Also on Peter Jennings national news
Find a Conversation
| Fri, 05-28-2004 - 12:50pm |
Anyway, here's the article, in case anyone missed national news last night and would like to see it. Have a good holiday weekend, all.
Forte
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/2596637
Ex-Atkins dieter sues promoters, seeks books ban
Man says eating plan clogged arteries, nearly killed him before heart surgery
By JILL BARTON
Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A man has sued the promoters of the Atkins Diet, saying the low-carbohydrates, high-fat meal plan clogged his arteries and nearly killed him.
Jody Gorran, 53, said Thursday that he was seduced "with a bacon-wrapped cheeseburger" to blindly follow the Atkins Diet, which also made his cholesterol soar to a risky level.
"I believe that the diet almost killed me by giving me heart disease," said Gorran. "I feel victimized by Atkins."
Gorran said the suit is not about money, noting he is seeking less than $15,000 in damages. Instead, he wants the court to ban Atkins diet books and products that do not have warning labels about potential health risks.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday with the aid of the Washington-based group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, also names the estate of the diet's late creator, Dr. Robert Atkins.
Atkins Nutritionals said it stands by the science that has "repeatedly reaffirmed the safety and health benefits of the Atkins Nutritional Approach." The company also questioned the motivation of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which promotes a vegan diet banning meat, fish, dairy and egg products.
The Atkins Diet advocates meat, eggs and cheese, frowns on bread, rice and fruit, and allows up to two-thirds of calories to come from fat, double the usual recommendation.
Gorran said he started the diet in 2001 because his weight had risen from 140 to 148 pounds. In two months, he said, his cholesterol rose from a normal 146 to an unhealthy 230, and by October 2003, he needed angioplasty to clear his arteries.
"I came very close to dying, and this is from a diet I thought was marvelous," said Gorran.
Atkins medical director, Dr. Stuart Trager, said the cholesterol increase claimed by Gorran is "dramatically greater than what we have seen" in scientific studies.
Robert Atkins argued that carbohydrates generate too much insulin, which makes people hungrier and encourages them to put on fat. His books, including the best-selling Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, have sold 15 million copies and attracted millions of followers.
The same advocacy group involved in the suit released details of Atkins' autopsy report in February, 10 months after he died after slipping on an icy sidewalk. The report showed Atkins, 72, had a history of heart trouble, including congestive heart failure and high blood pressure.
ON THE INTERNET Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine www.pcrm.org Atkins Nutritionals atkins.com
(edited to add, the above was from Houston Chronicle)
Edited 5/28/2004 12:52 pm ET ET by forte10

Pages
I am obviously a supporter of the Atkins way of eating since I've been on it for several months and have lost a lot of weight following it. But I also know that you have to be careful in the types of fats you eat (which is true for ANY "diet") and you have to read and understand the theory behind the plan. That article seems to present one side of the story which is typical of the media (whether it's in support of Atkins or not) on any topic.
So, yeah, I agree it's a stupid lawsuit...but I don't agree that the Atkins WOE is bad or unhealthy WHEN FOLLOWED PROPERLY!!
So that's my 2 cents...thanks for the article...definitely interesting and unfortunately probably just the beginnning.
Sarah
Sarah
I have done Atkins. It worked for me. I didn't make the best choices and I was consuming WAY too much cream, butter and steak, all of which are full of saturated fats, which we all know can make your cholesterol go up if you consume too much.
My cholesterol went from somewhere in the 190's to 292. It was safe to assume that if diet did this, then diet can fix it, which is what I opted to do instead of go on medication or have angioplasty. (Why was this man treated with surgery, instead of diet modification, drugs and excersize? No one flipped out and suggested I have surgery to correct the problem, and mine was over 60 points HIGHER than his.)
So, as almost everyone here knows, I did low carb AND low fat, lost a ton more weight and lowered my numbers by 80 points.
Atkins is not a fad diet, and I have no sympathy for this guy. You can't be stupid about it and eat all the cheese and meat you want. It even SAYS so in the book. It ALSO suggests you get your blood values done before and during the diet. One does not do Atkins the way this guy did. Induction is only TWO weeks, and I'm sorry, but in two weeks you numbers won't go that high. I wasn't there to see him eat or know how long he did Induction, but I can tell you that Atkins in ALL stages is safe for most people, and you can do it with lean proteins. There is even a vegetarian version.
This guy has got his head so far up his colon that if he pushes a little harder, he might be able to see out his belly button. This is a frivolous lawsuit that will go nowhere.
I don't follow Atkin's to a T because I eat fruit and yogurt quite a bit, but since I keep to under 100 carbs a day, I'm okay. I feel wonderful, my dietician is extremley impressed, and SHE is the one who put me back on Atkins! (Just a lower fat version.)
And Forte, seeing as you are into simple things and choices...This man chose to do this diet, no one made him do it. He chose eat things that anyone with a shred of common sense would know that some things in excess would be bad for you. If this man chose to read the entire book, which it sounds like he didn't or interpreted it in a way to suit him (WHICH IS HOW ONE GETS INTO TROUBLE, I MIGHT ADD)then he wouldn't have been 'seduced' by bacon wrapped cheeseburgers. If you are in the state of being 'seduced' by food, then you are NOT ready to diet. Nor should you follow something 'blindly', cause that's REALLY asking for it. I wasn't seduced in the least by what I got to eat. The reason I did the diet, is because it made metabolical/scientific/biological/just plain LOGICAL sense to me. Maybe because of my knowledge of the human body gave me the upper hand, I don't know. Yeah, I ate beef too many times per week and drank coffee with cream. But I also ate alot of veggies, too. I did make good choices most of the time.
This guy had a weight gain of EIGHT POUNDS, which made him feel the need to diet. If you have less than ten pounds to lose, Atkins might not be the best choice for you, simply because of the way it's designed to work.
I will agree with you that this lawsuit is ridiculous, just like people suing McDonald's because they gained weight. Unfortunately, the obvious escapes many sometimes. If people are choosing to consume high amaounts of fatty food like McD's, then it should be no surprise that they will gain weight (insert Scooby-Doo 'HUH?' noise here).
Oh well.
Amy
Amy
What I meant was, Yes, the coffee was far too hot. I amend the statement of comparison, but not the sentiment that this guy suing atkins is a moron.
:-)
No worries!
I agree, it's probably just the beginning!
Pages