In 1963, Robert Atkins was sickly and overweight, weighing in at 224 pounds. Years of stress, workload, and poor eating habits had taken a toll on him. As an American physician and cardiologist, he knew that he needed to lose weight in order to stay healthy. And success was not far off. In less than two years, Dr. Atkins not only lost weight, but he helped over 65 patients reach their ideal weight. Fueled by his determination to correct his own overweight condition, Atkins could not have imagined that the low-carb diet he popularized would soon take the world by storm.
Atkins was inspired by the research of Dr. Alfred Pennington, who recommended removing sugar and starch from all meals. The concept of eliminating sugar and increasing fat consumption to treat obesity was new to American science, although German and Austrian researchers had explored the idea in depth before World War II. Atkins found immediate and long-lasting success with this plan. Impressed by his own weight loss, Dr. Atkins began promoting his diet plan through books and television show appearances. Before long, her success has inspired the release of several cookbooks, health guides, and diet products.
The Atkins diet limits carbohydrate consumption, forcing the dieter to metabolize body fat instead of glucose. The low blood sugar of low-carb dieters limits the release of the hormone insulin. Insulin plays a protective role in the body by lowering blood sugar levels. The hormone moves glucose from the blood into fat and muscle cells. If this regulation is disrupted, as is the case with diabetics, blood glucose can build up to toxic levels, oxidize and destroy your blood vessels. Improper hormone functioning can result from an inability to produce insulin (type 1 diabetes) or from cellular resistance to insulin (type 2 diabetes). While the former is usually genetic, type 2 diabetes results from the body’s exposure to high insulin levels over a long period of time, resulting from high blood sugar levels. Therefore, maintaining low insulin levels by limiting carbohydrate intake will not only reduce fat storage but also keep your body healthy.
Because low-carb dieters eat few carbohydrates, the glucose may not trigger an insulin response. In the absence of insulin, fat cells release fatty acids into the bloodstream where the liver and muscle tissue break down fatty acids via the Krebs cycle. Without a supply of glucose or glycogen derived from carbohydrates, the body relies on fat as a primary fuel source. By establishing a hormonal balance that burns fat, the Atkins diet enables people to eat a satiating diet and still lose weight.
Source by Bryan D Holekamp
