The Fatkins Diet

The Fitness Nerd's go-to medical nerd website, WebMD, reported today on yet another study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association striking a blow to the folks at Atkins. In the study, researchers studied the effects of various diets when used for maintenance, as opposed to weight loss. Subjects were randomly fed one of three diets for one month. The low-carb/high-fat Atkins Diet featured 50% calorie intake from fat. The Mediterranean-based South Beach Diet featured 30%. The low-fat/high-carb Ornish featured a paltry 10% fat.

Here's what they found.

While on the low-carb, high-fat diet, LDL cholesterol levels increased slightly, compared to decreases of about 12% and 17% respectively, during the South Beach and Ornish phases of the study. 

After a month on the Atkins-like diet, study participants showed less blood vessel flexibility than they did after a month on the Ornish diet.   

CRP levels remained in the normal range with all three diets, but levels went down slightly while participants were on the South Beach and Ornish diets and they went up slightly on the high-fat, low-carb diet. 

So, like, wow. That's totally shocking. Who'd a thunk it? I think I might have to drop a line to the Hyperlipid, whose blog I love because A) his name would be ideal for the best super villain ever and B) he brags proudly about how 80% of his caloric intake comes from animal fat, yet he feels better than he did when he was a teenager.

Clearly he had a difficult childhood. 

While I intend to ask him what he thinks of the study, I might not mention the new Fitness Nerd feature I'm working on, Hyperlipid Heart Attack Watch 2009.