The Atkins Diet and Diabetes
Since
the sixties, the Atkins Diet has gained worldwide attention
as a way to eat a lot of food, not be hungry, and still
lose weight. The Atkins Diet works on the theory that carbohydrates
cause you to gain weight, and by eliminating or strictly
limiting carbohydrates, it is possible to eat a lot of protein
and fat while your weight decreases. How does this work?
Scientifically speaking, your body must have carbohydrates
to survive. When you do not consume carbohydrates, your
body is forced to convert fat stores into carbohydrates,
which is an inefficient process. Thus, your body uses its
fat stores at a faster rate and you lose weight. This theory
seems beneficial to dieters, especially for overweight diabetics
who need a special diabetes
diet because they have trouble metabolizing carbohydrates
due to insulin problems.
Sure
enough, the Atkins company did release a book called “Atkins
Diabetes Revolution” which outlines an Atkins diet
specifically for diabetes patients. In the book, diabetes
and pre-diabetes patients are encouraged to eat as few as
20 grams of carbohydrate a day for successful diabetes
weight loss. There is no limitation on protein and fat
consumption.
Using
the Atkins diet for diabetes has generated its share of
criticism. First, the Atkins diet recommends eating a lot
of animal protein and fat, and these foods cause people
to lose a lot of water from their bodies. This can put extra
strain on the kidneys which are usually weakened in people
with diabetes. Due to the heavy consumption of meat, the
Atkins diet is also thought to increase the chance for heart
disease, another major bodily organ that is damaged by diabetes.
Finally, the Atkins diet can lead to dangerously low blood
sugar levels, or hypoglycemia.
For a person with diabetes, extremely low blood sugar can
lead to a coma. Most health experts agree that using the
Atkins diet for diabetes can be risky and should not be
attempted without medical permission and supervision.
|