrackBack
Comments

I think you may be correct. I think the Protein Power diet is better than Atkins - it encourages lots of green leafy vegetables.

I can't do Atkins for long - tried it, got so constipated I was miserable, so I'm just trying to be more aware of when my stomach is full, instead of thinking yum, yum, tastes so good, must have more, which is what my natural tendancy is.

Posted by: Beth Donovan at November 23, 2003 11:35 AM

PCRM is one of the worst junk-science outfits around. They're worse than CSPI.

The Atkins diet has been around for decades now. If these kinds of problems were really associated with it, I suspect we'd have a lot better evidence than this by now.

Posted by: Spoons at November 23, 2003 09:48 PM

The wars over various diets have always made me want to start throwing rotten tomatos at reporters. There, as nowhere else, you see the lack of any type of logical thinking. It simply amazes me that they try to use single instance stories to prove their case - that this or that diet is bad or good. The thought is - lets personalize it - people can relate to other people. So - they find someone who fits the preconceived notion and write the story from there.

No single diet will ever fit everyone. Some people need low-fat some high-fat, some need low-carb some high-carb, some need low-salt, some need high-salt. What one person can digest without a problem will make someone else deathly ill. If one diet did fit all - we would have no problem with weight anywhere in the world.

Personally I stay away from all additives and preservatives - a nearly impossible diet in today's world. I cook fresh and don't eat out much - no fast food if I can help it at all. That's because I get hideous migraines from additives. Someone who doesn't have this problem, can eat all kinds of things that I can't. OTOH - it's also a great diet for keeping your weight down - and stops quite a lot of food cravings. In other words, it has worked for me. Does this make it right for all? I wouldn't even begin to say that - this is where I part company from reporters.

People really must learn to listen to their bodies - if you go on a diet and it makes you feel bad - then STOP doing it! Sheesh it really is simple. Try something else that doesn't make you feel rotten. Oh well, I suppose the diet controversy will always be there since there are majorly big bucks involved not to mention majorly big egos and a dash of "trying to help" thrown in.

Posted by: Teresa at November 23, 2003 11:24 PM

I do enjoy reading about the horrible "unknown risks" of a high-protien diet. Over and over, these unknown risks continue to stalk Americans, some even resulting in possible unknown death!

I know the risks of obesity (well documented) and if people are losing weight with this diet, then (along with periodic exams) go for it.

It sounds like the man hours away from dying of a strange disease but he refuses an experimental new treatment that could save him because it's just too risky.

Posted by: King of Fools at November 24, 2003 12:34 PM
Gorran said when he started the diet, his total cholesterol level was a very low 148. In May 2001 it had gone up to 230. Anything above 200 is considered unhealthy.

That line got my attention, because it is wrong, WRONG, WRONG. "Anything" over 200 is only considered unhealthy by people who like to live by sound bites without actually thinking about what is going on. The LDL/HDL ratio is what matters.

Posted by: Phelps at November 24, 2003 03:52 PM

Phelps, I think things are dumbed down for people. While you're correct the HDL/LDL is important, total cholesterol over 200 is a clue something ain't too healthy in that body.

Posted by: Victor at November 25, 2003 11:40 AM

Phelps, I think things are dumbed down for people. While you're correct the HDL/LDL is important, total cholesterol over 200 is a clue something ain't too healthy in that body.

Posted by: Victor at November 25, 2003 11:41 AM