Atkins diet

The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins. The diet is marketed with questionable claims that carbohydrate restriction is critical to weight loss. There is no good evidence of the diet's effectiveness in achieving durable weight loss and it may increase the risk of heart disease. The Atkins diet is a low-carbohydrate fad diet devised by Robert Atkins. The diet is marketed with questionable claims that carbohydrate restriction is critical to weight loss. There is no good evidence of the diet's effectiveness in achieving durable weight loss and it may increase the risk of heart disease. There is weak evidence that the Atkins diet is more effective than behavioral counseling for weight loss at 6-12 months. The Atkins diet led to 0.1% to 2.9% more weight loss at one year compared to control groups which received behavioural counselling for weight loss. As with other commercial weight loss programs, the effect size is smaller over longer periods. Low-carb dieters' initial advantage in weight loss is likely a result of increased water loss, and that after the initial period, low-carbohydrate diets produce similar fat loss to other diets with similar caloric intake. The diet may increase the risk of heart disease. A medical report issued by the New York medical examiner's office a year after the author's death showed that he had a history of heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension. There is some evidence that adults with epilepsy may experience seizure reduction derived from therapeutic ketogenic diets, and that a less strict regimen, such as a modified Atkins diet, is similarly effective. The Atkins diet is a kind of low-carbohydrate fad diet. Fructose (for example, as found in many industrial sweeteners) has four calories per gram but has a very low glycemic index and does not cause insulin production, probably because β cells have low levels of GLUT5. Leptin, an appetite-regulating hormone, is not triggered following consumption of fructose. This may for some create an unsatisfying feeling after consumption which might promote binge behavior that culminates in an increased blood triglyceride level arising from fructose conversion by the liver. Preferred foods in all categories are whole, unprocessed foods with a low glycemic index, although restrictions for low glycemic carbohydrates (black rice, vegetables, etc.) are the same as those for high glycemic carbohydrates (sugar, white bread). Atkins Nutritionals, the company formed to market foods that work with the diet, recommends that no more than 20% of calories eaten while on the diet come from saturated fat. The diet was inspired by a low-carbohydrate approach published by Alfred W. Pennington, based on research Pennington did during World War II at DuPont. The Atkins diet is promoted with questionable claims that carbohydrate restriction is the 'key' to weight loss. In his early books such as Dr Atkins' New Diet Revolution, Atkins made the controversial argument that the low-carbohydrate diet produces a metabolic advantage because 'burning fat takes more calories so you expend more calories'; the Atkins diet was claimed to be 'a high calorie way to stay thin forever'. He cited one study in which he estimated this advantage to be 950 Calories (4.0 MJ) per day. A review study published in Lancet concluded that there was no such metabolic advantage and dieters were simply eating fewer calories. Astrup stated, 'The monotony and simplicity of the diet could inhibit appetite and food intake.' David L. Katz has characterized Atkins' claim as nonsense. The idea of 'metabolic advantage' of low-carbohydrate dieting has been falsified by experiment in a study of people following restricted-carbohydrate dieting.