Atkins a good diet after all? Survey says yes

Meat-fans’ favourite diet, Atkins, may be just as effective and safe as a low-fat diet, despite all the other surveys and the founder dying a bloated man.

This latest research comes from a study of 322 overweight volunteers, carried out by boffins from Israel, America and Germany.

The volunteers lost weight on all diets tried, including Atkins (low-carbohydrate), low-fat and Mediterranean diet.

The low-carb diet was the most effective.

Lead researcher Dr Iris Shai, from the department of epidemiology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, said:

“Clearly there is not one diet that is ideal for everyone.

“We believe that this study will open clinical medicine to considering low-carb and Mediterranean diets as safe, effective alternatives for patients, based on personal preference and the medical goals set out for such intervention.”

Atkins - spearheaded by the late Dr Atkins - was the early noughties phenomenon that helped celebrity fans slim to dazzling new lows and gave everyone wholesome meaty breath. At its peak, around 3,000,000 Brits were apparently on it.

But the plan – which sees protein intake soar and carbohydrate intake drastically restricted - received criticism for its high fat content and possible risk of knock-on heart and kidney problems.

In the study, carried out at the Nuclear Research Centre in Israel, the low-carb diet was the most effective at reducing cholesterol levels and all very as good as each other at helping liver function.

Before you start firing up the barbecue, however, researchers do admit that, with 85% of the volunteers being men, the results may be different for ladies. Bum.

Source: Daily Mail

Image: Morguefile