Set the Record Straight

[Junebug]

So many people have been brainwashed into thinking Atkins lifestyle is unhealthy or dangerous. And there are even people of sound mind who believe the Dr. died of heart disease, and will preach to you the dangers of this diet until they are blue in the face!

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/atk...tkinsdeath.htm

I thought this was an excellent article.

[liftinguru]

Re: Set the Record Straight

But Dr. Atkins did have heart disease... the coronor suspected he had a heart attack, fell on the ice, and died of the injuries sustained by the fall. Dr. Atkins was clinically obese as well.

His diet does work for many, in shedding pounds.

[liftinguru]

Re: Set the Record Straight

And according to his wife his obesity was the result of a "condition" (not related to diet, she says), as was his heart problems related to a "viral infection". Not sure what is true, but the diet works anyway, so it really doesn't matter what the personal habits of Dr. Atkins were.

[Junebug]

Re: Set the Record Straight

It is very true that his heart may have stopped, and that is what caused him to fall on the ice. But the "cardiac arrest " was not due to clogged arteries and an unhealthy lifestyle; which is what so many people hear when they mention they are thinking about starting Atkins, or when a concerned relative/friend wants them to stop doing Atkins. 195 on a man of 6 ft does not sound clinically obese to me.

Well, for what its worth I posted the link for people who may be in the same position I am. That is trying to defend my personal choice of a healthy way of eating to those who mistakenly believe Atkins died of a heart attack, and that his diet will give you heart disease.

[Junebug]

Re: Set the Record Straight

There is no arguing about the diet effects...The pounds will come off.

I just truly believe that this diet is infact a very healthy was of eating. If people hear both sides of the story when it comes to Dr. Atkins death, rather then just "he died of a heart attack" maybe they will feel better about discussing the diet with friends/family rather then feel like they have to diet in secret because they dont know how to reply to such comments.

[Elizellen]

Re: Set the Record Straight

In fact, liftinguru, from what I have read he was not 'obese' when admitted to hospital after his accident.
Apparently the fluids he was given while being treated were responsible for a dramatic rise in his weight by the time he died. Many members post here that being treated in hospital has given them 'water retention' issues.

The so-called 'fact' he was obese when admitted to hospital is yet another of the urban myths the media and people with axes to grind have spread around the world and has been debunked on many websites!!

[liftinguru]

Re: Set the Record Straight

According to the coroner, he weighed 258 pounds at the time of death. I'm not saying that is true, it's just what has been reported. But, my next point is--just because Dr Atkins wrote about his diet, studied it, and prescribed it to his patients, doesn't mean he followed it (or needed to follow it) himself. In addition, he was in his 70's, and a man in his 70's has a rather large risk of heart disease no matter what his diet is. I think we can dispell myths about this diet without concentrating on glossing over Dr Atkin's personal life, simply because the facts speak for themselves for many people on the diet.

Fact: We all have to die of something, and regardless of our diet, that cause will likely be senility, heart disease, or cancer. By improving diet and including exercise, we may prolong these diseases but we can never cure death. It is unfortunate for Atkins Nutrionals that Dr. Atkin's death is shrouded in controversy and involved possible heart disease and obesity--it would have been much better for the company if he had simply died in a car accident. But those are the cookie's crumbles, I guess.

Fact: Dr. Atkins and many doctors do not always practice what they preach. Remember that his diet was initially prescribed to diabetics and later to people with weight issues. We all know many ways to improve health and well-being, but we don't always follow that advice religiously, for one reason or another.

Fact: For those that have found success on the Atkins plan and other ketogenic, low-carb diets, the results speak for themselves. Not just pounds lost, but overall well-being and bloodwork. For those that failed the diet, citing myths and negative aspects is an easy out and justification for that failure. But the truth is not all people are built the same way, and not every diet will work for every person.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter what other people say or believe about the diet. I do not see it as a religion where others must be converted or where my position must be defended. I think it may even be dangerous to take it to that extreme. For most, it is simply a way or method to shed some pounds. Diets are rarely ever a way of life, even though nearly every diet in existance claims that is its intent--people want to lose weight, that's just the reality of it--and when they've lost it they go back to their old habits. We eat what is commonly available, and the real problem for this country in particular is that what is commonly available is entirely unhealthy and over processed. So to really change people's way of lives, we need right thinking with what we allow on the shelves. Books and dedication just isn't going to cut it for the majority of Americans. Many European nations have taken the right steps towards preventing frankenfoods from entering the supply in the first place, and I think we should consider following their lead in that area (although we must keep our guns and rights!)

I've encountered people that like to dis the Atkins diet or more specifically, my low-carb way of eating, and I think it's interesting to discuss it with them. If they're ill-informed, I can teach. If they're well-read, I can really debate and learn something and go back and forth. I see that as good conversation.

If we scrap the induction phase, and all the weird mumbo jumbo and get down to the basics, I see this diet and most good diets as ones that eliminate processed foods and refined sugars and increase nutrition through food intake rather than suppliments (also decreases calories as a result). Since the most dramatic weight loss occurs during induction, many people never get past it and detractors like to focus on it--and really, induction phases of diets are really just gimmicks. One can successfully go right to phase II and III and be all the more healthier for it if they choose. That's the "way of life" part of it, anyway. It's not really that full fat foods are better, it's actually that full fat foods are the ones most commonly found unmolested--if you read the labels of low fat alternatives they are riddled with chemicals and foreign substances that we cannot identify. A naturally low fat meal would include fruits and vegetables, and all diet plans agree those are healthy--except American fruits and vegetables, which are infested with steroids, hormones, and franken DNA.

