1) What is the different between
Atkins diet and
other low carb diet?
Atkins diet is different from other low carb diets that Atkins diet
allows 15-20 grams of carbohydrate a day to trigger ketosis while non-ketogenic
low carb diets usually allow up to 50 - 60 gram of carbohydrate a day.
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2) What is
Ketosis?
Ketosis arises from the term lipolysis/ketosis. Lipolysis
simply means that you're burning your stored fat and using them as the source of
fuel. The by-products of burning fat are ketones. Hence, ketosis is a secondary process of lipolysis. When your body releases ketones into
your urine, this can be a chemical proof that you’re consuming your own stored fat.
The more ketones you release, the more fat you have burned.
If you are restricting the amount of carbohydrates you eat, your body turns
to fat as its alternative source of energy. In effect, lipolysis/ketosis has
replaced the alternative of burning glucose for energy. Both are perfectly
normal processes.
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3) How Long
does it usually take to get into ketosis?
The body can only store a two-day supply of glucose in the form of glycogen,
so after two days of consuming no more than 20 grams of carbohydrates, most
people go into lipolysis/ketosis.
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4) Doesn't ketosis lead to loss of muscle mass?
Only individuals on very low-calorie diets can lose
muscle mass, because they have an inadequate protein intake. Atkins diets, however, is
not calorie restricted (this is not an invitation for gorging, but a
recommendation to eat until you are no longer hungry) and the high protein
intake required offsets any possible loss of body mass.
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5) What about studies stating that high fat intake is detrimental to your
health?
All the studies that state high fat intake is detrimental to your health
have been done in mixed diet settings where there was enough carbohydrate for
the body to burn glucose (not fat) for energy. When fat is the primary fuel
source, you metabolize fat instead of storing it, and it poses no health risk.
There are no studies that have linked low carbohydrate, high fat eating programs
to any health risk.
In all phases of Atkins diet, it is a good idea to get much of your fat from fatty
fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines, nuts and seeds and olive oil which all
have
well-documented health benefits. If you do eat bacon—and no one should eat it
every day—look for products that are not cured with nitrates.
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6) I heard that people on Atkins learn to eat fatty foods like bacon and eggs,
so when they go off the program, they are worse than before.
If a person does Atkins, loses weight and then returns to his old
way of high carbohydrate eating, whether or not he incorporates bacon and eggs,
he will likely regain weight. Eating a high fat and high carbohydrate diet
can easily cause people become overweight because their bodies are not able to use up these empty calories.
Eating high
fat foods such as eggs, cheese and a couple of pieces of bacon is fine only in
the absence of refined carbs in your diet. During Induction Phase, when carbohydrates
are most strictly limited, you can indeed eat plenty of fat, all the while
losing weight and improving your blood cholesterol and triglyceride markers.
However, once your weight loss slows down and you are no longer primarily burning fat
for energy, you will naturally start to replace some of the fat in your diet
with nutrient-dense complex carbohydrates.
The point
is that Atkins diet is a way of eating for a lifetime. The gradual process by which
you learn new healthy eating habits actually reinforces health.
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7) Isn't doing Atkins bad for your heart?
While you may have heard that a diet high in saturated fat causes heart
disease or arteriosclerosis (arteries clogged with cholesterol-laden plaque), it
is actually a diet high in sugar and other refined carbohydrates combined with
fat that is the real culprit. Once you eliminate the white flour, sugar
and other nutrient-empty carbohydrates from your diet, the fat you consume in
meat or from other sources is burned for fuel (lipolysis) and is not converted
into cholesterol or other harmful blood fats. Independent clinical studies
indicate that cholesterol and triglyceride levels drop significantly while on Atkins
diet and levels of HDL ("good") cholesterol would rise, often dramatically.
However, this does not mean the program gives you license to stuff yourself
with multiple well marbled steaks or down a pound of cheese at a sitting.
(Choose organic products whenever possible to avoid chemicals.) The beneficial
fats you should be consuming include the monounsaturated fats in olives and
olive oil, nuts and nut oils, avocados and the all-important omega-3 fats found
in fatty fish such as salmon, herring and tuna.
Avoid trans fats (food
labels refer them as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils). This type of
fat can be found in
packaged products such as crackers, bread, most margarines and commercially
baked desserts and snacks. They have been found to pose a serious risk of
cardiac disease, according to several studies.
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