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Atkins Diet: Studies
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The Atkins diet may be hot among American adults, but its meat-heavy dictates apparently don't fly with the younger generation. According to a new study from market researchers at Teenage Research Unlimited, one in four teens now considers vegetarianism "cool." The study indicates a rise in vegetarianism in the teen population, particularly among girls. While some grown-ups, including those at animal-rights group PETA, are delighted by the trend, others including those who work for beef production and marketing companies are understandably miffed. Their goal now: come up with innovative ways to win back young salad-eaters.
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NARRATOR: For some strange reason it appeared the Atkins diet might benefit your health. It seemed Dr Atkins could have been right all along. The medical establishments damning of the Atkins diet appeared unfounded. Studies have now shown that it definitely worked and that it might not be bad for the heart. After the years of doubt and criticism science now had to eat humble pie.
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Antioxidant-Heavy Diet Provides Protection during Stroke, Study Suggests Antioxidant vitamins from fruits and vegetables have exhibited cholesterol-fighting properties and beneficial effects for heart function. Now a new study suggests that they could provide protection from a stroke by limiting the amount of inflicted brain damage. Paula C. Bickford of the University of South Florida College of Medicine and her colleagues worked with four groups of rats that followed different diets over the course of four weeks.
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Studies have been published on the effectiveness of the Atkins diet versus a standard low-fat, low-calorie diet in two reputable medical journals, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings were indeed surprising, in that several heart disease indicators actually improved in the participants following the Atkins diet. They saw a much larger decrease in serum triglyceride levels as compared to the low fat group, and a greater increase in serum HDL (which is "good" or beneficial cholesterol to the heart) than the low-fat group. Both groups saw similar reductions in LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol for the heart) and total cholesterol levels. In addition, at the end of one year, both groups had achieved similar levels of weight loss.
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Opinion from the general medical community remains mixed on the Atkins diet, but is generally unfavorable. There have been no significant long-term scientific studies on the diet. A number of leading medical and health organizations, including the American Medical Association, American Dietetic Association (ADA), and the American Heart Association oppose it. It is drastically different than the dietary intakes recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Institutes of Health. Much of the opposition is because the diet is lacking in some vitamins and nutrients, and because it is high in fat. In a hearing before the U.S. Congress on February 24, 2000, an ADA representative called the Atkins diet "hazardous" and said it lacked scientific credibility.
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Lead researcher Eric Westman, associate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center, says other studies found a similar Atkins effect without fish oil supplements, "so we believe there are effects from both the low-carb diet and the fish oil." But others disagree. Triglycerides "drop like a bomb" when you lose weight, and fish oil has a "major impact" on blood fats, Blackburn says.
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