Important Atkins Diet Facts

December 10th, 2009 Posted in Fitness

Diet has grown into one of the most popular methods to check ones weight. In addition to weight control problems, certain illnesses such as diabetes may affect an person to follow a low carbohydrate diet. The Atkins diet is a low carb diet formulated by Dr. Robert Atkins who was an American physician and cardiologist. This Atkins diet was based on a diet which was released in the Journal of American Medical Association which Dr. Atkins himself employed to handle his corpulence.

The Atkins diet which is more formally known as Atkins Nutritional Approach contradicted the present nutritional hypotheses of that time expressing that certain unknown facets of western eating habits stimulated obesity. Moreover, Dr. Atkins assigned obesity to the ingestion of refined carbohydrates such as sugar, flour and corn syrups that contain loaded fructose amounts. The Atkins diet functions by confining the carbohydrate consumption of the body and in turn substituting the metabolism of the body from burning glucose to burning the stored amounts of fat as bodily fuel. This operation which is identified as ketosis is achieved by turning down the insulin levels of the body over lowering the blood glucose levels.

Four phases are included in the Atkins diet and they should be observed stringently to attain the desirable results. Induction is the first step of the diet plan where an individual restrict their daily carbohydrate intake to 20 net grams or less. This is generally recommended for two weeks and foods should only be selected from a list of recommended foods including small quantities of meats, fish, poultry and eggs. In addition, salad vegetables, butter and vegetable oils are also permitted in the diet. Nevertheless, alcohol is banned and even caffeine is only allowed in moderation. This phase of the Atkins diet is designated to make the body rapidly go into a ketosis state and consequently, the most important amount of weight loss can be seen in this period of time. The other three stages of the Atkins diet such as ongoing weight loss, pre maintenance and lifetime maintenance includes methods to step by step increase the carbohydrate consumption of the body while preventing weight gain.

The Atkins diet has acquired immense popularity primarily during 2003 and 2004 regardless of the controversies surrounding it. According to the statistics one in every eleven adults in North America observed the diet during its peak of popularity. However, particular scientists and researches claim that although the diet may assist weight loss, it may increase the risk of other diseases such as heart disease.

The Atkins diet is regarded by many as one of the most effective forms of weight loss techniques. Nevertheless, as any method, it has its share of champions and critics.

Lee loves to prepare meals on his Weber Summit natural gas grill when he has finished writing his articles about dieting.

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