I have permission to pass this on.  Kudos to Julie for speaking up.....  two
parts because of length......   Oliva
> To Whom it may concern,
>
> There was a time when I expected, relied on CNN to report FAQ. This is no
> longer the case, as it seems your pocket book is bigger than your
> journalistic responsibility to report accurate information.....Please note
> the following STUDIES done on the low carb lifestyle and please make your
> low fat advertisers realize that responsible accurate information is
> foremost in CNN's values......like it used to be:
>
> Studies on Atkin's Diet
>
> Early Results From New Clinical Studies Begin To Confirm Atkins' Low-Carb
> Nutritional Theories Effect On Serum Lipids May Represent Breakthrough
> Research Pointing To  New,Horizons In Cholesterol Control
> Updated 10:59 AM ET February 16, 2000 NEW YORK Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/
>
> Preliminary results from two scientific studies, both to be released  on
> Friday, lend substantial support to the Atkins
> Diet as,an effective, safe and healthful approach to weight loss.   Early
> results from the first prospective clinical study of
> the Atkins Diet conducted at the Durham VA Medical Center will be
> presented Friday, February 18, 2000 at the annual meeting of the
Southern
> Society of General Internal Medicine in  New Orleans.
>
> The second study, retrospective research, comes out of the Atkins
> Center for Complementary Medicine in New York City. Of perhaps   greatest
> significance, the Durham VA study clearly demonstrated that  the diet
> positively impacts on serum cholesterol levels, lowering   triglycerides,
> while  significantly raising HDL, commonly referred to  as "good
> cholesterol." According to the Durham VA study principal
> investigator, Eric C. Westman, M.D. M.H.S., assistant professor of
> Medicine, Department of Medicine, Duke University,"The purpose of the
study
> was to determine the effect of a very low-carbohydrate diet,  nutritional
> supplementation and exercise on body weight, serum
> chemistries and serum lipids over a four-month period.
>
> We treated 41 mildly obese, healthy community volunteers in an
> outpatient research clinic. The patients followed a program  including
> reduced carbohydrate intake to fewer than 20 grams per
> day." The results showed that over a four-month period, there was an
> average weight loss of 21.3 pounds. There was a significant reduction  in
> serum total cholesterol of 6.1% reduction in serum triglycerides  of
39.9%,
> reduction  in cholesterol/HDL ratio of 18.9%, and a
> significant increase in HDL of 7.2%.
>
> There were no serious adverse effects of the diet program. "This
> dietary program works for weight loss," stated Dr. Westman, "and
> surprisingly, can improve serum lipids over a four-month  period.
Because
> of the changes in blood chemistries, further research is   needed to
resolve
> the long-term effects  of these metabolic changes,  especially in people
> with other medical conditions. "This could   represent a turning point in
> the role of nutrition in cholesterol   control," explained Westman. "In
four
> short months on the Atkins   Diet, we were able  to confirm scientifically
> what Dr. Atkins
> states he has seen in his practice over the past decades.
>
> The diet lowers cholesterol and triglycerides and raises HDL, the
> so-called good cholesterol, which may represent an entirely new  approach
to
> the control and prevention of heart disease."
> Although the study is now being continued to observe such long-term
> effects in the original study subjects and others,  during the   original
> four-month period, weight loss was only one of the benefits  experienced
by
> the dieters. An  overwhelming percentage of subjects reported other
dramatic
> beneficial effects including more energy (95%), less heartburn (87%),
> improved mood (85%), less menstrual
> cramping (71% of females), and less pre-menstrual symptoms (67% of
> females). Furthermore, none of the safety concerns voiced by the
> spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association during their meeting
last
> October held up in the study. This very low-carbohydrate program led to
> statistically  significant positive changes in blood chemistry and major
> organ function.
