Dr. Atkins Passes Away....

[Jennifer M.]

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NEW YORK (AP) - Dr. Robert C. Atkins, whose best-selling low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet was dismissed as nutritional folly for years but was recently validated in some research, died Thursday, his spokesman said. He was 72.

Atkins died at New York Weill-Cornell Medical Center and was surrounded by his wife and close friends, said Richard Rothstein, his spokesman.

Atkins had suffered a severe head injury April 8 after falling on an icy sidewalk while walking to work.

Atkins first advocated his unorthodox weight-loss plan - which emphasizes meat, eggs and cheese and discourages bread, rice and fruit - in his 1972 book, "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution."


Its publication came at a time when the medical establishment was encouraging a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. The following year, the American Medical Association dismissed Atkins' diet as nutritional folly and Congress summoned him to Capitol Hill to defend the plan.

Labeling it "potentially dangerous," the AMA said the diet's scientific underpinning was "naive" and "biochemically incorrect." It scolded the book's publishers for promoting "bizarre concepts of nutrition and dieting."

Despite this, his books sold 15 million copies, and millions of people tried the diet. Atkins' philosophy enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," which sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and spent five years on The New York Times best-seller list.

But criticism of the diet lingered, with many arguing that it could affect kidney function, raise cholesterol levels and deprive the dieter of important nutrients.

Atkins said no study showed that people with normal kidney function developed problems because of a high-protein diet, and he never gave in to his detractors.

Defending his plan at the American Dietetic Association's convention in 2000, Atkins quipped, "I'm very happy to be here. Not as happy as Daniel in the lion's den."

This year, his approach was vindicated in part by the very medical community that scorned him. In February, some half-dozen studies showed that people on the Atkins diet lost weight without compromising their health. The studies showed that Atkins dieters' cardiovascular risk factors and overall cholesterol profiles changed for the better.

Still, many of the researchers were reluctant to recommend the Atkins diet, saying a large new study now under way could settle lingering questions of its long-term effects.

On the Atkins diet, up to two-thirds of calories may come from fat - more than double the usual recommendation, and violating what medical professionals have long believed about healthy eating. Carbohydrates are the foundation of a good diet, most say. Eating calorie-dense fat is what makes people fat, they say, and eating saturated fat is dangerous.

To Atkins, the key dietary villain in obesity was carbohydrates. He argued they make susceptible people pump out too much insulin, which in turn encourages them to put on fat.


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[ShainaT]

Wow!! Thanks for letting us know. Very sad.

[mayfly]

[Shainie]

Just got the news alert in my e-mail. Very sad.

[freesurfer]

I wonder what impact this will have now. This is sad.

[jsalba]

Very sad. I was hoping he would recover.

[mama2calli]

I am terribly sad... if not for low-carbing I would have not been able to concieve...sooooo sad

Kath

[3tbear]

That's very sad, I was certain he'd recover.

[Juliannaluv]

I, too was hoping he'd recover! What terrible news

[nrages]

Oh my goodness. What a freak accident. How sad!!

[blueaguave]

I am glad he saw the vindication in the past year. I tried to get tickets for one of his lectures last year at the Learning Annex on 52nd Street. My friend, who's an NYC ticket broker, couldn't get me a ticket! He said, next time asking me for something easier, like front row Stones or mezzanine Producers tickets!

[blueaguave]

A couple years ago, I read Dr Atkins Age Defying Diet, then Dr Atkins Vita Nutrient Solutions. I had always had some health nut tendencies, in the early 90s doing a lot of hiking, and also taking some vitamins and always drinking water. But I had gotten fat and lazy in the late 90s. Finally, those two books and AndersonGal put me on the right path, in a humorous, easy to read style, I learned many things, nutrition, herbs, vitamins. Based on his books, and web sites and health magazine, here are some interesting facts about Robert Atkins:

-Dr Atkins was a pioneer of alternative medicine, not just diets. He founded the Foundation for the Advancement of Innovative Medicine ( [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] ) which is comprised of traditional MDs who are also open to alternative and herbal medicine. In recent years, this group has lobbied various state legislatures to force HMOs to cover different herbal, accupuncture, etc. They have a directory of doctors (primarily in the Northeast US)

-although Dr Atkins grew up in a small Ohio town, and went to college in the small town of Ithaca, NY (Cornell), he relished the big city lifestyle of New York.

-Dr Atkins was one of the first doctors to speak out against diet pills (amphetamines) in the early 70s. Up until then, it was considered normal for doctors to tell their patients to pop these pills instead of making any lifestyle or diet changes

-Dr Atkins recently told USA Today he felt that God put him on earth to eliminate obesity and diabetes. His next book was to address that subject, and it will be published by the Atkins Center based on rough drafts stored on his computer

-in recent years, Dr Atkins worked to correct misconceptions about his philosophy and diet. Only the first two weeks of his diet is ultra-low carb, and his recent books like Age Defying Diet and Atkins for Life, emphasize replacing white flour with healthier whole grains, and lifetime maintenance

-Dr Aktins had a world class art collection, and enjoyed being an international traveller (his book Age Defying Diet contains humorous anectdotes about how much better people eat in Mediterranean countries compared to us in America)

DR ATKINS, I SALUTE YOU AND THANK YOU!


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