What Is The Difference Between Bernstein & Atkins?

The Bernstein diet, devised by Richard Bernstein, M.D. and the Atkins diet, designed by Robert Atkins, M.D., have much in common. Both are low-carbohydrate diets with an emphasis on eating proteins and fats. Both eliminate all simple sugars and restrict complex carbohydrates. The two diets also have a number of differences, although the allowed foods are very similar.

Target Audience

Bernstein's diet, which concentrates on stabilizing abnormal blood sugar levels, is based on his own personal experience as a diabetic since age 12. Atkins, a cardiologist, designed his diet to fight heart disease by reducing obesity and the complications that accompany it, like high cholesterol levels and diabetes. The newer versions of the Atkins diet also stress its suitability for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes, which affects 8.3 percent of the American population, according to 2011 information from the National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Calorie Intake

Neither the Atkins diet nor the Bernstein diet involves counting calories. In fact, the Atkins diet started with the premise that "calories don't count," although more recent diet versions have backed off that claim somewhat. The Atkins diet does not restrict the amount of food you eat, as long as you eat only what's allowed on the diet. Bernstein's diet, on the other, limits calorie intake simply by eliminating many types of foods and restricting the amounts you eat of others. The typical Bernstein dieter takes in between 850 and 950 calories per day, far below the recommended 1,200 calorie per day restriction advocated by many nutritionists, according to CBC Marketplace.

Cost

As long as you can buy or borrow a copy of one of the Atkins diet books, or have an Internet connection, you can follow the Atkins diet for just the cost of your food from the supermarket. The Bernstein diet, on the other hand, has centers that offer medical supervision and tailored diet plans that fit your blood sugars, but at a cost. The average person spends around $1,000 to lose 35 lbs., according to Dr. Bernstein himself.

Promised Weight Loss

Dr. Bernstein promises a weight loss of 5 lbs. per week or 20 lbs. every month, for as long as you follow the diet. The Atkins plan makes no such promises, although the official website does state that you can lose up to 15 lbs. in the first two weeks, which is the most restrictive part of the diet, adding that you'll continue to lose weight, although more slowly, in the next diet phase.

Additional Treatments

In addition to following the diet plan, Dr. Bernstein's clients are injected with vitamins B-6 and B-12 three times a week. Jacquie Perrin, reporting for CBC News (April 3, 2002), quotes Dr. Berstein as stating, "The B vitamins make it easy for someone to stay on a diet. I find that they enhance the weight loss." While the Atkins plan suggests that you take daily vitamins, it does not rely on injections to increase weight loss.