<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

At the risk of being shot as the messenger, since I'd seen Dr. Atkins' and
such diets mentioned here so often lately, I thought I'd pass along what
"Tufts University HEalth & Nutrition Letter" (Vol 16, No. 12, Feb, 1999)
has to say about high protein diets. Each may do what they wish with the
information:

". . . as we've said in the past, high-protein diets espoused in such books
as "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," "Enter the Zone," and "Protein Power"
are high on gimmicks and extremely low on facts about what it takes to eat
heathfully while trimming down. The simple fact is that weight loss isn't
based on how much of your diet is protein. Shedding pounds depends on how
many calories you eat, whether from protein, carbohydrate, or fat -- and
how many you burn through exercise."

They also say that Americans don't need help with protein intake; that most
of them get about 30 percent more than needed every day. "Any excess
calories coming from protein (or carbohydrate or fat) that aren't converted
to energy or otherwise used by the body are simply stored as fat."

Obviously if you have found it works for you, you should probably continue
with it in spite of what anyone says. I would. But I still thought I'd pass
this along.

I might also mention that in the same issue another article offers evidence
that those 25 percent of the population who suffer from "syndrome X" (those
who are hyperinsulinemic, that is secrete too much of the hormone insulin)
should cut down on carbohydrates, even if they must substitute some fat for
it (especially poly- and monounsaturated fat). CArbohydrates tend to raise
the triglicerides and they make the LDL particles smaller and heavier and
therefore more likely to form obstructive clots.

Not my opinion. "I only know what I read in the papers." -vance