Atkins Diet: Benefits, Diet Program, and Side Effects

The Atkins Diet types

Since, it's creation in 1972, the Atkins diet changed and has been modified. Currently, there are 3 types of the Atkins diet:

Atkins 20

Atkins 20 diet is a type of Atkins diet that allows the consumption of only 20 g of carbohydrates in phase 1 or the induction phase of the diet.

It is usually recommended for people who are either diabetic or need to lose more than 40 pounds or 18.2 kg.

 Atkins 40

Atkins 40 diet is a type of Atkins diet that is less restrictive than Atkins 20 as it allows 40 g of carbohydrates in phase 1 or the induction phase of the diet.

This type of diet is recommended for people aiming to lose less than 40 pounds or 18.2 kg.

Modified Atkins Diet (MAD)

The modified Atkins diet is the most restricted one among all Atkins diet types in terms of carbohydrates intake.

It is similar somehow to the ketogenic diet but slightly less restrictive as it allows carbohydrates up to 10-20 g per day, and promotes also fat consumption while limiting protein intake.

Difference between Modified Atkins Diet and Keto Diet

The Modified Atkins diet is similar to Keto diet since both restrict carbs consumption, however compared to Keto diet, the Modified Atkins diet doesn’t limit proteins. Instead, it allows unlimited consumption. check Keto Diet to learn more about it.

By following the Modified Atkins diet, carbohydrates reserves available in the body would be reduced considerably. However, this type of diet will not put the body into a state of ketosis compared with the keto diet.

Accordingly, the Modified Atkins diet contains less carbohydrates than the other types of Atkins diet that allow the re-introduction of carbohydrates at later phases of the diet. However, it remains a less restrictive version of the keto diet that restricts carbohydrates to only 5% of the daily caloric requirements. 

Furthermore, the Modified Atkins diet allows unlimited proteins compared to the keto diet that limits proteins at 20%. In this regard, it is important to note that when the person consumes more than 20% of proteins in the diet, the additional protein is believed to convert into glucose.

How Atkins Diet works in the Body

The Atkins diet is a low carbohydrate diet encouraging the macronutrients focus on proteins mostly and fats. The reason behind restricting carbohydrate foods is that they are the main suppliers of glucose used for the body’s energy production.

The Atkins diet removes the main source of energy which is glucose, by restricting and eliminating carbohydrates thus forcing the body to go look for another source for energy in order to survive. 

Accordingly, the body will start using the fat stores available and burn them in order to provide energy when glucose is depleted. When the body starts burning fat for energy, such as the case in the Atkins diet, the individual would start losing more weight from fat, and this process would lead to many health benefits for the individual.

Another concept behind how the Atkins diet work is related to insulin levels. As more carbohydrates are ingested, insulin levels tend to increase lowering the fat burning process.

Therefore, if lower carbohydrate amounts are consumed, insulin levels will not rise, hence promoting the fat burning process and boosting metabolism.

Atkins Diet misconceptions

There are lot of misconceptions about the Atkins diet especially in regard to consuming high amounts of fat. In fact, the Atkins diet only allows good types of fats and eliminates trans fats, including fried foods, baked goods, cookies, crackers, candies, snack foods, icings and vegetable shortenings.

In addition, when carbs are restricted like in the case of the Atkins diet, the body starts producing less saturated fat and burning more of it.

Furthermore, since the Atkins diet allows high protein consumption, it is believed to cause kidneys’ problems.

Nevertheless, Atkins’ diet typical protein intake is about 12 to 18 ounces a day. This is not considered a high-protein diet, and most concerns about this are not supported by research or might contain some flaws.

Atkins supporters believe that this idea was based on the fact that people who already have advanced kidney disease can’t clear away the waste from moderate protein intake. Accordingly, there’s no clear research or evidence suggesting that a healthy person would experience the same problems. 

Another misconception about the Atkins diet is that it doesn’t allow vegetables at all, given that vegetables are carbs.

This is actually wrong because the Atkins diet allows vegetables consumption. However, it makes a clear distinction between different vegetables because they are not all equally healthy.

Accordingly, the Atkins diet recommends consuming spinach rather than peas. It also considers broccoli more health-protective compared to potatoes, despite the fact that they are all vegetables. 

Atkins Diet phases

The Atkins Diet is divided into four consecutive phases which are induction, balancing, pre-maintenance, and lifetime maintenance consecutively.

Phase 1: Induction Phase

This phase is the most restricted phase in terms of carbohydrates as it is does not allow any carbohydrate intake. The purpose of the induction phase is to shift the body from relying on glucose and carbohydrates for energy to using the body fat stores to achieve this. This phase results in the fastest weight loss because the body is using fat as its primary energy source because carbohydrate sources are no longer available.

The duration of this phase is at least two weeks and could stretch to more, but the time is usually individualized depending on personal improvements.

Depending on the type of diet used, the individual should receive either 20 g or 40 g of carbohydrates per day in this phase. Carbohydrates here are mainly from vegetables comprising 12-15 g of the total carbohydrate intake, but not from fruits as they are not allowed at this stage due to their sugar content. The focus is on proteins in each meal, and there is no restriction on fats and oils.

Phase 2: Balancing Phase

In this phase, the carbohydrate intake is increased gradually over time by adding 5 g of carbohydrates to the diet each week.

