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And, yet, another article.

The Atkins Factor
Heavy cream, bacon, pork rinds, beef, cheese, and butter -- all contributors
to long-term obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases --
are lately being marketed as a "miracle" diet and healthy foods. It's a
money-making ploy if there ever was one. Sadly, Americans seem to be eating
it up by the pound.

What everybody's talking about is the popular "Atkins Diet" -- a plan
crafted to appeal to the public's need for shortcuts and quick fixes. Robert
Atkins tells his patients and readers what they want to hear: Carbohydrates
(which include fresh fruits and vegetables) are making them fat, and
generous amounts of protein and fat will keep them thin.

Atkins insists that "carbs" are responsible for high cholesterol levels,
obesity and other health problems, though cholesterol only occurs in animal
products, and most high-carb foods are low in fat. Sales of Atkins' book
have risen, as have U.S. cattle and pig prices. Pork rinds, the only fried
snack the diet allows, have climbed in popularity by more than 15% in one
year.

The staggering numbers of those who have jumped on the high-protein,
high-fat bandwagon portend disastrous health consequences. This protein load
can damage the kidneys and leach calcium from the bones, and the dearth of
fiber disrupts the digestive tract.

George Blackburn, director of the Center for the Study of Nutrition and
Medicine at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a researcher
who studies high-protein diets, points out other annoyingly common side
effects: bad breath, constipation, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, irritability
and lightheadedness.

Somehow Atkins managed to ignore the many population studies, notably the
Framingham Heart Study, showing that diets high in meat and saturated fat
increase risks for problems such as heart disease, colon cancer, prostate
cancer, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, obesity, and a shortened
lifespan. He also ignores the fact that the planet's thinnest people live in
Asia, where rice, noodles and other high-carbohydrate foods are staples.

When Asians abandon those foods in favor of McDonald's and other Western
fare, obesity becomes commonplace. Research studies show that, on average,
people switching to a vegetarian diet lose an average of 10% of their body
weight. Indeed, without limiting calories at all, a vegan diet (free of all
animal products) trims about one pound per week, and that's even without
getting beneficial exercise and without dodging spaghetti, rice, bread or --
dare we say -- the occasional cookie.

To someone like Atkins, a vegetarian diet apparently is out of the question.
But how would he explain the fact that heart attacks are the most common
form of death in the United States, and yet the risk of heart attack for a
man consuming a non-meat diet is cut dramatically? And what would Atkins say
about vegetarians having one-third the incidence of colon cancer as
meat-eaters?

It's no surprise that the American Dietetic Association has called the
Atkins Diet "a nightmare," or that thousands of doctors and dietitians are
speaking out against this irresponsible medicine. It turns out, the Atkins
Diet only works when dieters also cut calories. The regimen is a throwback
to old low-calorie diets of the 1970s. They promised plenty, but delivered
only temporary weight loss.

Those who are serious about taking off pounds, keeping them off and
improving overall health should know that carbohydrates actually boost
overall metabolism. Foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as rice,
pasta, fruits, vegetables and beans, help the thyroid gland burn calories
more efficiently.

Americans can live without bogus and potentially dangerous diet plans to
lose weight and stay healthy. They just need to follow good, old-fashioned
common sense: cut fat and cholesterol, add fresh fiber-rich foods, exercise
regularly, get to know vegetarian foods, and never fear carbohydrates again.