>
> Over the four months, the study subjects experienced no adverse
> effects to the liver or kidneys. The study subjects
> were all classified as mildly obese (BMI from 26 to 33), ranged in  age
from
> 18 to 65 years old, expressed a desire to
> lose weight and were generally healthy by screening history, physical
> examination and laboratory tests. Excluded patients included pregnant  or
> nursing mothers, anyone who had used a  weight loss diet of any  kind in
the
> six months preceding the study (including low-carbohydrate diets), anyone
> who had used any prescription medication within the
> two months preceding the diet or a prescription diet pill in the six
> months preceding the study.
>
> The subjects followed the formal Atkins Diet including use of  recommended
> nutritional supplements, specifically a multivitamin formula, a fish oil
> formula and a dieters' formula. Subjects
> were also advised to engage in 20 minutes of some form of aerobic exercise
> for a minimum of three times per week.  Compliance was monitored by group
> meetings, laboratory tests and personal diaries.
>
>
> The study also showed some of the minor and short-term effects that
> are commonly reported by Atkins Dieters as they undergo the adaptation
phase
> of the diet including headache,  constipation and halitosis. "Clearly
> ongoing long-term research is necessary to fully understand these benefits
> and potential problems," explained Westman. In fact, the Durham VA and
other
> research institutions have already initiated
> long-term follow-up studies designed to increase sample size and observe
the
> effect of the diet on other medical populations including hyperlipidemia,
> diabetes mellitus gastroesophageal reflux disorder (GERD), sleep apnea and

> morbid obesity.
>
> Research is also planned to explain the mechanism of the diet as it
> pertains to weight loss, lipid effects and insulin
> sensitivity. The Durham VA results are supported by interim results from
the
> Experimental Study of the Efficacy and Safety of the Atkins Diet on Weight
> Loss and Other Metabolic Functions  also to be released Friday in New York
> City by The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine. Using multiple
> selection criteria, including a BMI greater
> than or equal to 23 for males and greater than or equal to 22 for females
> and dietary treatment for at least one year, 319 patients were
> retrospectively selected from the clinic files presently existent.
>
> Patients also had to be relatively healthy and not have some serious
> pathology like cancer or AIDS. Data from these files on weight, blood
> pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol,  LDL, HDL cholesterol/HDL
ratio,
> glucose and kidney and liver function were examined. Weight changes over
the
> course  of treatment for all 319 patients show a steady reduction for a
> total of 17 lbs. While modest, this reduction  indicates that the protocol
> has a substantial and robust effect, since it shows up regardless of
degree
> of compliance to  the diet. In other words, this year-long retrospective
> study established that even when patients who follow the diet minimally,
or
> hardly at all are grouped together with those who comply well, the dietary
> effect still shows up consistently over the course of treatment.
>
> But perhaps, echoing the Durham VA findings, the most exciting  result is
> that out of the 319 patients there was no overall increase in
cardiovascular
> risk factors. In fact over the course  of the year, blood pressure
dropped,
> trigylcerides dropped, HDL rose, and the cholesterol/HDL ratio improved.
> "Everyone admits that you lose weight on the Atkins Diet," explained
Colette
> Heimowitz, M.Sc., Director of Nutrition for The Atkins Center, "but we're
> consistently observing dramatic improvement in cardiovascular risk
factors.
>
> Most importantly, the findings, in both the Atkins' retrospective
analysis
> and the Durham VA prospective study, showed dramatic increases in HDL, the
> good cholesterol. That's remarkable  and could represent a breakthrough in
> cholesterol treatment. No one has been able to get HDL to increase on any
> of the low-fat diets, on the American Heart Association Diet or on the
> government-based food pyramid diet. "We  looked closely at all of the
> concerns
> about the Atkins Diet voiced by the American Dietetic Association and
other
> organizations and individuals: concerns about renal function, liver
> function, concerns about excess protein, kidney stones, etc. These are the
> points that the skeptics keep pounding on with regard to long-term safety.
> "Now we have  documentation for 319 patients studied over an average span
of
> about one year showing that changes in kidney and  renal function tests,
> creatinine, BUN, BUN/creatinine ratios, AST, ALT, and total bilirubin were
> very small, and  mostly in the desirable direction.
