Atkins

Low carbsÐ'....High risk?

How is it that we can make sense of the Atkins diet? Have we really looked deeper into how high protein, low carb diets actually work. What are the benefits as well as the disadvantages? I believe this topic is extremely important due to the millions of Americans that rely on these diets for weight loss and or a healthier lifestyle. In researching this hot topic I have found many of the negative affects that we do not learn about and I will exploit them as well as educate the reader on why I believe the Atkins diet along with all of its copycats are putting people at high risk.

The first topic I would like to touch upon is; "diet misconception." I think it is would be fair enough to assume that when most people think of dieting they think of weight loss. This is not necessarily true. Changing you diet could simply mean that you are eating a different variety foods than you usually do. It does not always mean that you are changing your amount of consumption. Maybe someone wants to add more fish to their diet and cut down on red meat or possibly just add more fruit and vegetables. There are a couple things that one should research before they decide to go on a diet. One of the main questions you should address ask yourself is; what kind of diet you want to go on and what are the goals you want to reach? How does this diet programs work and it is backed up with medical documentation. Not all diets are for you; in fact the majority of advertised diets do not have any medical research. Every body type is different and so it is important for one to understand this before they decide to go on a diet. It is a good idea to what out what a healthy weight is for you height, age, and gender. Most diets do not consider the nutrition factors as much as they consider the benefits of weight loss. Nutrition is much more important then weight loss because even if you are losing weight you may not be providing you body with the nutrients it needs to function properly. You must sustain yourself with nutrition otherwise physically and mentally you will not operate to your full potential. For example; many think that eating salads are healthy and they can be however if you are eating iceberg lettuce and dressing you are getting nothing but saturated fat from the dressing. You must balance your diet and understand the foods that hold key nutrients for your health. Take the time to do a little research about what foods taste good to you but also provide you with natural antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals. These are all things that the Atkins diet, as well as other diets fail to mention when you look at them. There is no such thing as a miracle diet and the any diets that advertise losing more than 2-4 pounds in a week are using methods that are unhealthy. Dieting certainly takes a lot of self discipline and most people want to see results fast and that is why they tend to stray more towards the diets that advertise weight lost faster which in reality is not normal, and in fact quite dangerous.

The Atkins diet focuses on consuming more protein and fat and less carbohydrates like pasta, rice, bread, fruit, vegetables etc. Carbohydrates are simply broken into two categories; simple carbs and complex carbs. Simple carbs which consist mainly of candy, fruit juices, soda etc release insulin quicker into you blood steam and have caffeine like results so you get a jolt of energy for a short amount of time. Complex carbs on the other hand get into you blood stream slower and take longer to break down however they sustain you longer and in most cases provide you with nutrients. The Atkins diet singles out carbohydrates as the "bad guy" and the

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