iBodybuilding.net

How the Atkins Low-Carb Diet Can Harm You

Diet and nutrition is big business in the weight training and bodybuilding press. I estimate about one quarter of articles are about what to eat, how to eat it and how you might benefit from eating that way. The Robert Atkins low-carbohydrate diet is a way of eating that has become reasonably popular and has a substantial following. I don't consider it suitable for athletes and heavy exercisers at all, but critics of low-carb diets, ketogenic or otherwise, usually target the high saturated fat and cholesterol components, or the high protein aspects of the diet (although some low-carb approaches do not have to be high in saturated fat). One aspect that is often overlooked is the overall nutritional adequacy of low-carb diets. If you're very careful you can probably cover all bases with a moderately low-carb diet, but very low-carb, ketogenic diets might be problematic. In any case, if you're into low-carb, the About.com guide, Laura Dolson is a good place to start. But a few years ago a group of researchers set out to discover just how nutritionally adequate various popular weight-loss diets are. They measured estimated intakes of essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, fats and macronutrients against the Alternate Healthy Eating Index, a food pyramid designed by the prestigious Harvard School of Public Health and world famous nutritional epidemiologist Walter Willett. This healthy eating pattern was found to be nearly twice as effective in reducing risk for major chronic disease as the standard food pyramid. The researchers analyzed the following diets, comparing them with the Harvard healthy eating index and published their findings in the Journal of the American Dietetics Association in 2007. New Glucose Revolution, Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Ornish, 2005 US Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid - and variations. Here is the order in which the diets complied best with the healthy eating index, and the scores out of 70. The higher scores are more compliant with healthy eating. Ornish very low fat (score 64.6) Weight Watchers high-carbohydrate (score 57.4) New Glucose Revolution (score 57.2) South Beach/Phase 2 (score 50.7) Zone (score 49.8) 2005 Food Guide Pyramid USDA (score 48.7) Weight Watchers high-protein (score 47.3) Atkins/100-g carbohydrate (score 46) South Beach/Phase 3 (score 45.6) Atkins/45-g carbohydrate (score 42.3) As you can see, the Atkins low-carb ketogenic diet ranks bottom in nutritional adequacy. In fact, the three lowest-scoring diets are low-carb diets (South Beach 3 is a little higher in carbs) and the three highest-scoring diets are high-carbohydrate diets. If you followed the low-carb diets for any length of time, you could be eating a nutritionally inadequate diet, which could affect your health. What is the reason for this? The reason is that fat and protein -- much higher in low-carb diets -- do not have the nutrient density (vitamins and minerals) of the higher-carbohydrate diets with more fruit, grains and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes. Take care when choosing a popular diet. It may not be the best choice for you. Ma Y, Pagoto SL, Griffith JA, Merriam PA, Ockene IS, Hafner AR, Olendzki BC. A dietary quality comparison of popular weight-loss plans. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Oct;107(10):1786-91. Image (c) Atkins FoundationHow the Atkins Low-Carb Diet Can Harm You originally appeared on About.com Weight Training on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 01:34:09.Permalink | Comment | Email this
Read more at weighttraining.about.com