The Atkins Diet and Your Cholesterol

Atkins Diet and Cholesterol

The Atkins Diet, formed by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins, caused a cultural phenomenon in the United States.  With this diet you could eat all the food you wanted, provided that they were protein-only.   In earlier versions of the diet, you were free to eat virtually any type of meat while eating little to no carbohydrates.  Some of the carbohydrates that were off-limits included healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. 

When Dr. Atkins received criticism on how unhealthy such a diet is, he changed the nature of the diet.  He put more emphasis on eating low-fat meat and carbohydrates that had a low glycemic index.  These could be found through a line of Atkins Diet food he had been promoting. 

People lost weight with both versions of the diet, though the medical community had always remained concerned about how such a diet could affect cholesterol levels.  Shockingly enough, one study seemed to show that the diet actually increased HDL cholesterol levels, the type of cholesterol you want to be high. In a recent study by Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University, 120 overweight participants were researched. 

Some adhered to the Atkins Diet, while others stuck to the types of diets recommended by nutritionists, which are low-fat with an average level of carb consumption.  The Atkins dieters lost 11 more pounds than those on the low-fat diet, despite the fact that over 60% of their daily calories consumed were from fat.  They also had more HDLs than the low fat dieters.  These results surprised many of the researchers, who themselves were very biased against the Atkins Diet.  However, they acknowledged that research in this area is limited, so more studies have to be done before it can be ‘officially’ established that the Atkins Diet is the way to go if you want to lower your cholesterol.
So, where can one go with this information?  Well, first off, it should again be emphasized that only a few studies have been conducted, so researchers need more time to determine other factors that may have contributed to Atkins Dieters receiving a higher HDL level than low-fat dieters.  Secondly, if you do decide to go on the Atkins Diet, you should consider going on the latter versions that are not as strict on carbohydrate consumption. 

Granted, it is true that too many carbohydrates will increase weight.  In fact, this knowledge is known in all types of cultures. 

For example, there is a tribe in Africa that will feed young women extra carbs when it’s time for them to get married, since for them fat is a sign of fertility and beauty. 

So, the equation of carbs = weight gain is not really new, however the previous versions of the Atkins Diet take things too far, since they limit fruit and vegetable consumption.  Fruit and vegetables provide antioxidants, nutrients such as vitamin C and fiber.  These are a vital source of nutrition and should not be taken out of your diet.  So, if you are going to restrict carbs, restrict the ‘bad’ carbs, such as white bread and sugary, high-glucose foods.  Or, you could replace them with Atkins low-carb diet food, allowing you to still eat the foods you love.  Either way, the main key is to not follow the old Atkins guidelines.