The Atkins Diet: Low-Carb Mania :: Health Nutrition Diet Exercise Essays

The Atkins Diet: Low-Carb Mania   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dr. Robert Atkins ignited the dieting world when he introduced the word â€Å"low carb mania,† which is now known as the Atkins diet. The diet claims that you can lose weight on a high fat, high protein diet. The program works on four main principles which are to limit the amount of consumption of simple carbohydrates, increase the intake of protein, to exercise on a daily basis, and to maintain proper food consumption. The new diet revolution has stirred up a controversial debate on whether the higher fat, lower carb diet is healthy in the long run for diet consumers. Some people say that it is not a healthy diet and that it includes too much fat, while others say it is the only weight loss diet that has finally helped them to take off a significant amount of weight.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The diet became an instant craze since it has been proven that many Americans eat excessive amounts of simple carbohydrates such as rice, alcohol, sugar, white flour, and sugar. As a result of the surge in obesity and high calorie intakes, the Atkins diet aims to eliminate the simple carbohydrate consumption by replacing it with high fat, high animal protein foods such as bacon, sausage, butter, steak, eggs, and brie. These rich foods are allowed as part of the diet since it claims that you will lose weight fast while just following the routine. Although the diet may cause one to lose weight, critics have found the diet to have considerable drawbacks. The Atkins diet restriction on carbohydrates is not very healthy since complex carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are found to contain essential nutrients and rich in fiber. Fiber is known to slow the absorption of food, which prevents blood glucose to rise and reduce insulin surges, therefore decreasing desire to eat. Critics have found that simple carbohydrates should be substituted for complex carbohydrates instead of eliminating carbohydrates from the diet completely. Complex carbohydrates and whole foods are rich in photochemical, bioflavonoid, carotenoids, and other substances that may reduce the risk of many chronic diseases.