THE ATKINS DEATH DIET Part 1

THE ATKINS DEATH DIET

by Harvey Diamond

          If the dark forces of evil ever wanted to come up with something sure to significantly damage the human species over the long term, they would be hard pressed to come up with something as sinister, as potentially harmful, and as anti-life as the Atkins Death Diet.

          I did not come up with the term Atkins Death Diet for the purposes of this article; I have been referring to it as such for over a quarter century.  Ive been studying the principles of health for 35 years and when I first became aware of what I consider to be the most horrific diet ever to be conjured up out of the devils workshop, back in the late 1970s, I started calling it the Atkins Death Diet, and I have been doing so ever since.

          In the early 1980s Atkins and I were once speakers at the same event and I cornered him back stage to tell him what I thought of his insane approach to weight loss.  Not only did I tell him it was a death diet, but I also asked him if he knew why his breath smelled like a broken sewer line. As you might well imagine he was not particularly interested in what I thought nor was he interested in discussing his foul breath with me.  But being the young, brash, angry individual I was at the time, his lack of interest was no deterrent whatsoever.

          I told him that the reason why his breath smelled like something crawled into his mouth and died was because he was feeding himself nothing but dead food.  If you want to know what I mean by that, take a steak or a piece of chicken or an egg and leave it outside in the burning sun for about eight to ten hours and see how it starts to smell.  All protein foods derived from animals start to putrefy upon the death of the animal.  The warmer the temperature and the more time that elapses, the more the process of putrefaction advances and the more foul the odor.  The inside of the human digestive system is about 98 degrees F.  Load it up with practically nothing but animal protein and after eight or ten hours it will be thoroughly putrefied and begin to smell.  Foul breath is the first indicator of an internal system burdened with a diet dominated with putrefying proteins.  I can think of no more perfect example of what Im talking about than the offensive, malodorous funk that emanated from this mans mouth.

          At the time, I remember speaking with several people, also in the health field, people who still had their common sense gene intact, and we all agreed that such a completely unintelligent approach to eating would never catch on.  It was simply too physiologically and biologically insane to be taken seriously, even by those who are desperate and easily misled.

          The unfortunate truth is, however, there are people who know how to prey upon other peoples frustration and desperation to lose weight.  The sad fact is some people will try somethingeven something as imbecilic as the Atkins Death Dietif there is even the slightest chance of losing weight.

          We have long been suffering with the peculiar and frequently unwarranted tendency that has existed for decades, of attributing more credence to opinions of medical doctors than is deserved, for no other reason than the fact that they are medical doctors.  It doesnt matter if they are talking about subjects that they have never studied and know nothing about, merely being a doctor automatically confers upon them the necessary qualifications to be taken seriously.

          Strangely, this phenomenon occurs most frequently when the subject of diet and nutrition is being discussed. I say strangely because MDs have historically and notoriously avoided studying diet and nutrition and have even, in the past, ridiculed those who did.  In medical schools in the United States an astonishing 75% do not require a single course in nutrition to be completed.  In 30% courses in nutrition are not even available.  Yet if an MD who never studied nutrition is matched against someone in a debate who is not an MD but who has studied nutrition for decades, the MD is more often than not given the benefit of the doubt.  What is up with that?  And I know from whence I speak as I have been in that exact situation on more than one occasion.  Some kind of whacked out psychological conditioning has been collectively pulled off on the public mind for that kind of skewed reasoning to be the norm.

          I dont know where or when Atkins received his medical degree.  I do know that it was about 40 to 50 years ago, when the medical profession scoffed at those who studied nutrition.  Add to that fact that his own knowledge of nutrition was abysmal at best, and I wouldnt be at all surprised to learn that he never took a single course in nutrition in order to receive his medical degree.

          Before continuing, I think it would be instructive to say a few words about diet books in general.

         Diet books, that is, books that prescribe a certain way of eating for a certain length of time in order to lose weight, are a relatively recent phenomenon.  Although there are literally hundreds of them, they have all been written within the last 30-40 years.  They are all quick fix, short-term, temporary solutions that do nothing to address the underlying cause of overweight.  That is precisely why there is a never ending stream of new ones that come in amidst much fanfare and high hopes only to ultimately be replaced by the next latest and greatest one that inevitably comes along.

