Atkins holds little weight in larger health scheme

By Christina Asavareungchai, KRT Campus

On the official Atkins Web site, low-carbohydrate desserts beckon alluringly. Atkins-approved chocolate tortes, brownies and cakes invite you to indulge, guilt-free.

The message is clear: You can eat foods high in fat and calories, and still lose weight.

Lured by the prospect of easy weight loss, 17 million Americans follow a formal, low-carb diet and another 42 million informally restrict carbs, according to Knight Ridder. Atkins’ popularity will continue through 2004, predicts www.forbes.com.

This phenomenon demonstrates the new American way, the Creed of Total Laziness, where individuals look for shortcuts to success and ways to avoid actual work.

For years, masses of sedentary couch potatoes have tried to discover the secret to easy weight loss. Enter the Atkins diet. It recommends that 20 percent of daily calories come from saturated fat—double the American Heart Association’s recommendation.

Atkins fans eat “liberal amounts of eggs, meat and fish,” and “liberal amounts of fats and oils are permitted. This includes butter, olive oil, mayonnaise,” says atkins.com.

A typical breakfast consists of scrambled eggs and turkey sausages, or smoked salmon, cream cheese rollups and two hard-boiled eggs. Bunless hamburgers and hot dogs, in addition to crust-less pizzas, are acceptable.

While dieters consume artery-clogging animal products, they limit their intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Because these contain evil carbohydrates, the Web site advises, “Think of fruit as a condiment rather than a snack. Dice that wedge of Granny Smith into a salad, or slice it thinly and saute it in a little butter as a garnish for a pork chop.”

OK, so instead of eating healthy fruit, I should fry it in butter, and use it to decorate a fatty pork chop?

It’s official: Overweight folks can keep eating junk food instead of health food. Only now, they have the support of a multimillion-dollar industry and the biased medical advice of the paid advisory group, the Atkins Physician Council.

To accelerate weight loss, the Atkins team recommends exercise. The Web site features photographs of toned women running and muscular men jump-roping. They look fit and energized.

However, the Web site does not adequately address diet-related fatigue. When the body lacks carbohydrates, it switches to starvation mode and uses an alternative energy source: ketones, a byproduct from the breakdown of fat. This results in low energy levels.

Because athletes need energy and stored carbs for fuel, exercise may be difficult if not impossible while on Atkins. Inactive overeaters must delight in the phrase, “I can’t exercise because of my diet.”

Eating fatty foods, eliminating entire food groups and being unable to exercise because of an unbalanced diet is ridiculous. No quick fix or gimmick will help you lose weight without compromising your health, no matter what marketers try to make you believe.

Fad diets and miraculous overnight cures will likely end up hurting more than helping.

For example, the Atkins diet is blamed for the death of 16-year-old Rachel Huskey. After losing 15 pounds, she collapsed during a history lesson due to arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat.

In addition to heart problems, Atkins can cause osteoporosis, constipation, dehydration, kidney stones and eating disorders.

The new American way, which advocates the easy way out, should be replaced with common sense and a core work ethic. No matter how desperate you are to lose weight, overall health should be your goal. If you eat a balanced diet—complete with fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean meats—and exercise regularly, you’ll be fit and trim.

Forget wacky fad diets that pass in and out of fashion. Ignore Atkins, which can be dangerous and difficult to follow long-term.

Ultimately, the old-fashioned method—eating healthfully and exercising—is the only surefire way to achieve all-around good health.

— Christina Asavareungchai is a writer for NEXT, a Sunday opinion page in The Seattle Times. Responses may be sent to collegian@csufresno.edu or NEXT@seattletimes.com