Naysaying article - what's your take?

CaPagrl · 03-02-2008, 03:28 PM

I got this today in an email and wanted to run it by the pro's. Is ANYTHING they've said true about Low Carb/Atkins??

The Truth About Carbohydrates

The parts which concern me the most were these:

What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance.

The Body’s Immediate Reaction to Very Low Carbohydrate Diets
When there is a severe deficit of carbohydrates, the body has several immediate reactions:

With no glucose available for energy, the body starts using protein from food for energy. Therefore this protein is no longer available for more important functions, such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies and the regulation of fluid balance.
When carbohydrates are lacking, the body cannot burn fat in the correct way. Normally carbs combine with fat fragments to be used as energy. When carbs are not available, there is an incomplete breakdown of fat that produces a by-product called ketones. These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy.
Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration.
Because of dehydration and a lack of fiber, constipation can result.
Exercise and fitness performance is reduced on a low-carb diet. Do not be surprised if your energy level is so low that you cannot make it through your normal workout routine. (I have to say this is a bunch of crap b/c I have TONS more energy on LC than any other time!! What about ya'all??)

The Long-Term Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets
When you severely restrict carbohydrates, your consumption of protein and fat increases, which has several long-term effects:

The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet. (Anyone have a good resource showing that this is BS?)
Protein foods are also high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints, causing gout.
Kidney stones are more likely to form on high protein, ketosis-producing diets.
Over time, high protein diets can cause a loss of calcium and lead to osteoporosis.
The risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carb diet that is high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. A temporary reduction in cholesterol levels may be experienced, but this is common with any weight loss.

Interesting how they ignore the "risks" of obesity, isn't it? With articles like that, no wonder so many doctors and disbelievers poo-poo the idea!

junkfoodmonkey · 03-03-2008, 04:15 AM

Sounds like a load of out of date nonsense to me. The author of it needs to read Good Calories, Bad Calories.

Notice the usual stupid thing like: when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet. Even Atkins doesn't eliminate vegetables, and fruit and whole grains are allowed in its later stages and on other LC plans. So if the article isn't even going to discuss what low carb diets actually ARE, how can any conclusions it draws be taken seriously?

Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring!
Nice to see a so-called nutritionist encouraging the idea of treating food as entertainment. That's a really healthy attitude. :end sarcasm mode:

Do you think she sometimes puts diesel, or aviation fuel in her car to keep it from getting bored with gasoline?

scandalouslyglam · 03-03-2008, 05:46 AM

It's the normal way of thinking, I'm afraid. I am in nursing school and have yet to see in a textbook that anything but what the USDA promotes is a "healthy way" to eat. When Im at school...I am a covert Low carber.

I know I should be proud and speak up...But That's not my way.

bakergirl57 · 03-05-2008, 10:29 AM

I have been doing Atkins since January 14th. I have lost about 16lbs so far. I am kind of stuck at 195 lbs for about three weeks but I bought one size smaller pants and now THEY are too loose so, I am losing something. These kind of people and their so called "expert" opinion are never going to be swayed. If the diet is so dangerous, how come I have more energy and feel way better than I did before starting the diet. I was absolutely NOT losing any weight eating low calorie and eating things like regular bread and cereal. I was hungry all the time and after a meal, I would be counting the minutes until the next meal. I would have low blood sugar symptoms before meals and would be so ravenous by the time I ate, I would eat too much. My gynocologist's office said they swear by the "low glycemic index" diet - which they admitted is very much like doing Atkins and encouraged me to do Atkins again. I was feeling very sick back in December and wondered if this was the way I got to feel for the rest of my life. I am 50 and boy are there weight loss issues at this time of our lives. I was even going to a 5 day a week exercise bootcamp and doing low calorie and not losing weight. If this diet is so bad and theirs is so much better, how come I was having all kinds of not feeling so well issues while doing theirs? My legs and feet hurt all the time and I would be red-faced just sitting.

HappyHomeschoolMom · 03-08-2008, 02:39 PM

Quote:

What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance.

