Atkins Diet May Be Hazardous To Health

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Low-carbohydrate diets are the hottest diets around these days, but the ads and promotions don't reveal everything.

It's the diet of the beautiful people. Stars like Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Renee Zellwegger are all said to have used Dr. Atkins no-carbohydrate plan to trim their waistlines.

Many doctors say the Atkins diet won't work in the long term and could be hazardous to your health.

Carolee Butler, a businesswoman from Lake Mary, Fla., decided to slim down her image a year ago, and Jody Garron wanted to stop his weight gain before it got out of hand, but they needed some help.

"I could go to Albertson's and get a loaf of that French bread, you know at 5 p.m., and eat the whole thing," Butler said.

It was the Atkins diet to the rescue. Goodbye carbohydrates, bread, pasta and potatoes. Hello high proteins: meats, cheeses and eggs.

"I usually had either a hamburger with the cheese and a salad, or I had chicken and a salad," Butler said.

"I was eating cheeseburgers, and steak, and cheese, and cheesecake," Garron said.

The Atkins theory is that high-carb foods make you fat, and that if you eat lots of proteins, instead of carbs, your body is forced to burn off that unwanted fat around your middle for fuel.

Now for the skinny on our two diet clients.

"I lost over 40 pounds," Butler said.

"I realized that it had given me heart disease," Garron said.

Success for Butler, but a near-death experience for Garron. Shortly after starting Atkins, Garron's total cholesterol soared from a healthy 148 to an unacceptable 230.

"I started getting chest pains," Garron said.

Doctors discovered a 99 percent blockage in one of his arteries. They had to perform angioplasty to clear it.

He blamed the Atkins diet for encouraging him to eat foods he loved that were high in saturated fats.

"I mean, you're seduced by the diet," Garron said. "That's the big lie in the Atkins diet."

He has made some changes.

"No red meat. No cheesecake. No cheese ... I'm eating stone-ground whole wheat. I'm eating Smart Balance spreads so that the oils in there are not saturated," Garron said.

His cholesterol is back to where it was before he started Atkins.

"I may not be eating as well as I would like to, in terms of the foods that I love, but I feel good, and I know my heart is better," Garron said.

Even with his heart problems, Garron said he supports the low-carb Atkins diet, minus the saturated fat. Many others, like Butler, said it's just fine the way it is.

"I went from a 16 to an 8, and I'm going to stay here," Butler said.

The Atkins folks said they never meant for people to eat unlimited amounts of saturated fat and that they've been advising doctors on that for the last couple of years. But if you ask anyone who knows about the Atkins diet, their impression is that you can eat all the fats and meats you want without worrying about the consequences, reported WESH-TV in Orlando.

The bottom line: If you have a large amount of weight to lose, using a diet severely limited in carbohydrates can work. But you have to be careful of saturated fats, and ultimately, you have to end up on a sensible diet and increase your exercise, the station reported.