Is the Atkins Diet Harming You?

Over the last few years high protein, low carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Diet have been the choice of many. Perhaps the stars have been the biggest endorsers and we have seen some outstanding weight loss results in the media due to this type of eating plan. But low carbohydrate diets including the Atkins diet have been at the centre of controversy by claims that they are not all what they seem and could be potentially damaging to long term health.

The Atkins Diet is based around keeping carbohydrate intake to an absolute minimum whilst focusing on eating meals predominantly made up of fats and protein. In a normal diet carbohydrate is converted in to glucose which is used by the body for energy. With the Atkins Diet, the absence of carbohydrate means that our body has to take its energy from other sources, in this case fat and protein. However, in order to do this the body has to go through a major metabolic change so that it can create an alternative energy source. The body produces keyto acids to use in place of glucose. That is why these types of diets are also known as Keytogenic Diets.

However there are certain risks attached to this type of eating plan which participants should be aware of. Research suggests that use of these types of diets in the short term appeared to be effective for weight loss in overweight adults. But its suggested that the long term affects of such a diet could be potentially damaging.

Low carbohydrate, high protein and high fat diets come with the following possible long term risk factors; Kidney damage is possible due to the fact that the kidneys have to work extra hard to breakdown protein. This increased strain on the kidneys could potentially cause kidney failure. This type of diet is not suitable for anyone who has a history of kidney complaints.

Another medical problem that has also been associated to long term use of high protein diets is Brittle Bone disease or Osteoporosis. The reason for this is down to the production of keto acids for the use of energy. This makes the body very acidic. In order to maintain a balanced pH (the ratio of alkaline to acid) the body takes Calcium from its resources within the bones. If the body cannot keep up with this extra demand for Calcium then result will be that the bones become less dense making them more prone to fractures and breaks, Osteoporosis.

A long term lack of carbohydrate can lead to vitamin and dietary fibre deficiency which can be the root cause of all sorts of problems. Research suggests that anyone on this type of diet ensures that they take additional supplements to allow for the lack of vitamins and fibre.

The attention created by the media regarding high protein low carbohydrate diets has been relatively positive. However are these diets the answer to long term health? Any diet that is dramatically going to change the way in which you eat and is not balanced (i.e. Does not contain the necessary balance of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals) should be treated with caution.

Ideally you need an eating plan that will provide you with a healthy balanced diet that you can follow for the long term without the possible health risks. At the end of the day the only way to permanently say goodbye to that excess belly fat is to make positive lifestyle changes by eating a healthy balanced diet and increasing daily activity with regular exercise. This should be a permanent change and not just something you consider being a temporary fix, which is what many fad diets are about.

Making drastic changes to your diet is something you should consider very carefully. Every one is different and what turns out to be successful for one person is not necessarily the right thing for another. When embarking on a new eating plan consider the following points; is the diet healthy, balanced and contains all the vital nutrients? Does the diet offer a variety of healthy fresh foods? Does the diet contain specialised replacement meal packs that are full of additives and artificial flavourings? Does this diet require me to sacrifice an essential food group that could leave me lacking in certain nutrients? Could I live on this eating plan for the rest of my life? You know what the correct answers to these questions should be. If any new eating plan does not live up to your expectations then the chances are its not worth the paper its written on.