Atkins diet advocated for weight loss! Why doctors call it unhealthy diet?

Atkins diet is not new. It has been around for quite a while now.

But its popularity gained momentum when celebrities such as Rob Lowe, Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian, Alyssa Milano began endorsing it. What is an Atkins diet? Is it good for the body? What are its plus and negative points?

Atkins diet described

Robert Atkins in the 1970s started this diet plan and hence carries his name. Atkins diet gained popularity with social media and its influencers such as Kim Kardashian who endorsed it for weight loss.

It is primarily a low carbohydrate and high protein and high fat diet that the proponents claim aids faster fat shedding.

Tye follower of this diet can take meat, eggs, cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and sour cream in ample amounts. But simple or complex carbohydrates are to be restricted.

This implies the person cannot have pasta, bread, or other cereal products.

Low carbohydrates make the fat burn and this consumes more calories and hence weight loss. But expert nutritionists shun this diet and claim that it is a nonsense.

They add that the person loses weight because the diet is no monotonous and not appealing to the taste that the individual restricts food intake. And this leads to weight loss.

Harm of Atkins food plan

Medical experts do not advocate this diet. It does no good but only harms the body, they say.

Washington University’s School of Medicine in St. Louis conducted a study and found that though people on this diet may lose weight, their insulin sensitivity rate drops or shows no improvement as expected.

This is dangerous since blood sugar control gets hampered. And such individuals end up with high blood sugar or type 2 diabetes mellitus after a few years.

Brown University studied it further and found a positive link between this diet and risk of heart failure.

A man named Jody Gorran in 2004 the estate of Robert Atkins and asked the company to compensate him in damages. He demanded USD 28k in damages.

Jody claimed that he followed the diet for two years and it led to rise of the bad cholesterol in the blood. This blocked one of his heart artery and he had to undergo a stent surgery to remove the block.

But the court dismissed the case since Atkins diet is full of ideas and advices and is not a foolproof or concrete evidence of its goodness.

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Celebrities on this diet

Jennifer Aniston is a great advocated this diet. She attributes her great figure to this diet. Kim Kardashian also states that she resorts to this diet for fast weight loss when she requires it.

Kim used it after her first two childbirths. Sharon Osbourne credited her tremendous fat shedding success to this diet along with family support and exercise regularly.

Geri Halliwell was also a big fan of this diet. Advocating Atkins, Rob Lowe stated:

“It all starts with how you feel on the inside, and when you feel good, you look good. Eating low carb has helped me feel and look my best,”

“Life is too short to eat a bad protein bar, and Atkins has great tasting bars and shakes that satisfy my sweet tooth.”