ROFLMAO.

The whole "article" is inaccurate due to the misinformation presented about what "low carb" diets really suggest.

I eat plenty of carb rich foods; mostly veggies and I eat them in abundance. Right next to my medium steak!

Purple Crayon · 03-08-2008, 03:12 PM

I wanna know where this whole "must eat grain to be healthy" crap came from. And also the "brain needs grains" or as this article asserts, "the brain needs carbs". Don't you give children whole milk because the fat is what their brains need for proper development?

This article sounds like another bunch of BS by someone who never read a low-carb book beyond the induction phase.

luv_bug · 03-09-2008, 03:06 PM

These articles can be so discouraging sometimes! HOWEVER, don't pay too much attention to them -- I have been doing it for over a year now, lost 100-102 lbs (i've been up down a little) ... Anyways, I have been monitored by a doctor and my bad cholesterol is way down adn good cholesterol up to where it needs to be ... to add, my blood pressure hasn't gone up at all.. I think the key is not using the diet as permission to ONLY eat protein and fats ... I eat lots of veggies and so forth... Point is, I'm healthy -- and it gives evidence that Atkins works..

almostlost · 03-12-2008, 08:44 AM

'Complex carbohydrates (also referred to as starch) are made up of many sugar units and are found in both natural (brown rice) and refined (white bread) form'

I cannot believe that anyone wrote that white bread is a complex carb. The GL scale shows that white bread spikes your blood sugar like a simple carb. I wonder which is right.

'These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy. '

What our bodies act like we are in a famine? That is an out right lie. Low fat act like my body is in a famine and I lose no weight even at 1200 calories a day.

A no carb diet can be bad and no fat diet would be the worst type of diet.

Just because you can eat all the fat you want doesn't mean that is all we eat. I eat healthier then a lot of people on low fat diets.

I hear this a lot from people but they do not really understand the way my body handles carbs. Too many carbs are bad for us. What is low carb depends on the person. People who watch me eat do not believe I am doing low carbs because I eat protein and lots of veggies.

People are lactose intolerate and they have no issues with getting enough calcium from other sources. No one says well they are going to get sick because they do not drink milk.

By the way the brain only uses glucose. Fat is used to get vitamins into the cells. A no fat diet is very very dangerous because their is no way for the vitamins to get to the cells.

Houston Heather · 03-17-2008, 06:08 PM

I rode with a diabetic today who is in kidney failure, requiring dialysis. He talked about eating pancakes, hashbrowns, and toast together in one meal. "I just adjust my insulin".

When I told him I was on Atkins, he went rabid and started screaming at me about how I was going to kill myself eating this way.

"Why did my cholesterol drop 100 points, then?"
He said it was a fluke, and started spouting the whole tired low-fat diet lie.

This, from a guy in kidney failure, from diabetes, about to lose at least one foot due to "complications". Oh, yeah, and at least 100 pounds overweight.

It just reminded me to look at the people who tell you it is bad.

Kris T. · 03-19-2008, 01:30 PM

I will say this. I was diagnosed with kidney stones last year. EVERYONE was quick to point out that I had done it to myself. So I asked the doctor to tell me what the content of the stones was.

And lo and behold, he told me they were not caused by excess protein. So in my case, the kidney stone issue is not valid.

Kris

skoolmarm729 · 03-29-2008, 08:21 PM

I think the best part of all this is that nothing is said of those who choose to do nothing about being overweight/obese. What about those complications?!

Corpuscavernosa · 04-02-2008, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration.

What a load of crap. I have all these symptoms when I'm eating a "regular" diet of high carbs. In the gym I used to go to, there was a sign up on the wall saying how people shouldn't do low carb because all you lose is water weight and a little bit of fat due to generally lower calories.

I lost 40lbs. and I've known a few people who have lost 100+. That's a lot of water weight.

Corpuscavernosa · 04-02-2008, 11:07 AM

Quote:

The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet. (Anyone have a good resource showing that this is BS?)

