Brief Overview

The Atkins diet is based on the theory that our bodies get energy by burning both fat and carbohydrates. However, carbohydrates are processed first as these, in fact, are processed much easier and faster than fat. Therefore, by drastically reducing carbohydrates and eating more protein and fat, our bodies naturally lose weight faster because it is working doubly-hard to process the latter, without the carbohydrates to burn up first. In other words, we could sit on a chair, doing next to nothing, and actually get thinner, provided we ate the right food.

Dr. Atkins' theories gained critical acclaim, as well as acclaimed criticism from expert dieticians and nutritionists. He was, after all, a cardiologist. But no criticism stood in the path of the diet's widespread popularity. This was due to the fact that the Atkins diet was a dieter's dream-come true: Eat as much as you want from a wide variety of food that other diets steer away from.

By drastically restricting carbohydrates to a tiny fraction of that in a regular person's diet, the body goes into a state of “ketosis”. This means the body burns its own fat to convert into energy. A person in ketosis is getting energy from ketones, which are little carbon fragments that are created by the breakdown of stored fat. When the body is in ketosis, you tend to feel less hungry, and therefore likely to eat less than you might otherwise – even if you're allowed to do so. In effect, your body transforms from a carbohydrate-burning machine into a fat-burning one, thus making fat the primary energy source. This brings us to the most fundamental fact of dieting: the less fat you have, the lighter you weigh.

This theory however, is highly contradicted the world-over due to the deadly effects of eating too much fat or protein. Experts are concerned about the long-term safety of the diet. The risk of heart diseases, stroke, cancer, liver and kidney problems are extremely high, by contemporary medical standards. An article on Atkins quotes Penn State University Guthrie Chair in Nutrition and “Volumetrics” author Barbara Rolls, PhD, as saying: "No one has shown, in any study, that anything magical is going on with Atkins other than calorie restriction. The diet is very prescriptive, very restrictive, and limits half of the foods we normally eat," she says. "In the end it's not fat, it's not protein, it's not carbs, it's calories. You can lose weight on anything that helps you to eat less, but that doesn't mean it's good for you."