         The question that begs to be answered is, What effect have these diets that have come and gone like the passing seasons over the last three decades had on the overall, long term goal of controlling the problem of overweight and obesity?  Have they helped to any degree?  The evidence is in and the overwhelming proof of their long term effect is both compelling and undeniable.  It may surprise you to learn that far from these weight loss diets improving the overall situation, they have, in fact, worsened it.

         Recently, the Washington Post reported on a government study that points out that over the last 35 years, we have now entered what is officially being declared an overweight epidemic.  In other words, it is out of control.  And the crowning blow, the study states, is that from 1970 until today, childhood obesity has tripled.  We are in the midst of the worst overweight predicament in history.  And this predicament has occurred during the last 35 years that weight loss diets have proliferated.  In the 1970s about $20 billion was spent on weight loss.  Today it is about $40 billion.  So as the expenditure of money doubled, the incidence of obesity, rather than decreasing, tripled.

         Do you think that over the same 35 years during which wonder diets, weight loss books, and other weight loss schemes became popular that it is a mere coincidence that overweight and obesity reached epidemic proportions?  Diets dont work!  They never have and they never will.  Yes, radical dietary regimens can be devised that will temporarily shed weight but so what!  Would you like to be temporarily wealthy or temporarily in love?  Or are those conditions that you would like to be long lasting?  Then why temporary weight loss, which is all diets can achieve?

         The reason why diets dont work long term is simple really.  Whether its a diet from the past or one that is in vogue today, they all have the exact same shortcoming built right into them that insures their long term failure.  They are all designed to:

                                     Lose as much weight as possible;

                                     As fast as possible;

                                     By any means possible;

                                     And at any cost!

         Unfortunately the single most important element required for successful, long term, permanent weight loss is left out of the equation, and that is how to so nourish and strengthen the body with proper diet that maintaining a healthy body weight becomes an automatic result of the manner in which you eat. No, the only consideration is how much weight can be lost and how fast.  Thats even though the weight, more often than not, will ultimately return.

          Temporary weight loss schemes are certainly not the only reason why the problem of overweight is out of control, but to deny their influence as a causative factor is a mistake of the first order.  The problem with what is called yo-yo dieting is every time the diet ends and the weight comes back, a little more weight is gained than the time before and it is a little more difficult to take it back off.  Over time this weakens the bodys ability to lose weight and little by little the dieter becomes bigger and bigger and is less and less capable of keeping the weight off.

          Atkins was, and his minions are, masters of using the half truth to dupe people.  The Atkins Death Diet will result in temporary weight loss, but at what long term cost?  I could tell you that I have a surefire, absolutely guaranteed way for anyone to lose 30 to 40 pounds in one day.  And I do.  Thats the half truth.  The other half is youll have to cut off a leg to do it. Interested?   The half truth of the Death Diet is that you will lose weight.  The other half is that it is at the cost of a far greater risk of all diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and death.

          The way the Atkins Death Diet succeeds in losing weight is by tricking the body into thinking its sick.  It actually forces the body into the disease state so that maintaining the weight its carrying becomes secondary to survival.  Have you ever seen people in the final stages of catastrophic disease like cancer or AIDS?  They are emaciated because they have no appetite for food.  This is what the Death Diet relies upon.

          Let me explain.  The human body must have energy to heal itself and maintain health.  Without energy nothing is accomplished.  We are literally dependent upon energy for our very survival.  The one function of the body that requires and demands more energy than all other uses of energy combined is digestion.  Thats why you feel so tired after eating and the bigger the meal the more tired you are.  Recall last Thanksgiving if you will.

          When the body is in crisis, in other words, when the body is sick or its energy reserves are in short supply, the incomprehensible intelligence that governs its astronomical number of activities, automatically decreases the appetite in order to conserve and best utilize what energy it has.  The less food that is eaten the more energy will be available for healing.

