The Correct Way to Diet

Most book stores have shelves filled with titles about dieting. Thousands of doctors and specialists vigorously promote a diverse range of diet plans from those high in carbohydrates to those low in fat. And, each diet claims to be better, safer or easier to follow than its competition. Meanwhile, there have been no government-sponsored studies to test the effectiveness or safety of even the most popular of these diets.

However, things took a step in the right direction on February 24, 2000 when the government sponsored the Great Nutrition Debate, a face-off of America's top diet gurus.

At the forefront of the debate were Robert Atkins and Dean Ornish, promoters of two opposing diet plans. Dr. Atkins, a cardiologist from New York and author of Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, encourages individuals to follow a diet consisting of foods high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Ornish, on the other hand, promotes a diet that is low in fat with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables.

The highly popular Atkins plan allows people to eat such high-fat foods as omelets, bacon, pork, steak and cheese. At the same time, Atkins asks people to stay away from foods that are high in carbohydrates such as pasta, some vegetables and many fruits. This diet has approximately 25 million participants and has maintained a following for thirty years.

The idea behind the Atkins diet is that the fat produced by the body causes obesity, not the fat that people ingest. According to Atkins, high-carbohydrate diets increase the body's production of insulin. And, when insulin is at high levels, the food we eat gets more readily converted into fat. Atkins says such diets also leave individuals less satisfied, so they eat more and get hungry sooner.

However, the nutrition debate generated criticism of the Atkins diet because it promotes high-fat foods at the expense of foods universally regarded as healthy, such as fruits and vegetables. This, Atkins' opponents believe, is a recipe for danger. Because it is high in saturated fat, the diet can increase the risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. It is also low in nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables, which protect against cancer. Medical and nutrition experts have also raised concerns that the diet may lead to such serious conditions as bone loss and kidney damage.

According to Dean Ornish, people on the Atkins diet may have bad breath, body odor and constipation from all the meat they are eating. They may also feel lethargic and light-headed.

Ornish, on the other hand, promotes a low-fat diet mainly for the prevention of heart disease. His diet includes fruits and vegetables, brown rice, whole grain pasta, and some fish. Ornish's approach was also criticized at the debate for being too extreme. Some said the low-fat diet is so unappetizing and eliminates so many food choices
that people will not be able to stick with it long enough for it to be effective.

At the debate, Dr. Atkins defended his diet by discussing scientific papers that have been written in defense of low-carbohydrate diets. He also stated that there is no evidence suggesting that his diet causes kidney damage and he has seen no signs of bone loss in his patients on the diet.

Until there are long-term studies to test these diets, there will still be many unanswered questions. The debate was not successful in resolving the issue of what causes people to get fat or the best way to get rid of it.

However, the panelists did agree on one thing-too many Americans are overweight. And, some maintained that the answer to the weight problem lies with neither of the opposing diet plans. Instead, they believe the answer lies somewhere between the two extremes. Balance, they said, is "the key" to losing weight.