The Myth Of The Atkins Fad Diet

Current news articles claim the Atkins Fad Diet and Low Carb Craze is over, but I think it is simply misunderstood. Low carb diets, and Atkins in particular have been plagued by references that they are unhealthy and hard to maintain. Is it really just a fad?

Those who don’t know much about Atkins and Low Carb Dieting have visions of bacon, eggs, cheese and steak at every meal. These foods that we have long believed to be “bad for us” but taste so good. Although some medical studies have shown that perhaps some of these foods, such as eggs are not as bad as we though, the present way of thinking is still that all the saturated fat will clog our arteries and eventually send us to an early grave.

Another myth is that these so called fad diets don’t allow any fruits or vegetables. It is well known that fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that help fight disease and keep us healthy, so how can the Atkins diet be anything but a fad that is hard to maintain and unhealthy?

The truth is that the Atkins and other Low Carb Diets might just be misunderstood. Apart from a restrictive 2 week phase at the beginning, many of these diets encourage the consumption of healthy fruits, whole grains, vegetables and promote eating only low fat meats. The South Beach Diet in particular seems to be very healthy.

One of the main problems with most fad diets is that they do not include “regular” foods that are readily available and therefore are hard to maintain. Apart from having to avoid some foods in the beginning stages, the Atkins diet does include everyday foods and also has many packaged foods that can help relive the boredom. Once you have slowly added more carbs to your diet you can eat a wide range of foods and should be able to find something to eat in most any situation.

So if you think the Atkins, South Beach or other low carb diet consists of eating just bacon and eggs, then yes I would agree this is a fad that cannot be maintained for long. But if you look at the diets further you will see that they allow much more than that and in the end it boils down to making healthy food choices – just like any other type of diet or healthy eating plan.

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