We are making a difference. Dr. Atkins led the way and is responsible for most of the country's newfound appreciation that fat is not evil for most of us, but refined grains and sugars clearly are. My No-Grain Diet has also assisted in this appreciation.

This is terrific news as if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, chances are very good that excess carbohydrates in your body are, in part or whole, to blame:

• Excess weight
• Fatigue and frequent sleepiness
• Depression
• Brain fogginess
• Bloating
• Low blood sugar
• High blood pressure
• High triglycerides

We all need a certain amount of carbohydrates, of course, but, through our addiction to grains, potatoes, sweets and other starchy and sugary foods, we are consuming far too many. The body's storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited, though, so here's what happens to all the excess: they are converted, via insulin, into fat and stored in the adipose, or fatty, tissue.

It is great news indeed that Americans are waking up to the truth. I have immense respect for Dr. Atkins as he provided a major jumpstart to help establish the connection between obesity and insulin. 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.

When you understand metabolic 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 failure to recognize that each person has a unique biochemistry 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 such as the Atkins diet. Although they may lose weight and feel good initially, it is ultimately 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.

Additionally, in the Atkins program very little attention is directed toward encouraging people to focus on the quality of their food. Dr. Atkins’ newer books provide some mention of the need for this, but the mentions are brief and cursory.

Fried meats like bacon and heavily processed meats like lunchmeats are fraught with their own long-term complications. While they may promote weight loss in the short term, it is shortsighted to load your body up with trans fats, which have been associated with cancers and chronic diseases.

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