Should be the NEW food pyramid.
Written: Oct 08 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Low to no Sugar Intake - it works!
Cons: May cause hypoglycemia and kidney problems.
|
|
|
| laserred's Full Review: Atkins Diet |
Dieting is a personal subject. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. As a Nurse Practitioner I have tried numerous diets, some worked others didn't until I tried the Atkin's Diet which is based on High Protein and Low Carbohydrates. I began losing weight but I wasn't used to eating so much meat and cheese. I learned how to be creative and manage the diet to meet my needs. IT WORKED, I lost weight.
One evening I was driving home and I felt funny like I was going to pass out and I had an instant need to get something sweet in my body or I felt impending doom. Shaking, weak and dizzy I pulled into a gas station and drank orange juice which relieved the symptoms. I had suffered hypoglycemia - low blood sugar. For those who do not know - hypoglycemia is very dangerous because your body needs some sugar in your blood to feed itself and low blood sugar can be fatal (deadly) if not reversed. Your brain depends on sugar to function and if it isn't fed you can lapse in a coma and possibly never awaken. One piece of advice for those on any high protein low carb diet is to carry something with SUGAR in it like diabetics do and if you feel symptoms of low blood sugar eat candy and it will reverse the symptoms.
How does the Atkin's diet work? Our bodies absorb food and break it down. Sugar/carbohydrates are broken down with insulin and stored in the body as fat. When we don't eat or when we need sugar our body breaks down the stored fat and turns it back into sugar. Proteins are the building blocks of our body Amino Acids and are not stored as fats, proteins are used to build muscle and other things.
When you eat high protein food and little or no sugar/carbs your body will require sugar and since it's not available from your diet your body breaks down your stored fat and burns it for fuel and that is why you lose weight, your body burns the stored fat.
Protein is good for the body but too much protein can cause problems such as too much uric acid which causes gout and kidney problems. That is why Atkin's diet recommends drinking lots of water to help keep down the acid and flushing the kidney's.
Carbs are required by our body for energy but when we eat too many carbs they are stored as fat (Protein isn't stored as fat). Atkin's diet limits the amount of carbs you eat and when the body needs glucose (sugar) the liver breaks down the stored fat and releases it into the body as glucose (glyconeogenesis). Eventually when you eat more protein and burn your stored fat (sugar) then the body loses the stored fat and you lose weight. One problem with breaking down the stored fat in the body is ketoacidosis a by product of breaking down the fat and it can cause kidney problems another reason why it is so important to drink lots of water while on the Atkin's diet.
Atkin's or any other high protein diet could be modified to be safer for the body. Here's what may work:
40% protein
40% vegetables
20% carbs (bread-rice-potato-fruit)avoid refined sugar
The food pyramid should be turned upside down and totally revised to resemble the Atkin's diet which would be healthy for all except those with kidney and other metabolic problems. If diabetics followed the current food pyramid with high carbs they would have more problems. Diabetic patients do very well on the Atkin's diet especially with the percentages mentioned above. The current food pyramid suggests most of our diet should be carbs and may be responsible for the rise in diabetics. Diabetics who follow Atkin's diet do very well and their blood sugars have much better control and have to take less or no diabetic medication.
Some diets will cause you to gain weight and cause high blood sugar and the reason why is they are mostly carbs (sugar). Read the labels and see for yourself. Many of the diet products offered are high carbs - check it out. Our bodies don't require high carbs and high carbs can cause more problems then weight gain.
If you need a diet Atkin's is good for weight loss but percautions should be followed. Drink plenty of water and carry sugar. Atkin's diet is only for those who do not have kidney or uric acid problems. People who want to diet should always have a physicial examination by their physician to make sure the body is in good shape for a diet and there are no mitigating problems.
With the Atkin's diet there is no need to buy pre-packaged expensive food. You can use the food from the grocery store. Basically if you want to diet don't eat bread, rice, potato or sugar and eat plenty of meat, fish, chicken and lots of vegetables and a little fruit you will do well.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
laserred
|
|
Member: Dorothy Smith
Location: Franklin, NC, USA
Reviews written: 63
Trusted by: 6 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.