Unfortunately, I've read and studied too many different things, information overload if you will, to drink the koolaid of any one diet or plan. I've seen success with many, seen failures with all, and read double and triple agreements and contradictions about everything to make little sense of much of anything. It's a burden to be honest, because the more you know the less you know--it's like Lost, every answer leads to a hundred new questions. So I'm easy, everything said about this diet is true on some level, both positive and negative, with a hundred studies to back it up. Basically, people should just find what's right and works for them and be content.

[Bren]

Re: Set the Record Straight

Dr. Atkins' weight was consistently and frequently documented in the years and months prior to his fall; as he was suffering from cardiomyopathy, his health was monitored closely. Due to water retention, this robust 6-foot plus man, who competitively played tennis frequently during the week, had a weight that varied between 180 and 195. During his coma, as he deteriorated and his major organs failed, fluid retention and bloating dramatically distorted his body and left him at 258 pounds at the time of his death, a documented weight gain of over 60 pounds. How and why the Journal reported that he was obese, remains the only unanswered question in this pathetic situation.

This is a quote taken from a report from the Atkins Center. The people that reported and ILLEGALLY gained access to his medical charts are a group closely associated and funded by PETA. This group had been and is still opposing Atkins due to their preference in THEIR life style.

I agree with the fact that whatever your diet, do what works for you!!! I have many friends that have had great success with other ways of eating. To each their own.

Now, my problem is we are getting into a debate here and it is not really necessary as we are all posting on ADBB.

This board is for people doing ATKINS.
This board is to help people on their Atkins journey.

Trust me we have "been here done this" with this topic time and time again.

Atkins works........if you work it.
ANY diet works if you work it (for most).

Atkins is the only WOE that I have been able to do successfully and maintain. SO.......I will encourage everyone here to do it! AND, support and help anyone I can!

[Junebug]

Re: Set the Record Straight

Im not really the "debating" type. When I read that artical [link] I posted, I thought it was a great source of information.

liftinguru, you have so many good points, and you've ended it beautifully with "Basically, people should just find what's right and works for them and be content."

I find that so many people are armed with false information and very much against the Atkins diet.

I simply viewed the artical as tool, maybe a way to explain to people that its possible Atkins didnt die obese of a heart attack. And by choosing this WOE, we are not condemning ourselve to heart disease and obesity.

I guess Ive been encountering many people who think the worst of this diet...

[Bren]

Re: Set the Record Straight

Oh Junebug, I am sorry if I came on too strong!

The article is a great one and everyone should read it. Unfortunately, the masses tend to believe we sip bacon grease from tea cups.

[SugarFreeSheila]

Re: Set the Record Straight

Did Dr. Atkins die obese?
Only if you consider 195 pounds on a six-foot, 72 year-old man to be so. Here is a USA Today piece disputing this myth. Additionally, here is a copy of his death certificate.

[not2late]

Re: Set the Record Straight

NYC had a freak April snow storm in 2003. The sidewalks were icy. Dr. Atkins slipped and fell on the icy sidewalk and hit his head. I've worked in hospitals before and I've seen head trauma. You don't have to have a heart attack to lose your footing on ice...if that's the case, then I had a "heart attack" this past winter when I slipped on my icy driveway, fell on my rear and slide down it a few feet!

By the way....there was NEVER an autopsy done on Dr. Atkins. The most that the coroner did was a general exam---meaning the coroner just looked at Dr. Atkin's body. His heart or other organs were never removed and dissected/studied. So if you read things that the coroner found a big clot in his heart or that he had clogged arteries, that's impossible because he was never autopsied.

Dr. Atkins diet was originally written as a weight loss diet for overweight people. It was first published in Vogue magazine, then it was followed by his first book in 1972. The diabetes control came later when he saw his diabetic patients improve on his diet.

[liftinguru]

Re: Set the Record Straight

Well, we all have "risk factors" for heart disease--genetic, dietary, physical, etc. We can measure all three, luckily. If the Atkins diet lowers bad cholesterol and other markers for dietary heart disease (it can't do anything about genetic predisposition or physical activity), then that's proof enough, at least with current technology, that the Atkins diet does not lead to heart disease, and may even help to prevent or prolong it. I guess what I'm saying is that even if Dr. Atkins died of heart disease, that does not prove that the Atkins way of eating caused it. Because we all know David Letterman and I'm sure everyone has someone in their family that had heart disease at a relatively young age and they were in tip top shape, ate well, and exercised regularly. If their parents or a parent had heart disease at a young age, it raises their risk considerably--diet can help but it cannot prevent or cure a genetic predisposition. I think it's more of a joke when people say "Look what the Atkins diet did to Mr Atkins", because really, no common sense approach can make the connection between a 72 year old man's manor of death and attritute it directly to his diet without taking into account a plethera of other factors. And it is sad that the details (false, true, or otherwise) of his death were seemingly stolen from the hands of his family and trusted medical doctors and published for strangers.

[Junebug]

Re: Set the Record Straight

Bren,

You didnt come on too strong at all! I had no idea that my posting a link to that story would spark a debate. I thought THIS was the LAST place people would be debating about the how Dr. Atkins died, or if his diet is healthy.

Recently, I made the mistake of letting co-workers in on the fact the I'm on Atkins, and, lets just say they arent the most supportive bunch.

So I get my support from this board and you and people like you