Speaking from experience, I can tell you Atkins-style diets are better for diabetics too
Low-carb dieters knew it all along
In two recent studies, Atkins-style regimens brought faster results than low-fat diets, usually without bad effects on blood lipids.
By Rosie Mestel
Times Staff Writer
May 24, 2004
Obesity rates are rising, but science has barely weighed in on the best way for people to shed fat. That state of affairs is starting to change, and doctors are getting a surprise or two.
Last week, the popular carb-slashing Atkins diet received a dollop of endorsement from two new studies after years of being pooh-poohed by health specialists. The studies, published Tuesday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that the meat- and fat-rich regimen caused faster weight loss in the short term than a conventional low-fat diet.
More important ? because many had feared that the diet, even if slimming, might unfavorably affect cholesterol levels and be bad for the heart ? the low-carb regimen also seemed to improve the dieters' blood fat profiles.
But Atkins, like every other diet, is no miraculous fat-melter. The longer of the two studies suggested that a low-carb regimen might be harder to maintain beyond six months compared with a low-fat approach: By the end of the year, the low-fat dieters had caught up and lost the same ? very modest ? amount of heft.
In addition, even though on average people on low-carb diets didn't experience rises in their so-called "bad" (or LDL) cholesterol levels, about 30% of individuals did.