          The three most urgent and necessary requirements for life to continue are air, water, and food.  Remove any one of the three and you will be formerly introduced to the Grim Reaper.  Experts may argue up and back about how much of what foods should or should not be eaten but there is no argument about the fact that we must eat in order to stay alive.  And life is, after all, the number one priority.

          There are three categories of food that we eat:  protein, fat, and carbohydrates.  The entirety of Nature in all of its glorious magnificence is unfolding with a flawless precision and elegance that we cannot even comprehend.  There is nothing in all of Nature that is arbitrary or haphazard.  From the farthest reaches of the cosmos in which we live, down to the structure of the atom, and everything in between, the exactness and intricacy of the natural world staggers the intellect and leaves all who study the sciences in humbled awe.

          There is an infinite, incomprehensible intelligence at work in the universe that has created and governs all that exists, and it knows what it is doing.  We can only stand as witnesses and marvel at its indescribable precision.  The moon circles the Earth, which in turn circles the sun with a mathematical exactness that is unwavering.  A seed put into the ground will interact with the soil, water, and air and grow into a majestic 200 foot sequoia tree or a delicate orchid that dazzles the eye.  This and more than can be described are all orchestrated by the limitless intelligence of which I speak. 

          This intelligence has also worked out what it is that we humans need to eat on a regular basis in order to remain alive and well.  It is no accident that there are three categories of food that make up the human diet.  There are not four, there are not two, there are three: proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.  One is not any more or less important than any other one.  It is when all three are consumed, in the proper balance of course, that the body can excel at its highest level of health possible.  To arbitrarily defy the natural order of things, to in effect try to thwart the infinite intelligence of the universe that worked out this grand plan, and remove one of these categories for any reason, displays an arrogance and ignorance that defies all reason and is inexcusable.

          Lets look at the three categories and see what purpose each fulfills.

          1)  Protein.  Protein is used for the building, repairing, and maintenance of all living tissue.

          2)  Fat.  Fat is used for heat, padding, insulation for the organs, and regulator of the fat soluble vitamins:  A, D, E, & K.

          3)  Carbohydrates.  The purpose of carbohydrates in the human diet is for fuel energy.  Thats it.  It has no other purpose, it is for energy, you know, that stuff we need every day in order to stay alive and to carry out the uncountable activities performed by the human body day in and day out.

          Interestingly, there is not a single living thing on Earth that does not contain carbohydrates.  Life would cease to exist without them.  To further impress upon you the inextricable link between carbohydrates and our own survival, let us view briefly what is considered to be the most awesome, complex, unparalleled, and extraordinary creation in all of Nature: the human brain.  Many a book has been written in an attempt to explain the workings of this truly remarkable masterpiece of creation and all have fallen short.  The plain truth is the human brain is too extraordinary to be grasped.  Suffice it to say, nothing is its equal as it deciphers, oversees, and conducts literally hundreds of trillions of activities every moment 24 hours a day with a precision that no computer could rival.                   

          The brain burns one and only one fuel for energy.  That fuel is glucose, a form of sugar.  The brain cannot burn protein directly.  It cannot burn fat directly.  It cannot burn starch directly.  No matter what enters the human body it must first be turned into glucose or it cannot be of use to the brain.  This is no more open for debate than is the fact that the Earth is round not flat, or the sun is hot, not cold.  The absolute, indisputable, physiological fact is that the brain can burn glucose and nothing else.           

          In order to complete this thought I must introduce the word saccharide, pronounced sack-uh-ride, to you.  Saccharide is merely another way of saying carbohydrate.  Ill keep this simple.  A mono-saccharide contains one molecule of carbohydrate, a di-saccharide contains two molecules of carbohydrate, and a poly-saccharide contains three or more molecules of carbohydrate.  Glucose is a mono-saccharide.  In other words, the only fuel the human brain can burn is a mono-saccharide (glucose).  And until anything that is put into the body is turned into a mono-saccharide, it cannot be used by the brain.  Periodend of conversation.

