ARIZONA73

No, I don't think the Atkins Diet is dangerous. Quite the contrary. In fact, it has helped a great many people lose weight, maintain much better blood sugar control, lower triglycerides, increase HDL, and significantly improve their blood-lipid ratios.

There are a lot of negative misconceptions about the Atkins Diet that are being spread around, especially the crazy notion that people practically live off of nothing but saturated fat. That is absolutely NOT TRUE. Another wild-eyed misconception is the one about not being allowed to have any fruits or vegetables. More poppycock! Plenty of fruits and vegetables are permitted. People seem to forget that the two week induction phase is NOT the diet.

As far as saturated fats are concerned, it was never recommended that anyone consume excessive amounts of them and exclude other beneficial fats. Atkins himself has said: "As for saturated fats, although I've produced plenty of evidence that on a low-carbohydrate diet they're not a critical issue, I do encourage my patients to consume them at a proportionally lower level than other fats. A diet high in fish, and thus high in polyunsaturated fatty acids that contain omega-3, is tremendously beneficial. Unsaturated fats such as linseed oil and walnut, soybean, sesame, sunflower, and safflower oils are also nutritionally valuable. Since fats are stored in the body much as we consume them, a favorable ratio of those fats to such saturated fats as beef, lamb, and butter is certainly to be recommended."

I realize this diet may not be for everybody, but I hope I at least helped clear up some misconceptions about it.