According to Dr. Robert Atkins, the late best-selling author of diet books, digestible carbohydrates are the primary cause of obesity. This conclusion is at odds with numerous medical experts who have based their dietary recommendations on the principle that foods with a lot of fat are the primary cause of obesity and people should eat more carbohydrates.
Cause Of Obesity?
Atkins divided carbohydrates into three categories--digestible carbohydrates that are converted into glucose in the body, digestible carbs that aren't converted into glucose and non-digestible carbohydrates.
Most digestible carbohydrates are turned into glucose. According to Atkins' books, high blood glucose levels cause people to gain fat. Consequently, his diet plans strictly restrict digestible carbohydrates. Average Americans get 30 percent of their calories from carbohydrates. Atkins recommended fewer carbohydrates, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture urges an increase to 55 percent.
Are They All Bad?
All digestible carbohydrates that are converted into glucose are bad carbs, wrote Atkins. He acknowledged in "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" that most nutritionists believe complex carbohydrates which are digestible are good and simple digestible carbs are bad.
Atkins, though, contended that the two digestible carbs that cause the greatest increase in blood sugar levels are complex carbs--potatoes and cereals. Atkins' books urge you to not eat these foods while Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Robert Pritikin and many other nutritionists praise them as very healthy choices.
Subtracting Fiber
Fiber is the primary non-digestible carbohydrate. Atkins wrote that fiber "does not convert to glucose and thus does not raise your blood-sugar level the way carbohydrates typically do."
"Diet Revolution" has a "Carbohydrate Gram Counter" chart that only lists foods' "carbs that count"--the number of grams of carbohydrates per serving after the fiber is subtracted. Foods with many carbs that count are considered unhealthy; foods with few carbohydrates or many high-fiber, non-digestible carbohydrates are considered healthy.
Digestible Carbs Chart
"Diet Revolution" has an 11-page chart that lists the amount of carbohydrates and digestible carbs in hundreds of foods. The book instructs you to count only digestible carbohydrates when you are on an Atkins diet.
The following food groups have a very low amount of digestible carbs--beef and veal, cheeses, condiments, eggs, lunch meats, nuts and seeds, pork, poultry and seafood. Atkins recommended eating more of these foods than most medical experts.
Fruits And Vegetables
Atkins urged people to eat only fruits and vegetables with low levels of digestible carbohydrates. Fruits with fewer than 10 g of digestible carbs per serving include blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, honeydew melon, pineapples, raspberries, strawberries and watermelons. Fruits with high levels of digestible carbs include apples, apricots, bananas, nectarines, oranges and pears. Most vegetables have low levels of digestible carbs. Foods with more than 10 g of digestible carbs per serving include corn and potatoes.
Very Digestible Foods
Beans, breads, cereals, rice and pasta all have very high levels of digestible carbohydrates. Consequently, Atkins urged dieters to eat as few of them as possible although the U.S. Department of Agriculture's healthy diet pyramid and several other health-related organizations recommend the opposite.
References
- "Atkins Diabetes Revolution;" Dr. Robert Atkins, Mary Vernon and Jacqueline Eberstein; 2004
- "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution;" Dr. Robert Atkins; 2002
- "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program For Reversing Heart Disease;" Dr. Dean Ornish; 1996
- "The New Pritikin Program;" Robert Pritikin; 1990
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