No this is absolutely true. Atkins, however, includes all these things once you've reached your weight loss goal. Eliminating all these things for life would be terrible for your body. That's not the point of Atkins, however. Get the weight off THEN add back all the natural goodness of veggies, fruits, beans, etc. Natural fiber is essential to prevent things like colon cancer. Vitamins and minerals are best when gotten directly from the source.

Once you reach your weight loss goal, I don't see how anyone can argue with Atkins. You're eating non-processed, natural foods with very short ingredient lists. Period.

Jael · 04-09-2008, 09:48 PM

Get the weight off THEN add back all the natural goodness of veggies, fruits, beans, etc. Natural fiber is essential to prevent things like colon cancer.

I'm getting plenty of veggies right now...and a reasonable amoung of low carb fruit too (mostly berries). I don't lack fiber with all the raw veggies I eat. So for me, it's just a matter of grains and beans that I am not eating - and frankly, I don't think it will be terrible for me if my diet is NEVER heavy on the grains and legumes. I think veggies, fruit, meat, and dairy will be the backbone of my diet for the rest of my life.

03-02-2008, 03:28 PM	#1
CaPagrl Junior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 23 Gallery: CaPagrl Stats: 185/163/125 WOE: Atkins Start Date: Jan 14, 2008	Naysaying article - what's your take? I got this today in an email and wanted to run it by the pro's. Is ANYTHING they've said true about Low Carb/Atkins?? The Truth About Carbohydrates The parts which concern me the most were these: What You Should Know About Low-Carbohydrate Diets Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Carbohydrates are NOT the enemy. Including the appropriate amounts and types of carbohydrate-rich foods in your diet is essential for long-term health and weight loss/maintenance. The Body’s Immediate Reaction to Very Low Carbohydrate Diets When there is a severe deficit of carbohydrates, the body has several immediate reactions: With no glucose available for energy, the body starts using protein from food for energy. Therefore this protein is no longer available for more important functions, such as making new cells, tissues, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies and the regulation of fluid balance. When carbohydrates are lacking, the body cannot burn fat in the correct way. Normally carbs combine with fat fragments to be used as energy. When carbs are not available, there is an incomplete breakdown of fat that produces a by-product called ketones. These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy. Due to the lack of energy and the accumulation of ketones, low-carb diets are often accompanied by nausea, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, bad breath, and dehydration. Because of dehydration and a lack of fiber, constipation can result. Exercise and fitness performance is reduced on a low-carb diet. Do not be surprised if your energy level is so low that you cannot make it through your normal workout routine. (I have to say this is a bunch of crap b/c I have TONS more energy on LC than any other time!! What about ya'all??) The Long-Term Effects of Low Carbohydrate Diets When you severely restrict carbohydrates, your consumption of protein and fat increases, which has several long-term effects: The risk of many cancers increases when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet. (Anyone have a good resource showing that this is BS?) Protein foods are also high in purines, which are broken down into uric acid. Elevated levels of uric acid in the blood may lead to needle-like uric acid crystals in joints, causing gout. Kidney stones are more likely to form on high protein, ketosis-producing diets. Over time, high protein diets can cause a loss of calcium and lead to osteoporosis. The risk of heart disease is greatly increased on a low-carb diet that is high in protein, cholesterol, fat, and saturated fat. A temporary reduction in cholesterol levels may be experienced, but this is common with any weight loss. Interesting how they ignore the "risks" of obesity, isn't it? With articles like that, no wonder so many doctors and disbelievers poo-poo the idea! __________________ Teresa http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt...knE/weight.png

