Vitamins and minerals are part of the Atkins Diet because they are so beneficial that they "could extend one's lifespan," according to "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." Dieters can take tablets with 35 vitamins and minerals called Atkins Basic #3 Formula three times daily with meals to supplement the nutrients provided by the diet's foods. The diet emphasizes high-fat, high-protein foods such as meat, and limits carbohydrates because they cause blood-sugar spikes that increase body fat, according to Atkins.
List of Vitamins
The late Dr. Robert Atkins wrote in "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" that he formulated tablets with 35 vitamins and minerals because it was impractical to take 105 vitamin pills daily and the formula in Basic #3 Formula provides people their needed nutrients and helps them lose weight. Atkins emphasized that the tablets include the major types of vitamins, including A, B, C, D, E and K. The vitamin B type of vitamins includes thiamine, riboflavin, pantethine and biotin. The tablets also include the vitamins folate and niacin and the minerals calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, selenium and chromium.
Most Important Vitamins
Two vitamins are particularly important for losing weight while you're on the Atkins Diet, according to Atkins' books: biotin and pantethine. Atkins called biotin "an unsung B vitamin" that is particularly beneficial to diabetics because it causes a significant drop in blood-sugar levels. Taking three Basic #3 Formula tablets provides you with 150 mcg of biotin daily. Pantethine, which also is known as vitamin B-5, helps you control your blood cholesterol, which is a major heart disease risk factor. Taking three Basic #3 Formula tables provides you with 20 mg of pantethine daily. Atkins also rated three minerals as very important supplements on the Atkins Diet: chromium, selenium and vanadium.
Dosages
You don't have to take the multivitamin and multimineral Basic #3 Formula tablets if you're on the Atkins Diet. Consequently, knowing the amount of the crucial vitamins in the tablets is important if you want to take specific vitamins separately. You should take 360 mg of vitamin C daily, which is 600 percent of what is recommended daily by the U.S. government, according to "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution." Another vitamin that Atkins recommended in quantities far exceeding government guidelines is vitamin E. He recommended taking 150 IU of vitamin E daily, which is 500 percent of the recommended daily value. You also should take 20 mg of niacin, 600 mcg of folate and 25 mg each of riboflavin and thiamine daily, wrote Atkins.
Benefits
The vitamins on the Atkins Diet protect your body from free radicals that increase your chances of cancer and heart disease and accelerate the aging process, according to Atkins' books. The vitamins have other benefits, according to the college textbook "An Invitation to Health." Vitamin E, for example, reduces your risk of heart attacks and strokes by about 50 percent and slows the progress of dementia. Vitamin C reduces how much your eyesight deteriorates as you age. Folate reduces your risk of spinal cord abnormalities. Biotin and pantethine reduce your fatigue.
References
- "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution"; Dr. Robert Atkins; 2002
- "An Invitation to Health"; Dianne Hales; 2010
- "Atkins Diabetes Revolution"; Dr. Robert Atkins, Mary Vernon and Jacqueline Eberstein; 2004
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