Doctor Using Atkins Troubles To Peddle Weight Loss Potion

Dr. Scott Levine describes Atkins as "a bad diet"

The reaction from opponents of the Atkins diet this week has been predictably harsh and relentless. Most of the comments have been directed at the diet itself and not on the business that is going through a few adjustments to remain financially viable. As I stated in a previous post on this topic, that's the way business works.

But I had to respond when I read this particular story
because it was full of many, many lies designed to discredit the low-carb lifestyle and features comments from one of America's so-called top physicians.

LIE #1

"Though it is believed nearly 10% of Americans had tried the diet at its peak, the number has dropped to 2.2% in the past year."

WRONG-O! I don't know where they got their statistics from, but it doesn't line up with the latest Opinion Dynamics Corp. poll which found the number of people who are livin' la vida low-carb in 2005 is between 12-15 percent, not 2.2 percent as this story claims. Although many in the media would love for low-carb to just fade away like a distant memory, that's not going to happen as long as real people just like me continue to find success losing weight with it and keeping it off. Why would they continue to misinform the public on something that could earnestly help them deal with their obesity?

LIE #2

"the way Robert Atkins, the founder died ... is believed to have hurt sales of Atkins Nutritionals"

Oh, brother. Are they every going to let this wonderful man rest in peace? This USA Today story featuring comments from Dr. Atkins' widow Veronica Atkins says everything that needs to be said about her husband's condition following that freak slip and fall accident in New York. People are going to have negative opinions as long as lies like this continue to be spread about the Atkins diet. If the media would stop telling these lies, then maybe people could actually learn that a low-carb approach can work for them.

After revealing those two whoppers about the Atkins diet, the story this shifts its attention to an infomercial-like format for a man by the name of Dr. Scott Levine.

Levine is a board certified internist and was named as "one of America's Top Physicians" by the Consumers Research Council of America. I suppose they are setting this guy up as an "expert" on health, don't you think?

Check out his comments about the Atkins diet: “I think most doctors actively caring for patients knew the Atkins diet was a bad diet. I had no patients maintain weight loss, and most had a worsening of their cholesterol profile. Encouraging people to eat saturated fats flies in the face of two decades of good heart disease research. Most Atkins dieters were unaware the high protein diet that Atkins teaches can cause kidney damage and osteoporosis."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is this guy going to breathe between his purposeful distortions of the Atkins diet or what? How can he speak for "most doctors" when he is just one of millions. Just because you don't like this way of losing weight doesn't mean it is a "bad diet" with nobody maintaining their weight loss. As for cholesterol numbers, if you do your research then you will find virtually everyone who follows a low-carb program greatly lowers their triglycerides, raises their HDL "good" cholesterol, and lowers their LDL "bad" cholesterol. Fat is an essential part, but not the only thing low-carbers eat when they are livin' la vida low-carb. And this business about protein being dangerous for you does not match up with the latest research. Read the studies and go back and read Dr. Atkins' book, Dr. Levine. You really should stop spouting off about something you obviously don't know anything about.

Oh, but Dr. Levine was not finished with his attack against the Atkins diet and Dr. Atkins personally.

"Atkins should not be worshiped just because the media has played him up to be a diet guru. One has to wonder how many people followed the diet and actually injured their health or shaved years off their lives. Personally, I believe the reports that stated he had a heart attack a few years before his death, and that he died overweight and of complications of cardiovascular disease. How many multimillionaires do you know who slip on ice and die?”

Okay, breathe in...breathe out...breathe in...breathe out. There, much better. Reading the outright disdain this Dr. Levine has for Dr. Atkins and his work is enough to cause a man to have a heart attack. But I digress. Again, where do you start with this kind of illogical thinking? Nobody worships Atkins, but we do lose weight and keep it off by following that program. My health has never been better since losing 180 pounds in 2004 and I have successfully kept my weight off in the eight months since. I KNOW I have added many, many years to my life whereas when I weighed 410 pounds I was headed for an early grave. That's the truth and nobody can deny that I am a healthier person today than I was at the start of 2004. As for this business about believing the media hype about how Dr. Atkins died and ridiculing the man's wealth long after he is gone is not only disrespectful to a great man, but also causes unnecessary grief and emotional pain to the family he left behind. LET THE MAN REST IN PEACE!

Levine added that he believes the South Beach diet is also a "fad" that will "suffer the same fate as Atkins."

Try telling that to people who have been successful on that program, too. Dr. Levine has an agenda and that agenda is to peddle his weight loss potion, which subsequently is a high-fiber drink a la Slim Fast. He brags that you can eat whatever you want and will never have to exercise when consuming his product.

“I know it sounds too good to be true, but it is not! My high fiber drink fills you with healthy fiber; you feel full, eat less and lose weight. There is no need for any food restriction, eat what you want and you will lose weight. People maintain weight loss because they can enjoy eating the foods they like - -dieting is obsolete”

And this is the same guy that criticized the Atkins diet? Talk about a "bad diet." If this is the best the anti-Atkins people have got to blast away at the low-carb lifestyle, then I think it's safe to say low-carb will be around for many, many years to come.