You may know that I am not a big fan of the Atkins high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet. A major reason is because it relies on ketogenesis. When you consume very few carbs, your body goes into a consumption (catabolic) state of inefficient fuel (fat) burning. That creates ketones. But your body is not designed to run on ketones. Its like filling a gasoline-powered car with diesel fuel. It wont run efficiently, if at all.
Now the America Journal of Clinical Nutrition agrees with me.
The journal recently published a study of 20 adults who were on the Atkins diet (60% of calories as fat) or a similar, but non-ketogenic diet (30% of calories as fat). Those volunteers who followed the Atkins diet did lose weight. But, interestingly, they did not lose as much weight as those on the non-ketogenic diet.
Those participants on the Atkins diet also noticed a large drop in their energy levels. And, more importantly, they also had high levels of unwanted inflammation markers.
The authors concluded that the ketogenic diet and non-ketogenic diets were equally effective in reducing body weight and insulin resistance. But the ketogenic diet was associated with several adverse metabolic and emotional effects. They concluded: The use of ketogenic diets for weight loss is not warranted.
Those are powerful conclusions. Theres no reason to see your markers of inflammation rise by going on Atkins. Theres enough inflammation in most Americans bodies to last for years. The heavy protein load in Atkins creates further stress on your liver and kidneys.
Ref: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 83, no. 5, 1055-1061, May 2006; J Intern Med, 2006; 259(6): 583-91.