          In a crisis, in other words, if the body is deprived of the carbohydrates it requires for fuel, the unimaginable intelligence that governs the human body will snap into action, take emergency measures and transform proteins and/or fat into a carbohydrate and ultimately into a mono-saccharide.   But this process (gluconeogenisis) is an extremely exhaustive and demanding one and is enormously taxing for the body.  The living body sees itself as threatened and enters into the same state as it would if sick.  It shuts down the appetite so it can focus its available resources on producing glucose for itself. 

          Theres no question that the body can perform this complex process, but why force it to do so and push it to the brink where it actually feels threatened?  To do so consistently as a lifestyle can only have long term catastrophic repercussions, not the least of which is the steady weakening of the heart and cardio vascular system.  If supplied with high quality carbohydrates in a proper balance along with proteins and fats, as is part of Natures grand plan, the body does not have to feel threatened, does not have to enter the disease state, does not have to push itself to the limit, does not have to overtax its resources, and does not have to throw itself into turmoil in order to survive.

          So, along comes our reckless friend Mr. Atkins with his bid to jump onto the $40 billion a year weight loss scheme gravy train.  And what is his addlebrained contribution to humankind?  Turn carbohydrates into a bad word!  You see, he figured out that if the body feels threatened as a result of being starved of the carbohydrates it requires and must have on a regular basis, the result will be a loss of weight as the body freaks out and burns fat for energy in order to have fuel for the brain and to survive.  And he turned this dreadfully hurtful idea into the most abominable diet in all the history of abominable diets.  People desperate to lose weight who are not aware of, or particularly interested in, the science of such a practice (or should I say lack of science), go on the diet and lose weight unaware of the catastrophic repercussions that await them down the road. 

          If someone told you that the way to never ever stub your toe again is to simply cut off your foot, would you do it?  Suggesting losing weight by starving the body of its needed carbohydrates is no better an idea because by eating in that way consistently, ones life is put in jeopardy.

          There will be those who will think that they can use the Death Diet once in a while to take weight off and then go off of it and eat more rationally.   But that type of yo-yo dieting will take its toll, especially as time goes by.  Each time the body becomes weaker and less capable of caring for itself.  An overabundance of proteins and fats at the expense of carbohydrates will affect every cell and all the tissues of the body.  A way of eating that is not healthy over the long term is not healthy at all.  The older a person becomes the more damage the Death Diet will have on the body.  The only person to eat that way for a long time without letup is dead because of it.  Thats a pretty stiff price to pay for weight loss, dont you think?

          If a person lies out in the hot sun for hours on end on a daily basis it can lead to skin cancer.  Does that mean that the sun is our enemy and we should not take advantage of its value?  If someone drowns in a lake does that mean water is our enemy and we should not use it for quenching thirst and bathing?  Anything can be used or abused, however, it is the judicious use of the sun, or of water, or of carbohydrates that common sense should dictate.        

          Heres an interesting aspect of all of this that you should find instructive.  There are two foods in the human diet that are naturally occurring mono-saccharidesonly two.  The first is mothers milk.  That is certainly in alignment with the immense intelligence that governs life.  Of course Mother Nature would provide for infants a perfectly nourishing food that requires no effort from the body to have fuel for the brain.  Fortunately, today new mothers are encouraged to breast feed.  Unlike in the past when inexcusably ignorant MDs, in the same league with Atkins, would not only discourage new mothers from breast feeding but would also give them shots to dry up their milk so formula was the only option.  Yes, this was actually an accepted practice.   

          Formula is a completely dead, disease-producing swill, laden with toxic chemicals, processed sugar, and synthesized, worthless vitamins.  Discouraging women from breast feeding, even drying up their milk with shots, in order to bolster the profits of the billion dollar formula industry should have been a punishable crime.

          The second food that is a naturally occurring mono-saccharide which Nature has gifted to us all in order to supply us with immediately accessible fuel for the brain without it having to go through any of the energy intensive processes to make it so is..fruit.  And of course fruit is a carbohydrate. 

