At 04:26 PM 7/11/97 -0400, Dean wrote:
>For the life of me, I'm amazed at how often Atkins gets slammed for
>supplements.  He really doesn't overemphasize them at all.  The amount of
>supplements he recommends are -not- extreme in number,

As someone who has a gag reflex every time I have
to swallow a pill, *any* pill, it most certainly is extreme.
He says (on page 100 of NDR) "my average patient takes
over 30 vitamin pills a day" and you're supposed to take
even more if you have specific problems, as you noted.

>nor are they things you can't duplicate easily if you
>don't want to buy them from him.

Vitamins are not cheap. If you try to cut corners in what
you buy, you get junk that has dextrose and lactose and
all kinds of nasty things in them, as you point out. The
costs skyrocket when you get into "specialized" things
such as CoQ10, L-Carnatine, Amino Acids and whatnot.
In my first month of Atkins I probably spent $200.00 just
on vitamins. I was going crazy trying to match what he says
in his book, and I was nowhere near successful.

I never said (or meant to imply) that I thought suppliments
were useless. I just said I don't like taking them. I sure
don't like buying them. I do get scared when I don't
take any. I'm eating a 95% meat diet because right now
I'm sick of all vegetables except broccoli (hi Karl!) and
mushrooms and it won't be long before I get tired of
them. I'm not much on fish and chicken except for
every now and then, say, once every two weeks. So
that leaves steak, steak and more steak. And jerky.
I can't see myself ever getting tired of steak and
jerky. What kind of vitamins am I missing out on
with that kind of diet? So I get scared and take
a bunch of pills. Then my stools go from odorless
and small to really stinky and loose. Yuck. (Actually,
that happens whenever I ingest "forbidden fruits"
and not just vitamins. Strangely, it doesn't happen
with the 2 medications I take, Synthroid and
Wellbutrin).

Anyway, it seems I either have to force myself
to eat a bunch of foods that I'm not into, defeating
the purpose of an enjoyable diet, or take a bunch
of pills that my digestive system doesn't seem to
like. That's why I was complaining.

Btw Dean, I want to take this opportunity to tell
you that I think all of your posts are highly
informative, thought-provoking and enjoyable,
and I always look forward to them.

Vickie