The Atkins Diet, a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, helps many people shed pounds rapidly. It is based on the idea that when the body has no sugar to use as fuel, it begins burning stored fat instead. Over the years, doctors have raised questions as to the long-term health effects of the Atkins Diet, because it has such strict rules and often involves consumption of large amounts of saturated fats.
Dehydration
One major health concern associated with the Atkins Diet is dehydration. Much of the weight lost during the first few weeks of the diet is water weight, because the body, in shock from the lack of carbohydrates, begins turning liver glycogen into glucose to use as fuel. Glycogen contains a lot of water, which the body loses during this chemical transformation. As a result, people on the Atkins Diet should remember to drink eight glasses of water a day.
Fat Consumption
People on the Atkins Diet often consume a lot more fat than people on high-carbohydrate diets, and this has led some doctors to question its long-term health effects. Saturated fats in particular can raise blood levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, which is associated with an increased risk for heart disease.
However, two recent studies suggest that saturated fats do not, in fact, increase heart disease risk. A 2006 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine by Thomas L. Halton and colleagues reported that low-carbohydrate diets do not increase the risk of heart disease in women. And an article published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in January 2010 by Ronald Krauss and colleagues concluded that "there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease or coronary vascular disease."
Nutrient Loss
The Atkins Diet may deplete blood stores of calcium, magnesium and potassium. These nutrients are important for protecting against osteoporosis and kidney stones, so people on the Atkins Diet may be at an increased risk for developing these conditions, according to a 2004 article by Dean Ornish in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The article also noted that people on low-carbohydrate diets suffer from more constipation, halitosis, headaches and hearing loss than people who do not follow low-carb diets, though no one understands exactly why.
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