03-05-2008, 10:29 AM	#4
bakergirl57 Junior LCF Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: San Luis Obispo, CA Posts: 5 Gallery: bakergirl57 Stats: 210/200/201/196/195 WOE: Atkins Start Date: January 2008	These people just don't give up..... I have been doing Atkins since January 14th. I have lost about 16lbs so far. I am kind of stuck at 195 lbs for about three weeks but I bought one size smaller pants and now THEY are too loose so, I am losing something. These kind of people and their so called "expert" opinion are never going to be swayed. If the diet is so dangerous, how come I have more energy and feel way better than I did before starting the diet. I was absolutely NOT losing any weight eating low calorie and eating things like regular bread and cereal. I was hungry all the time and after a meal, I would be counting the minutes until the next meal. I would have low blood sugar symptoms before meals and would be so ravenous by the time I ate, I would eat too much. My gynocologist's office said they swear by the "low glycemic index" diet - which they admitted is very much like doing Atkins and encouraged me to do Atkins again. I was feeling very sick back in December and wondered if this was the way I got to feel for the rest of my life. I am 50 and boy are there weight loss issues at this time of our lives. I was even going to a 5 day a week exercise bootcamp and doing low calorie and not losing weight. If this diet is so bad and theirs is so much better, how come I was having all kinds of not feeling so well issues while doing theirs? My legs and feet hurt all the time and I would be red-faced just sitting.

03-12-2008, 08:44 AM	#8
almostlost Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bellevue. wa Posts: 118 Gallery: almostlost Stats: 183/176/145 WOE: Atkins Start Date: 1/21/2008	'Complex carbohydrates (also referred to as starch) are made up of many sugar units and are found in both natural (brown rice) and refined (white bread) form' I cannot believe that anyone wrote that white bread is a complex carb. The GL scale shows that white bread spikes your blood sugar like a simple carb. I wonder which is right. 'These ketones accumulate in the blood and in the urine causing ketosis, which is an abnormal state. Ketosis does cause a decrease in appetite because it's one of the body's protection mechanisms. It's an advantage to someone in a famine (which the body thinks it's experiencing) to lack an appetite because the search for food would be a waste of time and additional energy. ' What our bodies act like we are in a famine? That is an out right lie. Low fat act like my body is in a famine and I lose no weight even at 1200 calories a day. A no carb diet can be bad and no fat diet would be the worst type of diet. Just because you can eat all the fat you want doesn't mean that is all we eat. I eat healthier then a lot of people on low fat diets. I hear this a lot from people but they do not really understand the way my body handles carbs. Too many carbs are bad for us. What is low carb depends on the person. People who watch me eat do not believe I am doing low carbs because I eat protein and lots of veggies. People are lactose intolerate and they have no issues with getting enough calcium from other sources. No one says well they are going to get sick because they do not drink milk. By the way the brain only uses glucose. Fat is used to get vitamins into the cells. A no fat diet is very very dangerous because their is no way for the vitamins to get to the cells. __________________ almostlost Atkins (2rd time around) 1/21/2008 2nd time doing atkins I am allergic to bad carbs The first 19 lbs gone, 19 lbs to go 183/164/145 183 181 179 177 175 173 171 169 167 163 161 159 157 155 153 151 149 147 145

03-17-2008, 06:08 PM	#9
Houston Heather Very Gabby LCF Member!!! Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Houston Posts: 4,614 Gallery: Houston Heather Stats: Size 22W/12/12 WOE: Atkins 2002 Ongoing Weight Loss	I rode with a diabetic today who is in kidney failure, requiring dialysis. He talked about eating pancakes, hashbrowns, and toast together in one meal. "I just adjust my insulin". When I told him I was on Atkins, he went rabid and started screaming at me about how I was going to kill myself eating this way. "Why did my cholesterol drop 100 points, then?" He said it was a fluke, and started spouting the whole tired low-fat diet lie. This, from a guy in kidney failure, from diabetes, about to lose at least one foot due to "complications". Oh, yeah, and at least 100 pounds overweight. It just reminded me to look at the people who tell you it is bad. __________________ Inducted Feb 26, 2008 Don't just weigh, measure too! 227.5/173.5/150 42 inch waist/32.25/30 My Fitday Learn about Bipolar Disorder Learn about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things in Him who strengthens me. 1 Corinthians 6:20 You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

