Beware, blog dieters
: The British government has warned that the Atkins diet — hot in the U.S. and Britain and among bloggers — is dangerous.
5 responses to “Beware, blog dieters”
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That’s not exactly news, heh. Still, for those who aren’t aware, good.
Atkins poses a serious problem to individuals predisposed to kidney trouble. A diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates causes the body to go into a condition called ketosis. If a dieter doesn’t have a high enough water intake (and the amount necessary varies from person to person), the kidneys can exhibit some nasty problems.
And then there’s that ugly part about dieters’ bodies burning muscle before they get to the fat.
Counterproductive? Yes. The Atkins website, of course, has some pocket-sized friendly answers for all of these concerns.
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The dangers are clearly spelt out on the agency’s website, without actually naming the Atkins diet, which has been tried by more than three million people in Britain.
‘Cutting out starchy foods, or any food group, can be bad for your health because you could be missing out on a range of nutrients,’ the statement says. ‘This type of diet also tends to be unrealistic and dull, and not palatable enough to be tolerated for a long time.’
OOOooooooo, that’s a real scary condemnation of the Atkins diet.
There have been people criticizing it on this basis since it first came out. Most of those critics have some sort of vested interest in the status quo, diet wise. NONE of them have produced actual studies to back up thier claims of harm from Atkins. -
Given the present status of the British health care system, I’m not surprised to see a statement like this.
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Who cares about the health consequences — what about the impact on social dining? Try going out for dinner with an Atkins freak obsessed with carbs, who orders a hamburger without a bun, and who won’t drink a damn glass of wine because it will jar him out of ketosis. It’s excruciating! (Makes me want to maroon Atkins dieters on an island blanketed with syrup-drenched pancakes.)
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Heh. I guess the lobbying worked…
About a month ago, I heard an interview on the BBC World Service with a dietitian from an English potato growers advocacy organization about exactly this issue.
The interviewer was somewhat tongue-in-cheek about the likely motivation for this person’s employer to criticize the Atkins Diet, and the related revenue impacts should “everyone” decide to take the Diet.
She held fast to the “everything in moderation” party line. I suppose the meme has taken now.
