In Reply to: Re: atkins diet and high cholesterol posted by Ken on September 09, 2000 at 00:22:01:

: : hello folks,

: : have any of you here tried the atkins (lo carb) diet?
: : if so, have you used it in combination with any natural cholesterol lowering supplements?
: : (such red yeast rice, garlic, etc.)

: : i have lost 27 lbs in a little more than 3 months,
: : but my total cholesterol just came back at 257 with LDL of 180 and HDL of 58.

: : i would like ot keep losing the weight (another 25 or so to go), but i dont want to risk the CHD.
: : i was thinking of adding a supplement.
: : thoughts?
: : thanks and best of luck to you all,
: : tone

: Dear Tone & others that have responded:

: I am involved in a lot of heart disease support work, and I associate with heart surgons, cardiologists and other medical professionals in the area of heart disease, and the vast majority are against the Atkins Diet for people who have heart disease, a very high risk of heart disease, hypertension and/or diabetes. Hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol are all risk factors for heart disease.

: One of the main reasons is the high amount of saturated fat in that diet. Fat helps curb your hunger, and many people go on this diet in order lose weight.

: The Atkins Diet should not be adopted on a permanent basis, and this is the belief of many medical professionals.

: Also, the low carb, high protein aspects of this diet can cause stomach and/or kidney problems. The kidneys in many people start to fail if they are on a high protein diet. There is plenty of medical evidence on this.

: If you go on the Atkins Diet, it should be done under the supervision of your doctor, and it should not be adopted on a permanent basis.

: Ken

I lost 40 lbs on the Atkins diet and lowered my cholesterol. There is a problem with the medical community bashing thhis diet and stating that it can cause stomach problems from high protein. The true problem arise from the drugs these same doctors prescribe to lower cholesterol. The Atkins diet can be successfully done by creating a balance between HDL's and LDL's, meaning you can eat your red meat and eggs, but include olice and canola oils, fish, nuts, avocado... for the HDL's. And by the way, you do not lose weight on the Atkins diet because fat curbs hunger. It is a simple biological process that makes healthy sense and it would be very healthy to make it a lifestyle - forever.