          Now, if the fact that fruit is a mono-saccharide were the one and only positive aspect of its nature, that alone would warrant it being given the highest priority in our diet.  However, theres morelots more.  Fruit is high in fiber and completely devoid of fat and cholesterol, the very combination that scientific researchers the world over recommend we eat.  Those are the sane researchers Im talking about.  Plus, fruit has the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, phyto-nutrients, anti-oxidants, in fact every substance or compound known to support and promote life are resplendent in fruit. 

          But wait, theres more!  I mentioned earlier that the digestion of food requires more energy than all other uses of energy combined.  Well, guess what one food in all of Nature requires no digestion in the stomach whatsoever?  Right you arefruit!  So, not only is fruit transformed into utilizable energy faster and more efficiently than any other food on Earth but it requires the least amount of energy from the body to digest it.   

          These facts clearly reveal fruit to be the most healthful and beneficial food in the human diet, when properly eaten.  (Fruit is unique from other foods in that it does not require digestion in the stomach.  It is best, therefore, to eat fruit alone when the stomach is empty so it can pass directly into the intestines.  If fruit is eaten with or following other foods it ferments and spoils in the stomach causing all of its potential benefits to be lost.)

           The reason human beings have to eat every day is to supply the body with the needed nutrients and energy required to carry out all the activities of life.  Considering that fruit fulfills the requirements for nutrients and energy more fully and perfectly than any other food, could it not reasonably be expected to comprise the bulk of our diet?  Does it not speak loudly to the abnormality of our Western diet that fruit is relegated to the last place on the menu as almost an afterthought, and is all to frequently used merely for ornamental purposes?

          And how does this fool of a man Atkins treat fruit?  With contempt!  He forbids it!  Its poison on the Atkins Death Diet.  According to the Death Diet you could sit down to a meal of a pound of butter deep fried in bacon grease and top it off with a big slice of lard pie.  But dont eat an apple!  Why?  Because he ignorantly lumps all carbohydrates together in one big pile and throws them all out.  Of course highly processed, overcooked carbohydrates (white flour, white sugar, white rice, chips, pastry, cookies, donuts, soda, candy bars, cereals, pasta) are counter productive when trying to lose weight, but to throw the good out with the bad is insanity.

          And what does he have his misled followers load up on instead?  The exact polar opposite of fruit:  highly cooked proteins and fats.  They are devoid of fiber, high in fat and cholesterol, an extremely poor source of energy that requires huge amounts of energy for them to be digested, and their nutrient content is severely compromised due to the high heat required to cook them.  Cooked protein and fat are associated with every disease known to afflict the human population.

          Ever hear of uric acid?  Cooked proteins break down into purines in the body which the liver degrades into uric acid and is invariably found in high concentrations in the bloodstreams of those with leukemia.  The list of problems associated with a diet high in cooked protein and fat are simply too numerous to mention.  And these are the foods that make up the Atkins Death Diet.

          I dont know if Atkins ever did read anything about nutritionI doubt itbut if he did, it surely must have come directly from the pages of MAD Magazine.  It is impossible for the Atkins Death Diet to be more backwards and counter productive.  When I think of Atkins and his senseless, outlandish diet I cant help but think of a quote once spoken by one time U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson when he said, There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action. 

           In what can only be described as divine justice, this shamelessly ill-informed man came up with the most mindless, foolhardy, and moronic approach to eating ever to come out of the devils workshop and it killed him.  What amazes me most is that he lasted as long as he did.  I know that what I am saying and the tone I am using is harsh, but when you consider the harm and level of miseducation this one man is responsible for, and that it will take years to undo and make right the damage he has wreakedwellits hard to have any sympathy for him.  On the contrary, I think he should be criminally charged and tried in a court of law posthumously.

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THE ATKINS DEATH DIET Part 2

And make no mistake about it, dear reader, we must not be naïve, this is all about money.  Anytime you have hundreds of millions of dollars at stake there are certain people who will sacrifice their morals and integrity at the altar of profits.  They will hire and pay to have people convince you to believe what they want you to believe.  I can think of no more a classic example of that than what was illustrated over at the house of Atkins. 

          Watching the pathetic charade unfold was laughable as these people feigned indignation over being questioned about the true facts surrounding Atkins death.  Why dont you just let the man rest in peace? they asked.  How very convenient for them.  Isnt that just like them, now that their leader has died, to callously use his death and try to hide behind it in a futile attempt to stifle the truth and escape scrutiny?         