>
> If the diet has serious consequences for liver and kidney function,
> they might be expected to show up well within a year time span. Such was
> clearly not the case. In short, however you look  at the data from the
study
> there is every indication that the diet not only confers health benefits
but
> does so  safely."
>
> The Durham VA Medical Center Study is currently entering its
>   seventh month, with the vast majority of the study
> subjects volunteering to continue for the foreseeable future. Dr.
> Westman's collaborators on the project at the Durham VA are William S.
> Yancy, M.D., Keith Tomlin, Christine Perkins, and Joel  Edman. Complete
and
> long-term findings for both studies are currently being compiled for Fall
> 2000 publication.
>
>   Please contact Melissa Sodolski, 212-827-3745, or Gina Mangiaracina,
>                  212-827-3751, both of The MWW Group,
>                     for The Atkins Center
>
>
>
>                     SAN DIEGO, CA (June 15, 1999)
>
> A very high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet has been shown to have
> astounding effects in helping type 2 diabetics lose weight and improve
their
> blood lipid profiles.
>
> The results of three studies involving such a diet, which is similar to,
but
> has a few key differences from the famous"Dr. Atkins Diet", were presented
> today at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society.
> Dr. James Hays, an endocrinologist and director of the Limestone
> Medical Center in Wilmington, DE, admitted that the concept of a high-fat
> diet in people who are already at higher  risk of cardiovascular disease
> might see incongruous. Nonetheless, this study of 157 men and women with
> type 2 diabetes showed an impressive benefit in body mass index (BMI)
> triglycerides, HDL, LDL and HbA . Most people are encouraged to reduce the
> amount of fat in their diets, particularly saturated fats, and diabetics
in
> particular are advised to reduce their overall caloric intake, Dr. Hays
> explained in an interview in San Diego during the conference.
>
> Whereas a normal diet would be in the order of 1800 to 2100
> calories, with 60 percent of calories coming from carbohydrates and 30
> percent from fat, patients in this diet were restricted to 1800 calories
per
> day and were encouraged to get 50 percent of their caloric intake from
fat,
> and just  20 percent from carbohydrates. The balance of 30 percent would
> come from proteins.
>
> A whopping 90 percent of the fat content in their diets was saturated fat,
> compared with just 10 percent that was monounsaturated fat.
>
> "I think this is at least worth considering for any diabetic," Dr.
> Hays said in an interview. "The thing many diabetics coming into the
office
> don't realize is that other forms of carbohydrates will increase their
> sugars, too. Dieticians will point them toward complex carbohydrates ...
> oatmeal and whole wheat  bread, but we have to deliver the message that
> these are carbohydrates that increase blood sugars, too."
>
> Higher-fat diets, on the other hand, seem to make the person feel
> full faster so they eat less; higher-fat diets also
> tend to reduce postprandial hypoglycemia so the patients feel better
> after eating. They were able to eat all the meat and cheese they wanted,
but
> as for carbohydrates, they are restricted to eating
> unprocessed foods, mainly fresh fruit and vegetables, he added.
>
> Subjects recruited into the study (84 men, 73 women) were all type 2
> diabetics and were required to undergo a standard American Diabetes
> Association modified diet for one full year  before entry into the trial.
> Over the course of one year, the subjects achieved a mean decline in total
> cholesterol of  between 231 and 190 mg/dl. Triglycerides declined from 229
> to 182 mg/dl.
> Low-density lipoproteins (LDL cholesterol) fell from 133 to 105
> mg/dl, while HDL increased from 44 to 47 mg/dl.
> The average weight loss among subjects in the study was in the order  of
40
> pounds, Dr. Hays said.
> By the end of the one-year study, he added, 90 percent of the
> patients had achieved ADA (American Diabetes Association) targets for
HbA1c,
> HDL, LDL and triglycerides.
>
> As for the response from cardiologists who see a high-fat diet as anathema
> to what they have been instructing their patients for years now, Dr. Hays
> said he has three cardiologist patients  who are now on the diet.
>
> "If you have a diet that results in weight loss, lower cholesterol,  and a
> better lipid profile, eventually, everybody will be eating that way. It's
> going to come whether we like it or not."
>