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03-03-2008, 04:15 AM	#2
junkfoodmonkey MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 2,688 Blog Entries: 42 Gallery: junkfoodmonkey Stats: 183/156/140 WOE: Atkins Start Date: Reinduction: 01/01/08	Sounds like a load of out of date nonsense to me. The author of it needs to read Good Calories, Bad Calories. Notice the usual stupid thing like: when fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, and beans are eliminated from the diet. Even Atkins doesn't eliminate vegetables, and fruit and whole grains are allowed in its later stages and on other LC plans. So if the article isn't even going to discuss what low carb diets actually ARE, how can any conclusions it draws be taken seriously? Following an extremely low-carbohydrate diet is disastrous, dangerous, and above all—boring! Nice to see a so-called nutritionist encouraging the idea of treating food as entertainment. That's a really healthy attitude. :end sarcasm mode: Do you think she sometimes puts diesel, or aviation fuel in her car to keep it from getting bored with gasoline?

03-03-2008, 05:46 AM	#3
scandalouslyglam MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: May 2007 Location: Portland, Me Posts: 1,728 Gallery: scandalouslyglam Stats: 226/209/195 Long term goal 175 WOE: Atkins Start Date: September 1, 2007	It's the normal way of thinking, I'm afraid. I am in nursing school and have yet to see in a textbook that anything but what the USDA promotes is a "healthy way" to eat. When Im at school...I am a covert Low carber. I know I should be proud and speak up...But That's not my way.

03-08-2008, 03:12 PM	#6
Purple Crayon Senior LCF Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: South Carolina Posts: 367 Gallery: Purple Crayon WOE: Atkins Start Date: August 2003	I wanna know where this whole "must eat grain to be healthy" crap came from. And also the "brain needs grains" or as this article asserts, "the brain needs carbs". Don't you give children whole milk because the fat is what their brains need for proper development? This article sounds like another bunch of BS by someone who never read a low-carb book beyond the induction phase.

03-09-2008, 03:06 PM	#7
luv_bug Senior LCF Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 572 Gallery: luv_bug Stats: 265/144/140? WOE: Atkins Start Date: February 2007	These articles can be so discouraging sometimes! HOWEVER, don't pay too much attention to them -- I have been doing it for over a year now, lost 100-102 lbs (i've been up down a little) ... Anyways, I have been monitored by a doctor and my bad cholesterol is way down adn good cholesterol up to where it needs to be ... to add, my blood pressure hasn't gone up at all.. I think the key is not using the diet as permission to ONLY eat protein and fats ... I eat lots of veggies and so forth... Point is, I'm healthy -- and it gives evidence that Atkins works..

03-19-2008, 01:30 PM	#10
Kris T. MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SF in SF Posts: 1,706 Gallery: Kris T. Stats: Big emu-now a small emu. WOE: is me. :) Start Date: Today.	I will say this. I was diagnosed with kidney stones last year. EVERYONE was quick to point out that I had done it to myself. So I asked the doctor to tell me what the content of the stones was. And lo and behold, he told me they were not caused by excess protein. So in my case, the kidney stone issue is not valid. Kris

03-29-2008, 08:21 PM	#11
skoolmarm729 Senior LCF Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 786 Gallery: skoolmarm729 Stats: 5ft7in~292sz26/240sz20/188 WOE: Atkins-Induction Start Date: March 1, 2008	I think the best part of all this is that nothing is said of those who choose to do nothing about being overweight/obese. What about those complications?!

04-09-2008, 09:48 PM	#14
Jael Junior LCF Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 Gallery: Jael	*Get the weight off THEN add back all the natural goodness of veggies, fruits, beans, etc. Natural fiber is essential to prevent things like colon cancer.* I'm getting plenty of veggies right now...and a reasonable amoung of low carb fruit too (mostly berries). I don't lack fiber with all the raw veggies I eat. So for me, it's just a matter of grains and beans that I am not eating - and frankly, I don't think it will be terrible for me if my diet is NEVER heavy on the grains and legumes. I think veggies, fruit, meat, and dairy will be the backbone of my diet for the rest of my life.