Feasibility Of The Atkins Diet Essay, Research Paper
Abstract
Today more than ever, people are tremendously preoccupied with their physical appearance and many go to drastic measures to sculpt and shape their bodies to their personal ideal. To most people this means dieting. Over the years many dieting trends have come and gone, from starvation diets to diet pills. But the Atkins Diet has steadily gained a large following since Dr. Robert C. Atkins published his first book, Dr. Atkins? Diet Revolution, in 1972. Besides being touted as an effective, safe method of weight loss, the Atkins Diet also claims to have significant healing abilities to common ailments such as joint and muscular pains, fatigue, Attention-Deficit Disorder, headaches, and heart disease. Dr. Atkins also claims that his diet is one of the best forms of preventive medicine. Followers of this diet claim to suffer less illness than most people. As Dr. Atkins has modified and redefined his diet over the years, it has become the basis for treatment at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine in New York City, which he founded in 1970.
Despite the claims made by Dr. Atkins and his colleagues, and the many testimonials of people who seem to have had success with this diet, it is still hotly debated whether it is truly a healthy and viable alternative to lose weight and maintain weight loss. It is also still a matter of opinion whether or not this diet is capable of the healing abilities it claims. Is it the current mindset that only low-fat diets can be successful and healthy that causes the mainstream to readily dismiss the Atkins Diet? Whatever the case, the Atkins Diet has thrived and become more popular as the years go by, and can no longer be dismissed as just another diet fad.
Glossary
Fructose A six-carbon ketose sugar with the same configuration at its chiral
atoms as that of glucose. It is the most rapidly absorbed simple sugar
and is sweeter than sucrose.
Hyperinsulinism Abnormally increased secretion of insulin by the pancreatic islets,
leading to hypoglycemia.
Ketosis A disordered metabolic state occurring in starvation, acute
alcoholism, and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, characterized by the
accumulation of ketone bodies in cells, extra cellular fluid, and
plasma.
Maltose The disaccharide of glucose containing an 1-4 linkage. It is a
hydrolysis product of starch and glycogen.
Mannitol The alcohol formed by chemical reduction of mannose.
Sorbitol The alcohol formed by reduction of the ?CHO group of glucose to ?
CH2 OH. It is used as a sweetening agent.
Introduction
People have always looked to dieting as the most important factor to weight loss and good health. This has lead to the development of many different diet trends over the years, from miracle pills to diets that claimed to help you lose fifty pounds in a month. As our society becomes more and more concerned with physical appearance and increasingly health conscious, much effort is put into creating new methods of dieting that will help achieve these goals. While the face of dieting and health is constantly shifting, there is one diet that has steadily gained popularity over the past few decades, and now seems on the verge of being looked at as a possible alternative to the traditional high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet.
The Atkins Diet, despite being negatively criticized by mainstream media, has been taken up by many different types of people, whether in an effort to lose weight, achieve good health, or simply because of medical reasons. The Atkins Medical Center for Complementary Medicine in New York City, which was founded by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, the creator of this diet, uses the diet as the foundation of all its medical treatment. Dr. Atkins, along with other supporters of this diet, believes that the Atkins Diet is not only the best way to lose weight, but also the best treatment against many of the common ailments that plague people.
History
Dr. Robert C. Atkins, founder and medical director of the Atkins Center, graduated from the University of Michigan and Cornell University Medical School, and has specialized in cardiology and internal medicine for over 30 years. The Atkins Centers mission is to first attempt to address major health disorders through vita- nutrient therapies, diet modifications, and lifestyle changes before patients have to resort to prescription drugs or surgical procedures. Over 99 percent of people who followed the diet to lose weight did so without going hungry and with increased energy. (33)
The Atkins Diet
When starting the diet you consume as little as 650 to 1,000 calories daily. The body uses about 2,000 calories each day, so the extra 1,000 to 1,400 calories will come directly from the fatty acids stored in the body. (Ezrin and Kowalski 155)
Take no more than 40 grams of carbohydrate daily ( See fig. 1.0)
Daily caloric intake:
650- 1,000 for women
850- 1,000 for men
Daily protein 55- 75 grams
Fat Facts
In the U.S., fat constitutes 40 to 42 percent of total calories
The American Heart Association recommends people should consume no more than 30 percent fat
The Atkins Diet recommends people consume 25 percent and as low as 20 percent fat
One gram of fat contains twice as many calories as a gram of protein or carbohydrate
(Ezrin and Kowalski 64, 134, 214) (Cox and Brusseau 47)
Food Statistics
There are a wide variety of foods that can be eaten on this diet. Listed below are some of the foods that can be eaten and foods to avoid.
