Claims:
The Atkin’s diet is a low carbohydrate food regimen that requires the dieter to strictly limit their intake of all carbohydrates such as starches and sugars. Limiting the body’s consumption of carbohydrates insures that the body is not able to convert excess glucose into fat. As a stated benefit, the diet also claims that the reduced intake of sugars and starches will keep your blood levels from dipping. This will help increase alertness while avoiding energy crashes. Robert Atkin, the creator of the Atkin’s diet, encourages dieters to instead focus on eating healthier fats that contain omega- 3 fatty acids. As featured on the diet’s marketing website www.atkins.com, the conception of the diet stems from the process of ketosis and
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The studies were conducted on 322 participants who were overweight, most of whom had a BMI of 31. The test subjects were predominantly male, with 86% being male, and 14% being female. Weight lost was most prevalent during the first six months of the trial, for the subsequent year, weight lost became much slower, with many gaining back some weight they lost. At the end of the two yearlong trial, participants lost an average of 4.6 pounds.
Consequently, the Atkin’s diet did work to some extent, however it was mainly beneficial to people who were eating copious amounts of carbohydrates and refined sugars. The danger occurs when a person who has a normal intake of carbohydrates begins the diet, this could eventually lead to a carbohydrate deficiency.
The human body requires carbohydrates in the process of glycolysis (White B. 2000), in which ATP is produced. During periods of starvation, the bodies enters ketosis, where fat is used as a substitute for glucose. However, this process does not yield nearly as much energy as glycolysis and leads to the production of ketones. This is dangerous because the presence of too much ketones in the blood stream will offset the pH levels and make it
It is important to manage the carbohydrate intake week-to-week (Atkins par. 7). The third and fourth phases of the Atkins diet are for maintenance phases. Dieters should avoid any foods that could possibly cause weight gain, and continue to watch the intake of carbohydrates. The intake of carbohydrates may be increased during this phase but still must be managed (Atkins par. 8). The Atkins diet has had some controversies and some successes as well. This diet is a high-fat diet and the government health agencies only recommend thirty percent of fat in our diets. The Atkins diet requires the dieter to consume much more fat than that, easily (Atkins par. 9). A success that the Atkins dieters have experienced is not only weight loss, but an improvement in health as well (Atkins par. 10). Although this diet has been very time consuming for dieters, it has had wondrous outcomes.
According to Mark Sisson (2009), longer-term ketosis can result from fasting or staying on a low-carbohydrate diet, and ketosis that’s deliberately induced serves as a medical intervention for epilepsy. In glycolysis, higher levels of insulin block release of fat from adipose tissues and promote storage of body fat, while the body is in ketosis, fat reserves are continually released and consumed as energy (Sisson, 2009, p.47). This is why ketosis is referred to as
The Medical and sports nutrition establishment are horrified by the concept of low carbohydrate and ketogenic diets. While studies are being released almost daily proving the superiority of low carb diets for fat loss, the medical establishment warns against trying them as the long term health risks are "unknown". Apparently it is a case of 'better the devil you know than the devil you don 't '.
The Atkin’s diet is one of the most popular diets that emphasizes weight lose in a short amount of time without the need for exercise. Patients under the diet need to consume foods that are high in fat and protein such as cheeses, hamburgers, bacon and heavy creams. Foods that are high in starches and sugar are not to be consumed within the diet because they will affect the two main causes of weight gain within the body. The two main causes of weight gain are high concentration levels of sugar and insulin within the body. To decide which cause can increase weight gain can difficult decision to decipher.
Nobody knows what kind of impact this diet can have on your body. The body needs carbs for energy, cutting them out can mean a significant decrease in energy. The Atkins diet has been commercialized as having no risk, and is completely healthy. But the diet even caused heart problems in the creator of the diet, Dr. Atkins. Choosing to be on a diet without knowing how it could affect you in the long run is a very risky thing. Even though there have not been any studies on it, it is clear to see that this diet is not doing anything good for the
Here is the basic nature of the diet including the reasoning for how it works.
