The maligned diet that just won't die (because it works!) Atkins Affirmed - Again You're probably sick of hearing this, but guess what: I WAS RIGHT. Before the proof, some background: You may already know that long before the Atkins Diet hit the mainstream in a big way, I was singing the praises of a low-carbohydrate, high-animal-fat diet for weight loss and overall health for more than 30 years - right alongside the esteemed Dr. Atkins… But now, with his unfortunate passing in April of 2003 (has it really been 4 years already?), I'm one of the last voices in the forest advocating his diet plan, or similar variations of it. As I've reported in past Daily Doses, the media began attacking the Atkins Diet shortly after his untimely demise. They even went after him personally, insinuating that his late-in-life heart attack was caused by his own eating habits instead of the unrelated-to-diet cardiomyopathy he suffered from. They even went so far as to portray the 40-60 pounds of water weight this condition caused Dr. Atkins to be carrying around on his 6-foot-2-inch frame when he died as an indication of morbid obesity… Despite the fact that any doctor could have told them that this kind of fluid retention is a common symptom of some types of cardiomyopathy! Shortly after this, the mainstream media and medical establishments embarked on a systematic campaign to discredit and malign both the Good Doctor himself and his incredibly effective diet - to which thousands (maybe even millions) of Americans owe their better health. But I digress. We were talking about how Dr. Atkins and I are being proven right once again. Well, here's the proof: According to a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association - and surprisingly, picked up by a lot of mainstream news outlets - the good ol' maligned-by-the-mainstream Atkins Diet beat the pants off 3 other name-brand dieting and nutrition plans: The Zone Diet, the Ornish Diet, and the LEARN program (which is based on the U.S. government's own Food Pyramid recommendations)… The Stanford University affiliated research showed that overweight women lost between two and three times as much weight using the Atkins plan as those who used one of these other 3 diets. They also showed a greater improvement in several cardiac health markers. Keep reading… Not only did the Atkins gals fare better in terms of overall weight loss after a year, they also displayed comparatively: - Higher average levels of HDL "good" cholesterol
- Lower average blood pressure
- An average 30% reduction in harmful triglycerides!
All of these results echo some research that DIDN'T make the mainstream news a year or so ago - in which Harvard survey research among several thousand female respondents re-affirmed Atkins' (and my) contention that low-carb, high-fat eating habits indeed seem to be healthier for the heart than many of today's grain-heavy "diets"… Just goes to show that you just can't keep a good plan (or man) down. In case you need reminding, the weight-loss principles behind the Atkins and other low-carb eating plans are simple: Calories from fats and proteins are inherently more filling and satisfying than calories from simple sugars and carbohydrates. That means you eat less of them while remaining sated - which means you lose weight. The fact that these caloric sources are also worlds better for your heart and arteries is a nice fringe benefit, but maintaining proper weight is the real key to health. And that's a lot easier on Atkins-type diets… | 
