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"By DANIEL Q. HANEY, AP Medical Editor
CHICAGO (AP) - Multitudes swear by the high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, and now a carefully controlled study backs them up: Low-carb may actually take off more weight than low-fat and may be surprisingly better for cholesterol, too.
For years, the Atkins formula of sparing carbohydrates and loading up on taboo fatty foods has been blasphemy to many in the health establishment, who view it as a formula for cardiovascular ruin.
But now, some of the same researchers who long scoffed at the diet are putting it to the test, and they say the results astonish them. Rather than making cholesterol soar, as they feared, the diet actually appears to improve it, and volunteers take off more weight."
...
"At least three formal studies of the Atkins diet have been presented at medical conferences over the past year, and all have reached similar results. The latest, conducted by Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University, was presented Monday at the annual scientific meeting of the American Heart Association (news - web sites), long a stronghold of support for the traditional low-fat approach."
...
"Westman studied 120 overweight volunteers, who were randomly assigned to the Atkins diet or the heart association's Step 1 diet, a widely used low-fat approach. On the Atkins diet, people limited their carbs to less than 20 grams a day, and 60 percent of their calories came from fat."
...
"After six months, the people on the Atkins diet had lost an average of 31 pounds, compared with 20 pounds on the AHA diet, and more people stuck with the Atkins regimen.
Total cholesterol fell slightly in both groups. However, those on the Atkins diet had an 11 percent increase in HDL, the good cholesterol, and a 49 percent drop in triglycerides. On the AHA diet, HDL was unchanged, and triglycerides dropped 22 percent. High triglycerides may raise the risk of heart disease.
While the volunteers' total amounts of LDL, the bad cholesterol, did not change much on either diet, there was evidence that it had shifted to a form that may be less likely to clog the arteries."
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Volek JS, Westman EC.
Very-low-carbohydrate weight-loss diets revisited.
Cleve Clin J Med. 2002 Nov;69(11):849, 853, 856-8 passim.
PMID: 12430970
In Reply to: Study: Atkins Good for Cholesterol posted by R. on November 19, 2002 at 14:20:37:
Thanks R,
Here is more proof of what many of us have known for years. A high-fat diet can keep your weight off, AND keep your heart healthy. The low-fat compaign has very little evidence to go by yet they keep dishing out the advice like it's going out of style. If I found out that my arteries were clogged, I would switch to a high-fat diet that was high in Omega 3's and saturated fat (many people fail to recogonize that saturated fat is needed to utilize omega-3's in the body). I would also do a course of chelation therapy and get on a nutrient supplement plan based on individualized testing. I would balance my hormones with natural hormone replacement and would begin a modest exercise program. If the studies are showing this much benefit from just the diet, I wonder what the results would be if studies were conducted using the diet, moderate exercise, lifestyle changes, meditation, and nutrient therapies. I would imagine that many people would reverse heart disease all together.
-HY
In Reply to: Study: Atkins Good for Cholesterol posted by R. on November 19, 2002 at 14:20:37:
R, I can agree with that, I was raised on and atkins diet, only at that time it was called mom's cooking and my whole family was thin and strong. It was not until we moved off the farm and everyone felt sorry for us for what we had to eat and we became modern that problems arose. It just is hard for some folks to adjust to it, in this modern world of no fat nothing, that is killing lots of folks. Good luck
In Reply to: Study: Atkins Good for Cholesterol posted by R. on November 19, 2002 at 14:20:37:
The Atkins diet is a great diet for over-weight people but should'nt be followed for average weight people that are trying to control cholesterol. Atkins says this himself.
In Reply to: Study: Atkins Good for Cholesterol posted by R. on November 19, 2002 at 14:20:37:
Thanks, R.
Another example of how little we "experts" know about anything.
Atkins is not the best for everyone either since that is genetically determined. It is amusing to see that it IS about twice as effective as the diets recommended by those who are supposed to know. Those we have been paying handsomely for knowing have been spending all their efforts scoffing at Atkins for 30 years.
Namaste`
Walt
In Reply to: Re: Study: Atkins Good for Cholesterol posted by Carol on November 20, 2002 at 07:58:23:
Controlling cholesterol is unjustified.
In Reply to: Study: Atkins Good for Cholesterol posted by R. on November 19, 2002 at 14:20:37:
I can only comment on my personal experience, but when I was on Atkins my cholesterol soared to 288. I followed the diet to the letter. My father died at 42 from heart disease, so I was obviously concerned about my cholesterol. I then tried, at the advice of my Cardiologist, a low-fat vegetarian diet, wherein no more than 10% of my calories came from fat. My cholesterol is now 119, my tri. 120, and LDL is 69. I also lost 60lbs, and find it VERY easy to keep it off eating this way.
Again, this is only my experience with Atkins.
In Reply to: Re: Study: Atkins Good for Cholesterol posted by Ken C. on November 24, 2002 at 18:02:09:
You got worried about something that may not even be important as far as prediction of heart disease is concerned. Now you got your cholesterol too low and may need to watch out for other problems. By the way, you didn't mention your HDL. Or your more important risk indicators. Please read my reply to someone else on this topic at
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