Despite the fact that researchers found the results statistically significant to reject the null hypothesis, Tanner (2007) presents opposing viewpoints from other researchers. The lead researcher is quoted as saying "There's not a ton of weight loss here" (Tanner, 2007). Many factors challenge the practical significance of this study: the significance level p < .05, the marginal overall weight loss in obese women, the limited sample studied and the inability to apply the results to other populations, and the confounding factor all indicate that the results are inappropriate to be used inferentially.
After ketones are created they then need to be released through either the mouth or in our urine, which creates bad breath, this release leaves people with a sweet yet pungent odor in their mouth. According to researchers, continuing carbohydrate consumption will cause severe side effects, which can potentially be detrimental to the body.
The Atkin’s diet has a food pyramid of its own that resembles one done by the FDA. Instead of the whole grains at the bottom like the FDA’s, proteins fill up the biggest part of the Atkin’s pyramid. According to the Atkin’s Diet, vegetables are the next step up on the list rather than sharing the step with fruits on the FDA’s. The FDA also gives recommendations on how much food a person should eat whereas the diet does not if it is in the correct food group. Atkin’s is very anti- carbohydrates and the FDA recommends consuming some carbs in the diet. In order to make this diet line up more with the FDA, it needs to have carbs added back in to an extent. The amount of protein people consume on this diet can become
It allows the person to eat food that normally are not allowed when on a typical diet (I.E bacon, dressing, cheese). Having this ability to eat more could result in easier success in following this diet. Atkins also provides products that follow the diet like snack bars, candy, premade meals, snacks, and recipes to help the person still give into their cravings without the guilt and negative impact on the body. I believe that over time, like with any fad diet, a person might get bored of eating foods that are low carbohydrate and then start to struggle with that. I also think this diet may be hard to follow if the person is unable to cook for themselves or are in a tough situation financially. Atkins requires a lot of cooking and if the person can not cook for themselves it's more costly so if someone does not have these resources like a college student it may be harder to maintain. The biggest issue I have found with this fad diet is accessibility. It is very hard to go to a restaurant and get someone that is low in carbohydrates without making a big deal about the situation. When given the proper tools I do believe the Atkins diet is
The ketogenic diet also known as keto diet is a low-carb diet which is aimed at putting the body in ketosis or fasting mode. During this state, the body derives most of its energy from ketones in the blood. Unknown to most people, the keto diet has been used for years to deal with ill health. Here are the health benefits of the diet:
By following the guidelines of the Atkin’s Diet, the lack of carbohydrates in the diet induces high amounts of ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are the fats that the body is not able to metabolize completely because there are not enough carbohydrates available to aid fat digestion. Therefore in order for the body to maintain proper function, also known as homeostasis, it burns the ketone bodies off as energy, break-down nutrients from other resources, such as the calcium from bones, and limit the amount of energy to parts of the body to maintain homeostasis. These physiological responses seem to occur consistently for dieters on low-carbohydrate diets whereas non-restricted carbohydrate dieters were rarely observed to have any of these types of responses. In fact, studies show that balance meals of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats provided in a non-restricted carbohydrate diet provides the body with sufficient nutrients to generate enough energy to maintain proper bodily function.
Adkins and other low-carb plans work simply by limiting carbohydrates from the diet. In place of the carbohydrates removed from the diet, protein is increased. What happens after digestion is the interesting part. Over a short period of time, Triglycerides are reduced and High-Density Lipoprotein, or HDL (the good cholesterol) increases which is excellent for those with Hypertension and of heart/blood-related issues. Blood pressure and blood sugar levels will also decrease and stabilize which proves effective in reversing Type II Diabetes. Insulin levels are also lowered on low-carb plans. Insulin works by signaling the body to go into lypogenesis, or sugar burning, fat producing mode and also to prevent the body from burning fat, or lypolysis.
1 - Being in ketosis allows the body to process fat and use it as fuel in a way that no other state allows as easily. Carbohydrates are much easier to convert and use as fuel, so when you are providing plenty of these to your body, you need to burn and use all of those before your body will finally begin converting and using fat as fuel!
Many people are familiar with a low carbohydrate diet and the keto diet falls within those parameters, but it has some distinct additions which are considered paramount to its