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Hola, Whyvillians! I am so impressed with the
success I have had with the Atkins diet, I decided to tell
everyone the real 411 on 'Atkins.'
There are dozens of diet plans out there, from
Slim-Fast, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and many others.
Until recent years, the traditional diet was low-fat (fruits
and vegetables, no sweets, and lots of exercise). However, a
truly unique man, Dr. Robert Atkins, discovered a supposedly
perfect diet plan for the overweight and obese as well people in
general. His diet is based on the idea of eating foods low in
carbohydrates and high in protein. He called it 'The
Atkins Diet.'
When Dr. Atkins first proposed the idea that a
good diet would consist of few carbohydrates, or "carbs," and
much protein, the public thought it was preposterous (to put
it mildly). But recently, the low carbohydrate concept has
been booming into a world-renowned low-carb industry! The
fast food restaurant Carl's Jr. is currently vending a
"low-carb burger" -- a regular cheeseburger without the
bun, wrapped in a blanket of lettuce to
significantly lower the grams of carbs. Also, T.G.I.
Friday's is presently offering an "Atkins approved menu,"
which consists of two low-carb appetizers and seven low-carb
entr??es.
Dana Carpender is one of the many Americans who
have devoted their lives to going low-carb. She has written
several books about the Atkins diet and eating low-carb
foods, two of which include "500 Low-Carb Recipes" and "How I
Gave Up My Low Fat Diet and Lost Forty Pounds," which I highly
recommend for anyone. "How I Gave Up My Low Fat Diet..." tells more about carbohydrates and how they
work. Dana is also the founder of Hold the Toast Press,
which publishes the biweekly online newsletter "Lowcarbezine!"
What is it about not eating carbs that makes you
lose weight? Experts believe that dense carbohydrates were
not part of the Paleolithic diet when our bodies were
developing thousands of years ago. That means that our
bodies are not supposed to eat the complex kinds of starches and sugars.
Carbohydrates are starches and sugars, and therefore eating the processed,
"dense" kinds cause us to gain weight.
A carbohydrate is a group of organic chemicals that your body
burns to produce energy. Many believe that the Atkins
diet is unhealthy because carbohydrates are the only source
of energy for your body. That is untrue; although
carbohydrates are the main source of energy, protein also
supplies it. The energy in protein, however, takes longer
for your body to absorb, because to produce energy the
protein must be converted into sugar.
I give great respect to Dr. Robert Atkins as I
acknowledge his marvelous studies and mourn his death one year ago. In a tragic accident, he slipped on
the ice and hit his head on his daily walk to work in
New York City. Whether Dr. Atkins' diet is the perfect diet
or not, we should still thank him for his understanding of
nutrition and health.
For more information on the Atkins diet, go to http: //atkins.com/.
Or visit the Lowcarbezine! website at http: //www.holdthetoast.com/.
??
Reminder: Diets that are planned out for adults don't necessarily
work for teens and kids!?? They might even be very very dangerous for you.??
Adults need different nutrients in different amounts, so be careful -- talk with
your parents and a doctor or another medical professional before starting
any diet.?? No one diet can work for everybody, because we're all
so different.
Editor's Note: Excellent report, penny305.?? Now, what can you
tell us about other popular diets -- and can anyone find real scientific
studies about any of them??? I'd like to know exactly how biologists believe
they work or don't work.?? You'll find it's harder to prove this stuff than
you'd think!
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