So Atkins impairs memory now?

[Labarum]

Atkins-style low carb diets 'can cause memory loss' - Telegraph

Your observations?

Please illustrate from vivid memories!

When did you last have apple pie?

[Elizellen]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

I thought when I started reading it that at least they have read a book on Atkins as they didnt say the usual thing about no fruit or veg, merely saying

the diets . . . . . encourage dieters to cut out carbohydrates like pasta, bread, potatoes and even some fruit and vegetables

so had realised we do eat 'some' fruit and veggies !

However their last statement proved they really haven't a clue

recommended eating large amounts of protein while almost eliminating carbohydrates entirely, including fruit.

I for one have not started eating 'large amounts of protein' - I eat about the same amount of meat than I did pre-Atkins, I have just dropped the 'whites' from my eating plan

[Chef Kevin]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

Dang, what's my name again?

I would read the story, but I forgot how....

I especially like the part about no carbs! Yep, just mayonaise for me. The "mayo" diet.
Mayo and diet pills. Sounds healthy!

[Georgiana]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

The results of the study are presented in a slightly deformed manner by the media. Regardless, the authors begin their paper by saying:

Many people cannot resist the promises of low-carbohydrate diets, including promises of quick weight loss while consuming high-protein, high-fat foods and “dieting without hunger.”

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't sound too objective.

Then, towards the end of the abstract, they write:

We proposed that dietary carbohydrate restriction would impair cognitive performance in the early phases of the diet, and that this impairment would be ameliorated by the reintroduction of carbohydrate.

I am not sure how papers are written in this field, but in astrophysics you don't propose something ("proposed"... past tense) beforehand. You propose based on your observations/analysis/results, in which case you use the present tense. Might simply be a language issue though.

What I cannot find an excuse for is the low carbohydrate diet plan they have chosen. In the first week, the carbohydrates were cut to 0 grams. To eat 0 grams of carbs, one must have only meat, oil & butter for all meals. Eek! Then,

For the second week, they could add between 5 and 8 g of carbohydrates per day. For the third week, they could add an additional 5–8 g per day (total 10–16 g per day).

Those 10-16 g might come from veggies or cheese... but the fact is that no instructions regarding what foods should be added back were given to the participants following the low carb (LC) diet. They could have eaten a licorice candy, a few chips, some apple pie or a little rice just as well.

The authors never mention by how much the subjects following the ADA diet reduced their calories. Was this done so that they lose 2 lbs per week, 2 lbs in 2 months? Other studies (e.g. Shai I. et al. 2008) have shown the contrary -- people following LC diets lose the most weight. This detail is "omitted" in the paper.

While the responses to the food/nonfood tasks indicate (overall) faster reaction times for the ADA dieters, the results obtained on the same tasks before the diets were started are not presented. It might be that the LC dieters are just... more stupid. The reaction times for the LC group does not seem to be dependent on the number of carbohydrates eaten. On the other hand, the ADA group improves its reaction times every time. Weirdly though, the ADA subjects don't change anything between different testings. This makes me wonder if the improved times can be considered a result of the diet.

For the digit-span test, the results are roughly the same for both groups, except for the reverse recalling task performed after the first week. Again, with only 19 participants I believe it's difficult to draw conclusions, but could the crazy no-carbs diet done by the LC subjects in the first week be blamed for the significantly poorer results? Because once they added carbs back -- e.g. after the 3rd week, when the carb intake was between 10-16 g, as it is typical on the Atkins diet -- their results were better than the ones of the ADA subjects.

Same comment for the visuospatial map task.

For the continuous performance task, I cannot see their conclusion from the graphs.

About the reported hunger levels, their result is contradicted by other studies, most of them with a larger number of participants. For example, a study by McClernon F. J. et al. 2006 shows that overweight people following a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet report "less negative affect and hunger" compared to overweight people following a low-fat diet.

Personally, since starting Atkins, my grades or work performance did not change at all. The only thing I have to pay attention to in order not to screw up my grades is the amount of time I spend on the ADBB.

[Georgiana]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

Kevin, I'm not sure you'll earn the $200 at the end (this is how each participant was rewarded). Mayo has carbs. :P

[Chef Kevin]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

Yeah, but less than 1g. so it would be almost no carbs!

yeah!!!

[Georgiana]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

Oh, I forgot to link this. The paper is here:
ScienceDirect - Appetite : Low-carbohydrate weight-loss diets. Effects on cognition and mood

[APanthesilia]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

Sigh. I will never understand why there are so many people out there just spouting nonsense about this diet. And why editors and producers continue to let them. Where are all the researchers and fact checkers? The last line of this article is pure nonsense and it is very lazy journalism. We all know that this is not a high protein 'diet', as Elizellen said I am eating the same amount of protein I was before I stated. The difference is that I'm eating more veggies and less sugary junk. I feel incredible when I'm on Atkins- not just the weight loss but I feel more energetic, more confident, so much more healthy. I don't believe in the slightest that we are losing cognitive functioning abilities and to suggest that we are based on a study that used a ridiculous eating plan (High protein and zero carbohydrates? Who ever suggested that was a good idea?) is libelous. I feel so bad for all the people out there who might want and need to start a plan like this but are afraid to do it because the only things they hear about it are negative. The eating plan they used is not in the least "Atkins-style" as they say.

Ok, I'm off to write a letter to the Telegraph, who will join me?

[kimbat06]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

I think the ones who have been on this diet for years can beg to differ. I may have only been on the diet for 11 or so weeks, but I sure know that I haven't had any issues with "memory loss". I am still getting A's in all of my classes. I remember my dentist and doctor appointments. Just because Renee Zellweger is having issues doesn't mean everyone else is. Sure, glucose feeds the brain, but so does other nutrients.

[MommaRuthie]

Re: So Atkins impairs memory now?

Hmmmm I have been on this WOE since (oh my gosh I forgot!!!!)....Oh yeah september! I have not had any problems with my memory while on this diet. In fact I am getting better grades in my college classes and am able to multi-task better than ever! If I ever feel like my memory is slipping I will let you all know... that is if I remember!