An 8-ounce glass of milk contains 12 grams of carbohydrate. The milk group is eliminated during the weight loss phase. (Ezrin and Kowalski 54)
A serving of any fruit contains about 15 grams of carbohydrate and must be strictly limited during weight loss. (Ezrin and Kowalski 54)
Chicken without skin provides 173 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, and no carbohydrate. With skin it climbs to 222 calories and 10.9 grams of fat. (Ezrin and Kowalski 55)
Oil and vinegar dressing contains from 0.6 grams of carbohydrate per tablespoon to 6.6 grams per tablespoon. (Ezrin and Kowalski 58)
Vita-Nutrients
90 percent of vita-nutrients are competitors to pharmaceutical drugs. (Atkins 15)
Magnesium is the hearts most important mineral, yet 80 percent of Americans fail to consume the daily requirement. (Atkins 85)
80 to 95 percent of nutrients in food are lost by the time it reaches your kitchen. (Atkins 76)
B1 taken daily expands the learning capacity up to 25 percent. (Atkins 43)
Calcium which is one of the body?s most abundantly stored dietary components which slows bone loss by 30- 50 percent.
Lesser Known Facts
People who eat infrequently (one or two large meals daily) put on more weight than people who eat more often did. (Cox and Brusseau 18)
The slower you lose weight, the more fat you lose rather than muscle tissue. (Cox and Brusseau 23)
80 to 90 percent of clients that go to Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, or Jenny Craig gain back the weight lost. (Cox and Brusseau 32)
34 million people in the U.S. aged 20 to 75 are at least 20 percent over the ideal weight. (Ezrin and Kowalski 102)
People 10 percent and up of being overweight increase the chance of heart disease by two. (Ezrin and Kowalski 65)
What is the Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet is a nutritional philosophy that focuses on the consumption of nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and vita-nutrient supplementation. The diet restricts processed/refined carbohydrates (which make up over 50% of many people?s diets), such as high-sugar foods, breads, pasta, cereal, and starchy vegetables. The worst of these offenders are sugar and white flour. Core vita-nutrient supplementation includes a full-spectrum multi-vitamin and an essential oils/fatty acid formula.
This diet does not seek to completely remove carbohydrates from your diet, only stop the intake of refined carbohydrates found in processed foods. Diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, and low-fat processed foods increase your body?s production of insulin. When insulin is at high levels in the body, the food you eat can be readily converted into body fat, in the form of triglycerides. On top of this, high triglyceride levels in the body are one of the leading factors of heart disease.
Even worse, high carbohydrate meals leave a person less satisfied than those that contain adequate fat levels; so you eat more and get hungrier sooner. For example, think about how much pasta you could eat in a meal, and how hungry you are a couple of hours later.
Sugar
One of the worst types of carbohydrates a person can ingest is sugar. It contains absolutely no vitamins or minerals and, since it is 100% carbohydrate, it must be metabolized immediately. The stores of nutrients in your body are set to work converting the sugar, and similar forms like glucose and fructose, into ready energy, depleting your body in the process. Despite popular opinion, sugar is actually an energy drainer. You may feel a sudden burst of energy after consuming high amounts of sugar, but it passes through your body quickly, leaving you feeling drained.
White Flour
White flour is nearly as bad as sugar. Because it has had nearly every nutritional aspect of it removed in the refining process, it is transformed into almost 100% carbohydrate. This causes the same effects in your body as sugar does. When consumed with sugar on a regular basis, the body is forced into a constant state of nutritional deficiency.
Major Benefits
You will start to burn fat for energy because carbohydrates are the primary energy source of the human body. A person rarely uses their secondary energy source, body fat, unless carbohydrate consumption is restricted. This forces the body to burn its own fat for energy. The result of this is a lifetime of body fat burning, which is the goal of the majority of people attempting to lose weight.
You won?t feel hungry between meals. The number one problem most people face when trying to lose weight is their constant obsession with food. This is usually caused by blood sugar fluctuations, which are aggravated by carbohydrate consumption, especially refined carbohydrates. By cutting down on carbohydrates, your blood sugar level will stay at a more constant level throughout the day. This will eliminate false hunger pains that occur between meals.
Your overall health will improve and you?ll feel better. Most toxins taken into the human body are stored in fat cells. By forcing your body to burn stored fat, you cause it to clean toxins out of your system also. When this is combined with the benefits of stable blood sugar levels, many common ailments you have been experiencing could well be alleviated. Fatigue, irritability, depression, headaches, and many forms of joint and muscular pain simply vanish. You will also see a significant improvement in your blood profile, (including cholesterol and blood pressure levels). These things all lead to better health and well being?something most people strive for.
Positive Feedback
At the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, over 60,000 people have been treated using the Atkins Diet as the basis for treatment. According to the center, these patients experience all the beneficial effects detailed above, as well as a lower or completely eradicated dependence on prescription drugs.
