understanding the Atkins Diet
by Rachel Newcombe
The chances are that you'll know someone who's on or has tried the Atkins Diet. That's not surprising, as over three million people in Britain, along with countless celebrities, are on the high-protein, low-carbohydrate eating plan. But despite seemingly helping people to lose weight, it's become one of the most controversial diets of recent years.
© C4/intuitis
Dr Robert Atkins, the man behind the diet, first published the plan in 1972. However, it wasn't until 1992 when he brought out his New Diet Revolution book, and again when it was updated in 2002, that people flocked to try it out, encouraged by weight-loss success stories from celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Geri Halliwell.
The theory is that by eating a diet mainly consisting of high protein and fat foods, such as cheese, meat, cream and eggs, and low levels of carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta, you lose weight. That's all very well, but the problem is that the foods it recommends are those that we're normally advised to avoid, or at least eat in moderation. So how come people lose weight?
As Sarah Oyston, a nutritionist at the Institute of Food Research explains, 'The basic principle is that a high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet forces the body into a fasting state called ketosis, which may bring about quick weight loss.'
Ketosis is known by Atkins followers as the fat-burning process, and is one of the key factors making the diet different from other approaches. Normally, carbohydrate provides energy, but when the body uses up all its stored carbohydrate, it needs to find another fuel source. In this case, it begins to use fat for fuel and the body's stored fat is broken down into fatty acid molecules called ketones. Mostly, the body treats the ketones as waste products, so they're eliminated through urine or breath.
Followers of the diet are encouraged to maintain this state and can monitor themselves by using ketostix to test their urine. The bad breath problem can be unpleasant, though, and many people also feel nauseous, light-headed and tired. It's a vastly different fat-burning method to conventional weight-loss methods – essentially it's how the body reacts if it's starved – and causes concern to many nutritionists.
(November 2003, resources updated March 2005)
