TeamFLEX Newsletter

Weight Loss Spotlight

Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is a highly controversial diet that has become extremely popular in the American society.

There is not enough research done on this unusual approach to weight loss and dieting. The food allowed while on the Atkins diet is food somebody who is trying to lose weight would never dream of including in a diet.

Dr. Robert Atkins revolutionary approach to obesity and other weight problems has been the topic of many radio shows, TV shows and newspaper articles.

The low carbohydrate intake, which is the trademark of this diet, is what makes you lose weight on the Atkins diet but there are health risks that haven't been evaluated involved as well due to the high fat and high cholesterol levels in the diet.

The low carbohydrate approach might work for weight loss but your body needs carbohydrates for other functions then just energy production. Your brain needs the carbohydrates in the converted form of glucose in order for you to be able to think, process information and to make reasonable decisions.

Without supplied carbohydrates, your body won't be performing certain tasks very well. This is exactly why the Atkins diet has been the subject of many doctors, nutritionists and other food expert debates.

You can eat a low carbohydrate diet without following the Atkins diet and make it much more nutritionally valuable. The whole marketing tool of this diet is that you can eat all the foods you thought you would have to give up on a diet and still lose weight. It might be true that if you starve yourself on carbohydrates completely, you should be able to eat sugary and fat food and still lose some weight. But where is the nutritional value in this food approach?

As far as healthy and safe the Atkins diet has not been proven to be neither one. Numerous studies and research show that low carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet are dangerous to your health. A high protein, low carbohydrate diet put your kidneys at risk and forcing them to overwork to process all the protein. There are also other risk factors involved such as diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease and circulation problems. The American Heart Association has put out a number of articles discussing their concern about the Atkins diet.

The percentage of people staying on a diet for a longer period of time, as low in carbohydrates as the Atkins diet, is very low. People get bored of not being able to eat their favorite foods ever and as soon as they touch any of their favorite carbohydrate dishes they will gain the weight back again.

Establishing a healthy way of eating a balanced food plan, exercising and allow a cheating day once a week is a far safer and healthier way to permanent weight loss. The super low carbohydrate approach has been around forever under different names and it has never been a long-term solution to weight loss because it is impossible to stay on it for the rest of your life.

The Atkins diet have as many followers as skeptics and it's up to each and every one of us to gather as much information and knowledge as possible before engaging ourselves in fashionable new diets and health booms. Knowledge is power and the more you know, the more you will question what you are being sold. Read up on the diet whichever it might be, question it before falling for it. Does it seem realistic for you to follow? Will you be able to stick to this diet in the long run or will you be back at square one before you know it?