Adkin's Diet Evaluated

The idea of carbohydrates vs fat is an interesting approach. Our major problem with the diet is the casual treatment of "fat". There are good fats and bad fats and it does appear that the distinction was not made effectively. After reading the Atkins’s Diet and the two video tapes, I have some input on the subject that may interest my readers.
Sugar is the atomic bomb when it comes to ingredients that are most injurious to our system. Carbohydrates convert to sugar, raise havoc with our immune system and our weight. I have always been a big fan of protein and have well developed muscle mass in my late 60's. Doctors have often remarked that this is highly unusual and my friends in their 70's and 80's have also asked, "How do you maintain such excellent muscle definition?" My standard response was, "Not by eating carrots and celery." Well that may be the gist of it, but the truth is I don’t go for the celery and carrots raw, but I do include them in my soups.
I always ate steak, fish, chicken, salads, spaghetti sauce, soup and oatmeal, cherries, peaches, blueberries, broccoli and spinach, chicken cacciatore. However, if given the choice, my first desire was for the grilled steak. We had the old octopus-type coal furnace with an accessible door which we used to grill our steak. Using a folded grid-like stainless steel device to hold the steak, we wore gloves and held the steak over the hot coals and then turned it over for less than 10 minutes. We placed the steak in a dish and the juices were used as a thin gravy or "au jus". Mom added oregano and it was the kind of "to die for" flavorful taste that would just make me salivate.
The late Dr. Atkins used a 14 day "Maximum Fat-Burning" sequence which was intended to switch your body from a carbohydrate-burning to a fat-burning metabolism. He was very concerned about stabilizing blood-sugar associated with symptoms like fatigue, mood swings, brain fog, and weak spells. Trying to stop the "addictive cravings" of eating chocolate, wheat, corn derivatives, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, grain gluten, and other "allergic" or "addictive" foods. These are goals worth considering in any nutritional approach to healthy eating. I can agree with these and recognize the value of cutting carbohydrates down to 20 grams of carbs a day in the first fourteen days. Dr. Atkins suggested you eat until you are full, not stuffed, and that you eat nothing when you are not hungry. Did you ever notice how easy it is to go without eating, but once you eat something you tend to overeat? Another good idea was that of staying away, completely, from sugar, chocolate, doughnuts, candy, cake, and pizza, which he classifies as "addictive foods. I part company with eating pure fats and mayonnaise or butter. Sticking to proteins, olive oil, and combinations of protein and salads or soups are more along the lines of what I consider to be eating healthy.
Counting carbs isn’t a bad idea, or as my physician might recommend, "No more than two slices of bread a day." Reading the "Nutrition Facts" for content of sugar and carbohydrates is critical, if you are to begin the fat-burning process.
In his "Breakfast Ideas" I have a lot of objections. His recommendations for ham, cheese and mushroom omelet; bacon and scrambled eggs, smoked fish with cream cheese, fried eggs and sausage, fried eggs and bacon are excellent ways to clog your arteries and may have resulted in the formation of blood clots that prove to be fatal. Instead, I like the recommendations of poached egg and trout, hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes, oatmeal with diced apple, raisins and cinnamon, oatmeal with frozen blueberries and cherries. Oatmeal with saccharin, 1% milk and a pat of butter are more in tune with my approach to "whole food," nutrition-based-regimen breakfast foods. Occasionally, I like a poached egg on toast with a slice of tomato and a cup of tea. The extremes in the Atkins’s Diet are problematic to maintaining clear arteries. And clear arteries, immune support, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits are my goal.
In his "Lunch Suggestions" he recommends a bacon cheeseburger without the bun, tuna salad with bacon, hamburger without the bun, lobster salad, cottage cheese with tuna and a mixed salad with cheddar cheese and sardines. These, I strongly oppose as too extreme in cholesterol and they produce sticky blood. The soft cheeses tend to clog the arteries. However, to be fair, he also recommends: Chef salad with boiled eggs, half chicken with salad, sole fish on a bed of greens, turkey breast with cucumber salad, seafood salad with Romaine lettuce, and I can agree with these. But I would also consider soup and salad, especially a mixed salad containing: radicchio, arugula, baby spinach, endive, and/or dandelion leaves. Spice up the salad with extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, a touch of crushed garlic and some red onion. Try leaning more towards the kinds of whole foods that are nutritionally sound and offer a multitude of flavors to satisfy the palate.
Dr. Atkins’s dinner ideas contain much that I can agree with: rack of lamb, poached wild sockeye salmon, roast chicken, filet mignons, and shrimp cocktail. I might add a tuna salad mixed with a spring mix salad, olive oil, vinegar, even a sprinkle of Italian bread crumbs and crushed garlic and fine-sliced red onion, cherry or grape tomatoes and thinly sliced cucumber. Dr. Atkins’s suggestion that all dinners should include a fresh green salad is right on, however, I would add a vegetable-beef or chicken-vegetable soup as the first course and the salad - second.
The snacks present problems for me in that they contain too many eggs, cold cuts, cheese, mayonnaise, feta cheese and the dessert of assorted cheeses or diet-Jell-O with whipped heavy cream seems like an oxy-moron. It reminds me of a 350 lb. friend of mine that orders diet Pepsi and then proceeds to order the "Greek Platter." This assortment of Greek foods is enough to feed four people.
I have problems with the super low-no carb food recommendations that include fried foods, omelets, shellfish, cheddar, mozzarella and cream cheese. All fish and the meat dishes, with the exception of ham are fine. In the "Fowl" category, I would eliminate goose, duck and try to stay with roasted chicken or roasted turkey. Farmers who raised duck told me there is nothing on a duck that isn’t fat.
The "Salad Veggies" all seem to be good for you and yet Dr. Atkins asks that you eat them in limited quantity. "Salad herbs" like thyme, basil, cilantro, rosemary, and especially oregano are amongst the main herbs I use. I do use cumin and coriander, cloves and peppercorns with bay leaves in my soup and paprika, cayenne pepper, hickory flavoring and lemon on my grilled fish.
When Dr. Atkins gets to the low-carb veggies like asparagus, string beans, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, kale, onion, snow peas, zucchini, broccoli, leeks, spinach, tomato, dandelion greens, collard greens, bean sprouts and artichokes, we are on the same page.
On the subject of "Drinks" I part company with decaf tea or coffee, cream, club soda, diet soda and low-carb diet shakes. However, he also mentions mineral water, bouillon, clear broth, iced tea (without sugar), spring water-- lemon or lime added is even better.
On "Fats and Oils" I prefer the first pressed extra virgin olive oil, hand-pressed canola oil, sunflower and safflower—cold pressed are best. There is a renewed interest in using natural butter to avoid the "hydrogenated vegetable oils."
On "Artificial Sweeteners" I prefer "Xylitol", Saccharin or natural fruit juice. When Dr. Atkins warns of the labeling, I am very much with him on that. It appears that one product will have low sugar or no sugar and mega-sodium or carbohydrates. It’s almost like choosing your "poison." It appears as though Dr. Atkins, too, was very much aware of the dangers of "sugar."
For this blog, I will simply try to convince you of the necessity of looking at the food you eat in terms of the consequence to your body. I am suspicious of sausage, hot dogs, ice creams, processed foods and cheeses - because there are too many unidentifiable ingredients that can be hazardous to your health. Taste is not the best measure of how nutritious a food is to your overall health.