Veggie Blog

Atkins diet basics

The idea behind Atkins

The Atkins diet is not a new phenomenon. It first appeared in the early 1970s and has grown in popularity in recent years in response to the low-fat diet craze. As dieters had trouble with low-fat plans, they searched for a new solution, and Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution book found a new audience.

A lot of people have jumped on the Atkins bandwagon, and there has been a lot of hype as a result. But what are the basic facts of the Atkins diet?

The Atkins diet is based on a theory about why we gain fat. According to Dr. Atkins, over-consumption of carbohydrates and sugars leads to weight gain. He argued that the way your body processes the carbohydrates you eat has more to do with your waistline than the amount of fat or calories you consume. In his book, Atkins describes a condition called insulin resistance. He theorizes that many overweight people have cells that do not respond properly to insulin.

When you eat carbohydrates and sugar, your body notices that your blood sugar level is elevated. Insulin is released from the pancreas to help store the sugar as glycogen in the liver and muscles for extra energy later on. However, your body can only store so much glycogen at once. As soon as your body reaches its limit for glycogen storage, the excess carbohydrates are stored as fat. This happens to anyone who eats more energy than they use.

According to the theory, people who are insulin resistant have an even harder time using and storing carbohydrates. The more insulin the body is exposed to, the more resistant it becomes. Over time, the pancreas releases more insulin and the cells become more insulin resistant, which creates a cycle that favors fat storage.

As a result, Atkins held that insulin resistant people gain weight easily, because the carbohydrates are converted into fat instead of energy. Other effects he linked to it include fatigue, brain fog (the inability to focus, poor memory, loss of creativity), low blood sugar, intestinal bloating, sleepiness, depression and, over time, high blood sugar. There is much more than weight at stake when you are insulin resistant, so see your doctor if you suspect insulin resistance or diabetes.

What the diet restricts

The diet for people who are insulin resistant is a diet low in carbohydrates. The core of the Atkins diet is the control of carbohydrates in all their forms. The foods restricted on the Atkins plan include simple sugars (like cookies, sodas and sweets) and starchy carbohydrates (like bread, rice and grains). Even carbohydrates that are considered healthy, such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat bread, are restricted in the early phases of the program.

Ketosis

In the first phase of the plan, you limit your carbohydrate intake to about 20 grams of net carbohydrates a day. This puts your body into a state of ketosis, in which it burns fat as fuel. According to Dr. Atkins’ research, the state of ketosis also affects insulin production and prevents more fat from being formed. Your body begins to use stored fat as an efficient form of fuel, and you lose weight. Another claimed benefit is that ketosis reduces carbohydrate cravings. If you have been living on a carb-heavy diet, you may have found that you simply cannot get enough carbohydrates. People who have been on the Atkins diet for some time report that they do not crave carbohydrates as they once did.

Although the first phases of the Atkins diet are fairly strict, the plan teaches you to find balance in the long run. People who follow the diet slowly reintroduce small amounts of carbohydrate into their eating until they find a comfortable balance between their health and carbohydrate use.

The basic principles of the Atkins diet have been adopted by many other low-carb plans. Studies that compare low-carb diets with other diets generally find similar weight loss after a year, but Atkins remains popular as a low-carbohydrate solution. If you have diabetes, kidney disease or any other health condition, talk to your doctor before starting.