Low carbohydrate regimens (was Atkins' diet testimonial)
James Ganong (JGanong@webtv.net)
Sun, 28 Nov 1999 03:01:34 -0800 (PST)
Hal Finney posted:
The Atkins diet is an extremely low carb diet which throws your body
into a state called ketosis. Here is a comment by Curt Adams from April
1998:
This actually does work. When you eat virtually no carbohydrates your
citric acid cycle fails and your body switches to an alternate fat
oxidation system. Your body has to ship large quantities of fats in
ketones around in the blood. Since your kidney lack the ability to
retain these, they get lost in the urine.
This information is reasonably accurate.
The quote resumes:
The situation resembles that of somebody with advanced diabetes,
although this kind of ketosis won't kill you directly.
The condition which damages diabetics is called ketoacidosis; it is not
the same as ketosis. The underlying metabolic defects in a diabetic
system lead to a metabolic derangment characterised by loss of pH
control in the body; any system not plagued by these defects can adapt
to ongoing ketosis.
Quote resumes:
You can lose weight like crazy on this plan. You will also be physically
weak, often nauseous, and you will smell like nail polish remover.
These problems tend to result from dehydration & electrolyte imbalance,
which can also be induced by exercise; in both cases, rehydration &
supplementation are fairly simple.
Quote resumes:
If you go on the diet and then off it, you will gain back all you lost.
This is one of the most frequently levelled charges against this type of
diet. It happens to be correct, but the same is true of *any* reducing
diet. If you go back to a diet which made you gain weight without
increased exercise or some such, yes, the weight will gradually return.
Quote resumes:
If you stay on it, you'll subject your body indefinitely to a metabolic
regime it's manifestly not adapted for.
Ketosis is only to be maintained until the goal weight is reached. At
that point, carbohydrates are gradually reintroduced into the diet until
ketosis ends & weight loss stops.
Quote resumes:
Research on the long-term safety of ketotic diets is zilch, which I
consider inexcusable given than Dr. Atkins has been pushing this diet
for 25 years. Not even a rodent study! Dr. Atkins' diet may be a good
thing, but he is a quack.
These statements are more or less accurate. Long term atudies are
needed, but unlikely as this sort of regimen flies in the face of
current dietary recommendations; it is so "obviously wrong" that no one
is bothering to look.
As to atkins-as-quack, this holds a certain amount of truth as well.
While I believe he got the low-carbohydrate thing mostly right (as well
as the utility of antioxidants & other nutrients), he advocates some
practices (ex: chelation therapy) that have been pretty thoroughly
disproven; he also
preaches against virtually all modern pharmaceuticals & seems to think
that everyone should go low-carb ( it does not work for everyone,
individual chemistries vary).
For the record, I'm on a low carb regimen of my own design & have lost
almost 40lbs in abot 5 months. I only spoke up because the common media
view of low carb dieters is some guy in a trailer park eating fried
chicken & sausages all the doodah day; I put a fair amount of thought
into this before adopting it & I'm doing well on the system I came up
with.
Still, the low-carb meme does have some almost cultish adherents; on
the usenet group alt.diet.support.low.carb, people on different low carb
diets argue strenuously over whose is the One True Way. I try to think
of it as a chance to see memetic evolution in action.