Rating: 
Summary: Clarification on Dr. Atkins heart condition
Review: Statement on the Status of Dr. Robert C. Atkins' Health from Dr.
Atkins and from the Chief Executive Officer/President of The
Atkins Companies
April 25, 2002
On Thursday April 18, Dr. Robert C. Atkins, the well-known nutrition expert and best selling author, did, in fact,
experience cardiac arrest during breakfast. He was quickly revived by an associate and taken to the hospital.
As this was not a heart attack (or myocardial infarction), but a cardiac arrest related to an infection of the heart
he has been suffering from for a few years, Dr. Atkins experienced a speedy recovery and was released from
the hospital on Wednesday, April 24. In fact, Dr. Atkins hopes to return to his responsibilities, including local
speaking engagements and as chairman of the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation, within the next week or so. His
doctors have advised him to curtail his travel plans for the next 30 days as a precautionary measure.
The cause of this event was cardiomyopathy, not blocked arteries. Over the last couple of years, Dr. Atkins
has had an infection of the heart muscle (called the myocardium) contracted during an overseas trip. Coupled
with the extreme heat conditions of mid-April here in New York, the 71-year old Dr. Atkins suffered this event.
"We have been treating this condition, cardiomyopathy, for almost two years," explains Patrick Fratellone MD,
Dr. Atkins' personal physician and cardiologist, "and during the course of diagnosis, we discovered that Dr.
Atkins' coronary arteries were normal as diagnosed by an angiogram performed at Columbia Presbyterian
Hospital on the upper west side of New York City in April of 2001. Clearly, his own nutritional protocols have
left him, at the age of 71, with an extraordinarily healthy cardiovascular system. Unfortunately, the
infection-related cardiomyopathy is totally another matter."
"I have had cardiomyopathy, which is a non-coronary condition and is in no way related to diet,"says Dr.
Atkins.
Cardiac arrest is an event in which the heart abruptly stops. It is not the same thing as heart attack in which the
heart is severely deprived of oxygen but still beating. Certainly a heart attack (or myocardial infarction) is one of
the known causes of cardiac arrest, but there are several others that have nothing to do with blocked arteries
and other problems typically associated with a heart attack.
Cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart's ability to pump blood is weakened because of enlargement,
thickening or stiffening of the heart muscle. In Dr. Atkins' case, this cardiomyopathy was caused by an infection
that spread to his heart muscle.
"Up until today, this has been a personal and private family matter for Dr. Atkins. It is unfortunate for the family
that it has not remained so, said Paul Wolff, Chief Executive Officer/President of The Atkins Companies. " The
Atkins Nutritional Approach™ is based on controlled carbohydrate nutritional science and has helped millions of
people achieve their goals of weight loss, weight maintenance, good health and increased energy for the past
30 years."
Rating:
Summary: The best thing that ever happened to my health!
Review: This diet is wonderful! I was always very beautiful with a wonderfully slim figure. However, after having three children, I began gaining weight, my skin looked bad and I felt horrible (I was very insulin-resistant). I refused to accept this as a part of getting older (I'm only 32!) and have tried different diets over the last four years. I have been on Dr. Atkin's diet for 6 months, now. Not only has Dr. Atkin's diet helped me to lose wieght, but my skin is glowing again, I feel like I did at 19 (wonderful!), and my PMS symptoms have diminished. I never feel hungry and I am enjoying experimenting with different low-carb recipes. Thank you Dr. Atkins!
Rating:
Summary: wise up "a reader from Canada"
Review: Just the title of your review sets you apart as someone who is fully ignorant of Dr. Atkins and his Diet Revolution... First of all, Dr. Atkins DID NOT suffer a "severe heart attack", he suffered "cardiac arrest"... believe me, there is a BIG difference... Dr. Atkins' heart STOPPED... he could have died... but it had nothing to do with his diet... it was "cardiomyopathy", and caused by an infection... A "heart attack" or myocardial infarction (MI) happens when there is a blockage in the heart, and the muscles in the heart are cut off from the blood supply... the heart doesn't STOP unless there is also "cardiac arrest"... A "heart attack" can cause severe damage to the heart muscles... this did NOT happen to Dr. Atkins... Ten years ago, I personally suffered a "heart attack" (MI)... At the time, I ate a low fat, high carb diet, and worked out every day... the MI was caused by blockage... I now trust Dr. Atkins with my life... Your "facts" are simply dangerous... and your ignorance negates anything else you may have to say. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasure doing business
Review: Book came in a timely manner and was in GREAT condition.
I plan to place other orders with them.
Thanks----NB
Rating:
Summary: You'll be suprised
Review: This diet is very workable and effective. It is NOT dangerous as some people think. In fact, my doctor, after viewing the results of many of her patients who have tried this diet, has become very supportive. It takes willpower and a willingness to stick to it. I have lost lots of weight and the best news of all is that my blood lipids are the best they have been in my entire life. Cholesterol, triglycerides, LDLs are at an alltime low. We do periodic liver testing along with a lipid profile and the levels remain normal after many months. My glucose levels are also excellent. It takes some work but it becomes second nature after awhile because you feel great and have tons of energy. You must adhere to the 8 cups of water a day and it's very important to have some form of exercise program going. My wife and I both use this low carb diet and we both find it very satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: It ain't easy but it works
Review: I went on this low carb diet about 1 year ago, and lost an amazing 50lbs. I was peaking out at 223lbs and I am only 5'6" and got all the way down to 170lbs, in just a matter of a few months. I also excercise 3-4 times a week, but I was doing this as a fat guy too. The idea of cutting out the carbs, is getting your body into the state of ketosis, which can be checked by using keto sticks. The keto sticks cost about $... for 100 sticks, and change color as they are exposed to your urine. As long as you are in a state of ketosis you are burning your own body fat. The reading in this book is not the most interesting in the world, but when you are on the diet it is a great reference book and I found that many of Dr Atkins ideas make much more sense when you experience them yourself.
