People following the high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet lost more weight and lowered triglyceride levels further than people following a standard low-fat diet, according to two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
The research suggests that carbohydrates do cause weight gain, however researchers are uncertain whether the weight loss will hold up over time.
In one six-month study, 132 men and women started out weighing an average of 286 pounds. Those following the Atkins diet lost 13 pounds versus four pounds for those on a low-fat diet.
The second study, which lasted one-year, involved 63 participants who weighted an average of 217 pounds at the start. After six months, the Atkins group lost 15 pounds while the low-fat group lost 7. However, at the end of a year, participants on the Atkins diet had regained about one-third of their weight, and low-fat dieters had regained about one-fifth of their weight.
According to researchers, the difference in weight loss after one year was not large enough to tell whether it was caused by the diets.
In both studies, those following the Atkins regimen typically had higher levels of "good cholesterol" and lower levels of triglycerides, or fats in the blood, than those on the low-fat diet.
The researchers of both studies suggested that further studies are needed to determine whether the beneficial effects of the Atkins diet outweigh those of low-fat diets, which are known to reduce the risk of heart disease.
The New England Journal of Medicine May 22, 2003;348:2082-2090
Dr. Atkins provided a major jumpstart to help establish the connection between obesity and insulin, and it is encouraging to see some major studies validate this approach. Unfortunately, Dr. Atkins didn't take his program far enough as he labeled all carbohydrates as bad.
As most of you already know I happen to believe that vegetable carbohydrates are quite different than grains and as such do not need to be restricted to effectively reduce weight.
When you understand nutritional typing it becomes obvious that some people indeed require up to two-thirds of their diet as vegetable carbohydrate. So these people are actually on a high-carbohydrate, but no-grain, no-sugar, diet.
This is the critical piece of the puzzle that Dr. Atkins was missing. However, once you understand this it is easy to discern why studies that evaluate Dr. Atkins' approach are not able to consistently validate its effectiveness.
This is largely related to the fact that one-third of people should never be on a low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet. Although they may lose weight initially, it is a prescription for disaster for them. These heavy individuals actually require a high-vegetable, no-grain, no-sugar diet along with low fat and protein intake.
This is their ideal fuel mixture and if they don't receive it they will not burn calories effectively and will use the extra fat and protein and deposit it as fat in their bodies.
I detail the importance of restricting grains and sugars from your diet in my new book, The No-Grain Diet. Aside from providing you with a healthy way to lose weight, you will also ward of numerous diseases. Plus, you will learn how to deal with your emotional conflicts, which can so often sabotage weight loss efforts, by using Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). You can download my free 25-page EFT report to help you get started.
While most people will indeed benefit from restricting grains and sugars from the diet, it is important to remember that there is no perfect diet for everyone or every condition. Diet really needs to be modified and adjusted to fit each specific person with his or her own unique genetic requirements.
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