How to Lose Body Fat, Pros and Cons of the Atkins Diet
Recently, there have been many media documented arguments over the Atkins diet between its supporters and detractors. I am going to attempt to summarize the pros and cons of the diet program, enabling you to make an educated, informed, choice.
First let’s examine the facts quickly. Unsurprisingly, it’s estimated that over 40 million American are deciding to choose low carb style diets in their bids to lose weight. Companies and marketers have been making a killing in profits targeting people who have chose this dietary change, by releasing well over 500 products that include the no carb or low carb label.
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 father of low carb style diets was the Atkins diet, which basically believed that carbohydrate sugars was responsible for people becoming fat. With the rubbish out there these days there is some truth to that statement, as it’s normally the highly refined sugary carbs mixed with the saturated fats which have had a big hand in causing this wide spread fat epidemic.
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 also recommends against eating sugar, of which he does not approve. People following the Atkins diet are allowed to eat a lot of fat and protein, rather than consuming carbs and sugar. Animal proteins are specifically recommended in the Atkins diet, and those who do not eat meat or animal products will have difficulties following it.
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.
Ketones produce side effects such as head aches, dizzyness, dehydration, bad breath and nausea. Long term you can add bone loss, muscle breakdown and kidney disease to the picture, plus as the brain has lost it’s primary source of fuel from carb sugars, therefore brain damage and increased risk of a heart attack can result.
Despite all that, this diet does seem to be an effective way of losing fat weight. If you’re going to attempt this diet, do your homework, don’t follow any diet without proper research.
Tags: Health and Fitness