Weight Loss 10 Oct 2008 07:28 am
Diets to Lose Body Fat, Is Atkins Safe?
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Supporters and detractors of the popular Atkins diet have recently engaged in numerous arguments in the media. I will try to summarize the pros and cons of the diet so you can make a decision for yourself.
Let’s start by quickly examining the facts. The Atkins diet is a very popular diet that many Americans are choosing to try in order to lose weight. By releasing well over 500 products which include “low carb” , or “no carb” labels, marketers and companies have made huge profits and continue to make money by targeting people who chose this dietary change.
That must mean it works, right? Yes and no, experts have debated the long term effects on health and come to the conclusion that low carbs diets such as Atkins can be risky business, especially if you’re over 40.
The Atkins diet, is a low carb and sugar diet believing that these two combined is the leading cause of weight gain. Despite the confusion caused by much misinformation, it has been determined that a significant factor in the obesity problem in America is the mixing of saturated fats with sugary carbohydrates made with refined sugar.
When carbohydrates are ingested, your blood sugar is elevated, triggering insulin production and causing the sugars in the carbohydrates to be stored in cells rather than burned off. The idea was that cutting carbs would force the body to use these sugars as fuel, thus burning fat for its energy instead.
Atkins is also highly critical of sugar and recommends eliminating it from your diet. Instead of carbs and sugar, Atkins eaters are allowed plenty of fat and protein. The system specifically recommends animal proteins and notes that vegetarians and vegans will have a hard time following Atkins.
The bad news, not only does the body begin to shed fat, but lean muscle as well. This tissue is required to maintain a higher metabolism. In addition, the body’s reserves of water are unloaded as the body tries to extract nutrients formerly provided by carbohydrate ingestion. Ketones are produced when the body burns large amounts of fats without a sufficient supply of carbohydrates.
Some possible side effects of Ketones could be head aches, dizzyness, dehydration, bad breath and vomitting. Due to the fuel from carb sugars, the brain can lost it’s primary source as well a long term you can add bone loss, muscle breakdown and kidney disease to the picture, therefore can result in a brain damage and increased risk of a heart attack.
In spite of everything, if you want to lose your fat weight you should really try this effective diet. Checking with your doctor and doing research are good tools to use before starting any diet.