Despite the mainstream media?s continued assertion that fat consumption is at the root America?s growing weight problem, fat consumption has declined in the past few decades while carbohydrate consumption has skyrocketed. This is due to the idea that the low-fat/high carbohydrate diet is the only possible way for every person to achieve good health. This is simply not the case, however. Over the past thirty years obesity has risen to affect 33% of Americans, up from 25%. Heart disease, which accounted for 40% of all deaths in the early 1970?s, now is responsible for 50% of all deaths. And, diabetes is beginning to afflict a greater number of Americans than ever before. Recently, there are numerous cases of children now contracting adult-onset diabetes. Hypertension, chronic fatigue, and attention-deficit disorder (A.D.D.) have now become recognized medical conditions. All of these conditions are not linked by the amount of fat in a person?s diet, but by the amount of carbohydrates a person consumes. The average person now consumes over 150 pounds of sugar a year, up from less than ten pounds in the 19th century. This causes blood sugar disturbances and insulin disorders due to the excessive intake of refined carbohydrates.
Even though medical and nutritional journals are filled with studies documenting the body?s requirement of essential fatty and amino acids, it has never been shown that there is such a thing as an essential carbohydrate. Despite this, the FDA recommends an average of sixteen servings per day, leading people to further believe that it is necessary to maintain a low fat/high carbohydrate diet.
The Atkins Diet does not seek to eliminate the consumption of carbohydrates. Instead, it focuses on very limited consumption of the types of carbohydrates that tend to spike blood sugar levels the most, such as non-whole grain breads, pastas, refined sugar products, juices, and high/sugar starchy fruits and vegetables. A person on the Atkins Diet determines their personal sensitivity to carbohydrates as a way to manage their weight and health for life.
The Truth About High Protein Diets
The resurgence of high-protein diets is based primarily on the misconception that carbohydrates alone induce weight gain. All of the best-selling high-protein diet books insist that carbohydrates and insulin are the true villains in the battle of the bulge. These programs claim that eating carbohydrates triggers the secretion of insulin, which causes carbohydrates to be taken to the cells and stored as fat instead of being used for energy. Unfortunately, these claims rely on unpublished research or studies that have not been peer reviewed or controlled, meaning they have little respect in the scientific community.
The truth is, all calories from food are converted into glucose to be stored for energy. Glucose is stored as fat only when you have consumed excess calories. So it?s your overall calorie intake and not carbohydrates that cause fat to be stored. And besides, foods that are high in protein, such as meats and cheeses, are also high in saturated fat, which we now know will increase blood cholesterol levels if eaten in excess.
High-protein diets have always had the reputation of being able to produce quick weight loss. However, quick doesn?t mean lasting and most of the initial loss from protein diets is water rather than fat. People who manage to stay on high-protein diets also lose weight because these diets restrict carbohydrate calories such as fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, and legumes. By eliminating so many foods from your diet, you automatically reduce your calorie intake, resulting in a negative calorie balance and therefore weight loss. Unfortunately, you also reduce your intake of fiber and essential vitamins and minerals.
If you look at populations where people have good health and a long lifespan, you?ll find that their eating habits support the wisdom of a high-carbohydrate, moderate-protein diet that is also low in fat. The Japanese eat a diet abundant in rice and vegetables with only small amounts of protein and have a very low incidence of heart disease.
If you want to manage your weight and your blood cholesterol level, skip the fad diets and stick with a low fat diet, which accounts for less than 30% of your total calories. If you have heart disease, a diet less than 25% fat calories is probably to your advantage. Make sure your diet includes plenty of whole grains, beans, cereals, low fat and non-fat dairy products and at least five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Protein foods should be limited to approximately six ounces per day, preferably of lean meat, poultry, fish, low fat dairy products and vegetarian sources. The recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein for the ?average? adult man and woman is 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight (this does vary). (Drummond 44-45)
To determine your protein needs:
You must first calculate your calorie needs. If you are overweight, multiply your current weight by 10. If you are at your desired weight, multiply your current weight by 15. Example: 160 lbs. x 10 = 1600 kcal/day
To find your protein needs multiply your caloric needs by 12% (.12).
Divide that number by 4 to see how many grams of protein you should consume daily. Example: 1600 kcal/day X .12 = 192. Divide by 4 calories per gram = 48 grams of protein. (Atkins 98)
Protein Problems Caused by Atkins Diet
When protein is used to supply energy (in low carbohydrate diets) muscle, which is made up of protein, is broken down and then the body is unable to repair and build tissue. Because proteins are made of long chains of amino acids, the loss of protein also depletes the body of amino acids, which are building blocks for everything from your hair to your DNA. (Drummond 48-52)
Even though the body will burn much of its proteins away, the Atkins Diet causes excessive protein intake. If these proteins are not burned at an even level through a moderate exercise program tailored to the individual, protein build-up may occur. This can cause calcium to be lost in the urine, which drains the bones of their vital mineral. Vitamin B6 deficiency could also occur. Very high cholesterol levels can also if people are not carefully monitoring this. (Atkins 103-106)