Low-Fat Supporter Unleashes Rage Against Atkins

After details of a new study were released on Tuesday about how low-fat diets make you fatter, you knew the low-fat supporters were going to be in a tizzy about it! And that's an understatement.

And the target of their anger against this reputable research study will undoubtedly turn to the very lifestyle that turns everything they believe about health upside down. Of course, I'm referring to livin' la vida low-carb.

And here's the first of what I am sure will be long line of vicious, hate-filled rants against the Atkins approach. I present to you as evidence this letter to the editor to Wired News from a personal trainer and nutritionist named Michael Novoseletsky:

"While retaining the very fat you're trying to lose is one of the negatives of 'extreme diets,' such eating regimens also put the dieter's entire body under a massive strain ('Eat Fat to Lose Fat,' May 10, 2005). Without getting into many details, a diet such as the Atkins is putting the heart, kidneys and liver under a tremendous strain. In terms of overall health, I have yet to believe that a diet such as the Atkins is any safer than bulimia. Sure, that might sound outrageous, but a few minutes of research to see the number of problems these extreme diets bring on would hopefully knock some sense into a few people. As a personal trainer and a nutritionist, I wouldn't suggest the Atkins diet to my worst enemy."

Can you feel the resentment from this so-called health expert? What's really scary is just how much Novoseletsky actually believes what he has written here. Let's examine each of his claims and break them down one-by-one:

1. While retaining the very fat you're trying to lose is one of the negatives of 'extreme diets,' such eating regimens also put the dieter's entire body under a massive strain.

Does this statement also apply to the "extreme" method of severely limiting the amount of fat it needs to function, Mr. Novoseletsky? I contend a low-fat or low-calorie diet is much more extreme in nature than a low-carb lifestyle. As the study from the other day clearly showed, limiting your fat intake is detrimental to the cause of trying to lose excessive weight and will cause your liver to hold on to the stored fat you so desperately want to lose. If the purpose of a low-fat diet is to improve your health through weight loss that can be sustained, then it has failed miserably in that endeavor. No wonder two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese!

2. Without getting into many details, a diet such as the Atkins is putting the heart, kidneys and liver under a tremendous strain.

Now this would be a hilarious quote if it wasn't the pervading thought in the healthy industry. Novoseletsky, like his medical colleagues, makes bold claims that livin' la vida low-carb hurts the heart, kidneys and liver, but doesn't (or can't!) back up that ridiculous notion with any substantive facts. That's the problem I have with these low-fat proponents. All they have to offer is innuendo and broad statements of their opinion instead of the well-researched hard evidence usually required before making such statements. And the media has refused to call them to task on these ridiculous arguments.

3. In terms of overall health, I have yet to believe that a diet such as the Atkins is any safer than bulimia.

Okay, now the gloves are coming off. Novoseletsky used the "b" word in comparing the low-carb lifestyle. How insulting is it to those of us doing low-carb to have someone sitting on his high horse and stating we are no better than someone who is bulimic?! Again, where is the evidence to back up this idiotic allegation. The truth is there isn't any. He's just trying to scare people away from doing what has been found to be a safe and effective way of eating that is enjoyable and permanent for the people who do it right. I can only assume the intense envy that people like Novoseletsky have with those of us who are livin' la vida low-carb has more to do with the delicious foods we can eat and still have phenomenal results rather than the supposed health dangers associated with it! That rabbit food gets old after a while doesn't it, Mr. Novoseletsky?!

4. Sure, that might sound outrageous, but a few minutes of research to see the number of problems these extreme diets bring on would hopefully knock some sense into a few people.

And any research conducted on low-fat diets will show it is an "extreme diet" we can do without. It is a failed weight loss approach because it causes people who do it to be in a constant state of hunger and eating less than desirable foods (that's putting it mildly). Furthermore, so many low-fat foods have an extremely high amount of sugar and salt that I contend are much more detrimental to your health than fat. If people would just cut the sugar and white flour out of their diet, then we would not have a problem with obesity in the United States. That's the sense we need to knock into people to get them on the path to healthy living.

5. As a personal trainer and a nutritionist, I wouldn't suggest the Atkins diet to my worst enemy.

Actually, you're doing more harm to your worst enemy by NOT recommending Atkins to them. Novoseletsky ends his diatribe against the low-carb lifestyle by trying to portray himself as someone with credibility and authority on the subject of health and weight loss. While he brags about being a personal trainer and nutritionist, I several people in the same profession as Mr. Novoseletsky who do not buy into the philosophy spewed out so flippantly by him. Check out Jonny Bowden as just one example.

While the sentiment expressed by Novoseletsky in his letter are common among health experts these days, it is incredibly arrogant for them to continue to ignore the new research that comes out about the healthy alternative found in low-carb. It's this kind of intellectual dishonesty that frustrates honest, hardworking people who only want to be given the best health advice possible when they seek professional medical help.

The medical community should not continue to spread the low-fat propaganda only to support an agenda from those opposed to low-carb. The enemies of livin' la vida low-carb are many. But we will only defeat them when we expose their lies and share the truth to everyone we know.