The purpose of this phase is to monitor the maximum amount of carbohydrates that the body can tolerate while still losing 1-2 pounds per week. Once this is achieved, you should no longer add carbohydrates weekly.

Similar to the induction phase, 12-15 g of carbohydrates should be coming from non-starchy vegetables. However, unlike phase 1, the balancing phase allows some low carbohydrate fruits and starchy vegetables. Thus, this phase allows intake of some nutrients that are rich in carbohydrates such as nuts and seeds, in addition to the proteins and fats recommended in phase 1.

Phase 3: Pre-maintenance Phase

By this phase, you might have become closer to your targeted weight. Accordingly, this phase allows for adding more foods items to your diet to maintain your weight, or adjust your carbs intake to find your balance if you still need to lose more weight.

The duration of this phase depends on every individual, however it stops whenever the weight loss goal is achieved. Addition of carbohydrate containing food such as whole grains, starchy vegetables, and fruits is recommended in this phase. However, it is important to monitor weight regain in this phase and change the carbohydrate intake accordingly.

Phase 4: Maintenance Phase

The maintenance phase starts once the goal of the individual is achieved and can continue as a long term life style.

The amount of carbohydrates in this stage depends on how much an individual’s body can tolerate carbs without gaining weight, based on trials from the previous phases.

For example, if the intake of more than 150 g of carbohydrates a day during the pre-maintenance phase, showed that the person is gaining back the weight, then less than 150 g of carbohydrate from various sources should be eaten.

Atkins Diet Food

The Atkins diet restricts carbohydrate and stresses on protein and fat intake. Supporters of this diet recommend it as an everlasting regimen that should be followed as a lifestyle across the individual’s lifespan for healthier outcomes.

The Atkins diet promotes foods that are considered low in carbohydrates or carbohydrate-free for consumption. These foods include:

- Fish and seafood

- Pork, turkey, and chicken

- Eggs

- Non-starchy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, lettuce, cucumber, kale, asparagus…

- Unrefined oils such as olive oil, coconut oil, walnut oil…

- Full fat dairy including butter, heavy cream, sour cream, and hard cheeses that are high in fat and low in carbohydrates such as blue cheese, American cheese, Swiss, cheddar, feta …

- Herbs and spices

Atkins Diet: what you should avoid

The Atkins diet restricts carbohydrates consumption and tends to eliminate many foods based on their carbohydrate content. Accordingly, the diet removes the following foods from the regimen:

- All types of grains, legumes, and starches

- Sugar and alternative sweeteners

- Sugar sweetened beverages and drinks

- Most fruits and vegetables that are high in carbohydrates

- Starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn

- Vegetables oils like corn oil, canola oil, soybean oil …

- Condiments including bagged sauces and mixes

- Most dairy products that are high in carbohydrates such as milk, yogurt, and cottage cheese

- Alcohol

- Reduced fat and diet products

Atkins Diet Benefits

The Atkins diet, characterized by low carbohydrate consumption, is of several health benefits. According to the Atkins diet supporters, the primary benefit of the Atkins diet is weight loss as it was initially created for this purpose.

Other benefits that people would get from using the Atkins diet are for diabetes, high triglycerides and cholesterol levels, high blood pressure and heart diseases.

The benefits of the Atkins diet include:

- Weight loss: the diet increases the amount of fat burned in the body, plus satiety is achieved much quicker. Accordingly, fewer calories are consumed, resulting in weight loss.

- Heart disease: the diet can reduce body fat, increase HDL cholesterol, improve blood pressure, reduce triglycerides, and maintain healthy blood sugar levels that prevent or reduce the risk of heart disease.

- Triglycerides: the diet reduces drastically the triglyceride levels found in the blood. 

- Cholesterol: the diet increases the level of good cholesterol called HDL. The good cholesterol is known for removing unwanted bad cholesterol from the blood.

- Hypertension or high blood pressure: the diet may also decrease blood pressure levels. Hypertension is associated with many diseases such as heart disease and kidney failure.

- Diabetes: the diet lowers the level of sugar found in the blood. This is especially useful in patients with diabetes. 

There’s also another type of the Atkins diet known as the Modified Atkins diet. Following this diet may also have beneficial effects on other conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), because this type of diet is very similar to the ketogenic diet. 

However, more research and findings are under way in order to support these statements further.

Atkins Diet precautions

There are several side effects that might come along when you follow a low carbohydrate diet such as the Atkins diet. When there is an elimination or even restriction of carbohydrates from the diet, symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, headaches, sleep disturbances, trouble breathing, irritability and mood swings, and bad breath might occur. 

Digestive problems also happen with the Atkins diet due to several reasons such as constipation and diarrhea. Even nausea might follow as a result of inadequate fiber intake secondary to carbohydrate restriction. 

Another important factor to pay attention to is nutritional deficiencies. Certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies are prevalent when omitting a food group or certain food types. The Atkins diet restricts carbohydrates and fruits, and this increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies.

Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new diet or treatment.

Atkins Diet precautions for patients with diabetes

An additional and dangerous complication can happen if the body is accumulating high amounts of ketone bodies that can show up in the blood and urine. This is known as a diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), and is a serious complication for patients with diabetes.

It can be life threatening and dangerous, and therefore people following an Atkins diet should always do proper monitoring and conduct regular tests to check their blood and various health indicators.