Atkins says fat is OK, stay away from sugar and large amounts of carbohydrates.
The Insulin action on carbohydrates, when we have enough energy
level, stores the fat.
Thus we are over eating ourselves to death.

If the insulin level is kept from jumping too high with sugar intake, the body fat is burned off.
As it should be and was proven by UK doctors in the 1950's.

Staying away from rising the insulin levels seems to be his approach.
Fat has no effect on insulin levels, so thats his take.

The most addictive type of sugar been used in most products in the US even products that doesn't required sugar is corn syrup, because it also acts as a preservative.

And I agree Dr. Akin diet works if the only carbs you eat are complex cabs, fiber and no sugar but the natural sugar in fruits with moderation.

I seem to be able to eat whatever I want, as long as i exercise and drink water every day. also if i'm not hungry i simply don't eat.
I don't know tho I never go to the doctor so maybe i'm on the verge of a heart attack or something but i feel really healthy....hopefully in ten years it'll still be workin' for me.

Of course corn syrup is in everything, GM corn additives will continue to cause huge boosts to the heath industry. Use food to sell more drugs, use drugs to sell more food, the unspoken FDA motto.

I stand by my belief that Americans deserve EVERYTHING they get, including the chronic health issues associated with being glutinous pigs.

"Well the food and drug companies made it possible for me to destroy myself and my country, so they are to blame!" Is a sad, sad, pathetic excuse.

[edit on 5-8-2009 by maus80]

In the DemocracyNow interview with Dr. Kessler, he identified the following known addictive properties. (I am paraphrasing what he said in the interview; these are all his words, except for my connecting phrases.)

His most recent medical journal article is titled "Deconstructing the vanilla milkshake." During his interview with Amy Goodman, he asks which part of the vanilla milkshake ingredients is it that keeps us coming back for more? His answer is, it's the sugar that is the main driver.

Kessler goes on to say: "But when you add fat to the sugar, it's synergistic. With my colleague Gaetano di Chiara, we -- Gaetano studies the effect of amphetamine and cocaine on the brain's dopamine circuits. Dopamine is responsible for focusing your attention on a specific stimulus. And we always knew that amphetamine and cocaine raise the brain's dopamine level. ... we studied the effects of not just one nutrient, not just sugar, but sugar and fat, and we found, when you put them together, you get elevations of the brain's dopamine circuitry. And not only that, it doesn't habituate. It doesn't go down time after time. So we see that multi-potent, multi-sensory foods can stimulate the brain's neural circuitry."

Devolution's question is answered by what Kessler says a number of times over the course of this lengthy interview, that it is sugar that is the main driver. Kessler also says, however, that in manufactured food, what the producers of this food have learned is most successful for their product sales is to add sugar to fat, or where possible to add sugar to salt and fat. It is those combinations that are almost universally present in manufactured foods, and especially in restaurant foods.

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D., a nutritionist and author of a number of books on topics related to natural foods (The Book of Whole Meals, Food and Healing are 2 of her titles), says that when she gets a new class of students in her natural foods classes, she always asks for a show of hands of those who think that sugar is addictive. On the average, about 80% of students raise their hands in agreement.

In her most recent book on natural foods remedies for osteoporosis, Dr. Colbin says that sometimes during a restaurant meal, when she is given a side order of boiled carrots, that in the restaurant kitchen they have added some sugar to the water in which the carrots have boiled. Dr. Colbin is able to notice that effect the next morning after she awakens. (She has not used concentrated sweeteners in many years, and thus is able to identify their effects on her soon after a restaurant meal.)

So the main ingredient that's a problem in processed foods is sugar. But sugar and fat, as Kessler said, have a synergistic effect together (which they often are in processed food) so that synergism presents a separate problem for serious consideration.

The response earlier in this thread that "Americans deserve everything they get" is understandable, but don't underestimate the power of the multinational food corporations, restaurants and fast-food outlets to adversely affect the health of the entire developed/developing world. Further, multinational corporations can move their headquarters anywhere they want to, such as Dubai, etc.

[edit on 8/7/2009 by Uphill]