Atkins Diet: The Malnutrition of the West

One of the most controversial aspects of the Atkins diet is the severe reduction in the consumption of fruit and vegetables it requires. In Phase 1 of the program, fruit is banned altogether and vegetables restricted; in Phase 2 fruits begin to reappear but are placed towards the bottom of the carbohydrate ladder in terms of the types of foods you should eat.

I want to explain exactly why this flies in the face of so much evidence about the importance of these foods for our health, and why such a regime is not a healthy long-term dietary approach.

The Malnutrition of the West

Do you think you're malnourished? No doubt your answer is a resounding no, of course not. Malnutrition is something we associate with dreadful TV images from the developing world - emaciated children with distended tummies or bone malforma­tion. Malnutrition is the acute lack of calories that can kill within weeks or lead to diseases such as scurvy that result from the near absolute absence of an essential micronutrient. It is true that generally we don't suffer that type of malnutrition (called Type A) in the West, but I can virtually guarantee that if I conducted a clinical analysis of your diet, I would have to conclude that you suffer from Type B malnutrition.

Type B Malnutrition

Type B malnutrition is defined as a chronic depletion of micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids and other substances such as dietary fibre and the phytonutrients. There may be no obvious short-term effect from these deficiencies - although I would argue that many common complaints such as fatigue, depression and skin problems do result from multiple micronutrient depletion. However the most serious effects of Type B malnutrition are premature ageing and the early onset of chronic degenerative diseases.

How can we be malnourished, you might ask. We're eating plenty of food. In fact many of us are apparently eating too much food-or, at least, consuming more calories than we burn - and are overweight. The fact is that paradoxically, we do not eat enough food, and much of the food we do eat is 'micronutrient-lite'. Too many of the foods we eat today are over-processed, contain the wrong balance of proteins, fats and carbohydrates and are low in too many micronutrients. Factors such as soils (and therefore crops) depleted in essential trace elements, prolonged food storage and inappropriate cooking methods mean that the overwhelming majority of us find it virtually impossible to obtain from our diet all the micronutrients essential for optimum health.