I have been on a low carb diet for almost a year now and I do eat more carbs than when I first started, but that is ok. As Dr Atkins says, you can start eating more carbs when you reach your ideal weight, the only thing you absolutely have to give up is sugar(nothing but carbs, no nutritional value). I might have gained 5-8 lbs back but let's face it, it's hard to avoid all carbs (fruit, vegatables, potatoes)but I know all I have to do is get back into the ketosis state and the lbs will disappear. I know a few people who have tried the diet but they didn't stick with it, because let's face it, loosing weight isn't easy, if it was there wouldn't be so many fat people and so many diet books on the market. I just didn't want to be one of those people who lose 50lbs and gain it right back. I'll tell you another thing, people notice when you lose weight and I don't know how many people have told me I look great and that's a really good motivator for sticking with it. One thing you will notice if you go on this diet, the grocery store shelves and fast food restaurants a full of carbohydrates. It's a tough diet to stick with, but I guarantee it works, and it will make you realize that the low fat diet is a crock. Dr. Atkins states any diet will help you lose weight at first, but the idea is keeping the weight off, and who wants to be hungry all the time. If you want to lose weight, get these books and go on this diet, remember the recipe for obesity is Fat + Carbohydrate = rapid weight gain. There's no such thing as being 1/2 on 1/2 off on this diet, but after a while it's easy to live without all the carbs. It's not the fat that makes you obese it's carbohydrates, on this diet you don't have to count calories, just grams of carbhydrates. Before doing this diet, I didn't know which foods were high carb and which were not but I learned quickly. Just look at the food labels when you go to the grocery store, you will be amazed to see how many carbs are being pumped into our systems. If you want to lose weight this is the way to do it.
Rating: 
Summary: He had a severe heart attack
Review: Dr Atkins recently suffered from a severe heart attack brought on by the diet he's pushing onto others. Yes I agree that simple carbohydrates should be avoided but the brain is fuelled by glucose. And considering protien cannot be converted to glucose by the body, limiting the amount of carbohydrates you eat limits the fuel your body has available. Also having done a lot of research on it, keotis is not a natural metabolic state, it's the state your body resorts to when it does not have enough fuel to function properly, and it can ultimately lead to dementia due to the brain slowly dying. While you are asleep your body does not use much fuel so glucose resources can be directed to the brain, but while you are awake the body and the brain have to fight for the limited glucose available.
So if you want to die of a heart attack or stroke, be unhealthy, and have your mind slowly slip away from you, this is the diet for you. If not then something high in complex carbohydrates, free of animal protiens (but full of plant protien), and low in fat, will make you healthy from the moment you start until the day you die (and it certainly won't be from a heart attack).
Rating:
Summary: A practical solution for the rest of us who hate low-fat.
Review: Does a low-fat diet work? yes. My friend thrives on one and I starve to death eating the same stuff. This diet allowed me to eat whenever i wanted, however much I wanted eating all foods within the confines of <20g carbs / day, no sugar, no caffeine. I'm 6'tall 180# and a martial arts instructor. SOMETIMES i get lazy in the winter and don't really work out w/ my students. I eat more during these months. So later in the spring I jump on this diet for 6 weeks and dump 15 to 20 pounds easily as well as purge my system from the normal sugar attack. If someone told you about a diet where the rules are that you never get hungry eating a large variety of foods anytime and no limits, how undisciplined would you have to be to not succeed in this? FDA, American Heart, and the rest of the dumbed-down herd - it's not a matter of whether you're gonna eat your low-fat words, it's only a matter of time. The rest of us are gettin' sick of you.
Rating:
Summary: The numbers do not lie
Review: It's very simple. Your blood pressure drops considerably, your good cholesterol goes up, your bad cholesterol goes down, your blood sugar stabilizes. The proof is in the blood test. Don't take anyone's advice, just invest two weeks of your life in this diet and see how it makes you feel. If you want proof that it works, get the blood tests done as the book suggests. And get your blood pressure checked. Numbers do not lie.
Rating: 
Summary: One Is The Lonliest Number
Review: This book is terribly long-winded. Anyone wishing to lose weight wants to know how THEY can do it. They (most) are not interested in the author's life story, medical experience, or other (boring) details. It seems as if half of the book is about Dr. Atkins himself. *yawn* Dr. Atkins says that this diet will work for 99 out of 100 people. I guess I am the 1 out of 100. I do not wish to get into any ongoing debates with those who think the diet is great. I KNOW people who have had success with this. I, however, did not. I followed the diet to the letter and after three weeks, I had stomach pains, was lightheaded, nauseous, constipated (sorry if you didn't want to know that), irritable, and generally never felt worse. This would've been slightly worth it if I would've lost weight. However, in three weeks, I lost ONE POUND. What has worked for me (before and since) is not pigging out and realizing that chocolate and butter are not food groups. *G* This diet has worked for some people, but just as different products work for different people, this diet will not work for everyone.
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