The Negative Effects of the Atkins Diet

Dr. Atkins created a diet revolution, no question. I also saw family and friends lose a lot of weight following his diet regimen. However, everything in the body, mind and our environment must remain in balance for health. Let's take a look at what an unbalanced diet approach (suppression of carbohydrate intake) does to the body.

Twenty grams of carbohydrates per day, yikes. This is less than the recommended daily allowance of FAT in our diets. With such a low carb intake, you cannot maintain sufficient glycogen levels for sustained activity. I physically "crashed" during this diet because I was an active athlete. 

Not only are the carbs low, but they are prescribed to be taken from weak food sources. 20 carbs from chocolate cupcakes is not 20 carbs that can be gained from fruits or vegetables. Now Atkins doesn't have cupcakes in his daily meal plan, but I have seen people take liberties. Justification: I didn't have any bacon this morning and fat intake is encouraged in this diet. 

It's a fat filled diet plan. You are welcome to eat bacon, gravy, cheese burgers and cake. Come on, what dieter wouldn't jump at this! Well, you are risking high cholesterol with this diet. Naturally, heart disease and types of cancer are associated with unhealthy levels of artery clogging cholesterol in the blood.

Fiber intake is greatly limited, which can create constipation and gastrointestinal issues. Personally, I was not the best smelling individual during my Atkins diet trial run. 

You clearly beat the heck out of your colon with this diet. Plenty of animal protein, fat and only a little fiber. Keep in mind, your colon cleanses toxins out of your body and this diet will back up and impair colon function. 

A widely published fact is that our foods have less nutritional value than they used to. This is said to be the result of mass produced food processes and chemically altered crops. So, taking in less vegetables and fruit to keep your carbs low may not be giving you the nutritional value expected out of that smaller portion. It is fairly easy to fall into nutritional deficit. 

So, if you are really headstrong about doing this diet, it is recommended that you modify it. Cut the fat intake, bacon is never a good idea, and raise the intake of healthy carbs, such as fruits and vegetables. Also, be sure to take a multi-vitamin-mineral complex to compensate for the nutritional short fall associated with this diet.