          Let me tell you something, this is not about the dead.  This is about those who are still living and the need to protect them from falling victim to this mans insanity.  History is rife with examples of people whose lives were lived in a less than exemplary fashion.  There are villains in history with whom we have no problem talking about and Atkins is one of them.

          Notwithstanding the out-and-out falsehoods about Atkins poor health when alive, and the facts surrounding his death, lets look at the sobering reality.  For starters the weight loss guru was clinically obese.  That should be enough right there.  Would you take marital advice from someone divorced six times?  Would you take financial advice from someone bankrupt and living in poverty?     

          Anyone who knows even the bare minimum about the human body and the effect of good or bad nutrition on it, knows that a poor diet can cause high blood pressure, and an improvement in ones diet quickly reverses high blood pressure.  Over the last 20 years since the original FIT FOR LIFE, I cannot recall the full number of people who contacted me to say that their blood  pressure improved by proper eating habits.  But it has been tens of thousands of people, far more than I ever could have imagined.  The link between a poor diet and high blood pressure is unmistakable and unassailable.  Atkins had high blood pressure.

          If high blood pressure continues unabated and the poor diet that contributed to it in the first place is not improved upon, it can lead to an enlarged heart.   Atkins had an enlarged heart.

          A clear sign of an inferior diet is clogged arteries.  Atkins had clogged arteries.

          If the arteries are not cleansed of the offending obstructions due to a continuance of negative living habits, it can lead to congestive heart failure.  Atkins had congestive heart failure.

          Atkins suffered at least one heart attack and was rushed by ambulance to the hospital in full cardiac arrest. 

          This mans heart and cardiovascular system was in deplorable condition.  And it was his anti-life diet that put it in that condition. 

          The most reprehensible part of this entire fiasco is the unbelievably lame assertion by the Atkins clan that his heart condition had nothing to do with his diet, which would be akin to claiming that terrorism had nothing to do with 911.  They simply cannot afford to let the truth be known or millions of people would have stopped buying their products.  So the classic, age-old ploy was used for the express purpose of clouding the issue with doubt.  It is called the deny and lie tactic:  No matter what the consequences, deny everything and lie through your teeth.  That will throw up a smokescreen that leaves people wondering what is and what is not the truth.  That was their goal and that is all they wished to achieve.

          Do you recall a few years back when that line of tobacco executives sat before congress and unabashedly committed perjury when they looked straight into the eyes of the congress people questioning them and did the ol deny and lie?  Then when presented with unchallengeable proof that they were lying they all took on that aw shucks, you caught me demeanor as they were forced to come clean.

          The story the Atkins people tried riding to the finish line is that Atkins died of a bump on the head and his heart condition was caused by an obscure viral infection.  Allow me to regale you with the non-fiction version.

          First of all, to recover from any injury, no matter what, minor or majora cut finger, a broken bone, a bump on the head, anythingthe heart and cardiovascular system has to be in tip-top working condition in order to effect an efficient and successful healing.  Atkins heart and cardiovascular system was in decrepit condition and unable to help in the repair and healing effort.  This due to decades of his counter productive diet that weakened his heart and cardiovascular system to the point where it was unable to perform when needed most.

          But the most preposterous part of this entire mess is the lame attempt to shift the true and honest condition of Atkins weak and impotent heart over to the medical communitys all time favorite and most relied upon scapegoat in all of history:  the virus.  Anytime a medical doctor is bewildered or entirely unable to ascertain why someone is sick or having health problems, rather than simply and honestly acknowledging that they dont know, which they refuse to ever do, they fall back on their favorite villain:  Oh, we think it might, maybe, may, perhaps, could be a virus or a viral infection.  That way they dont have to go through the heartbreak and shame of admitting theres actually something they dont know.  And since most people have no idea whatsoever what a virus or a viral infection actually is, except what they have been told it is by MDs, it is blindly accepted without hesitation.

          The Atkins medical team is, of course, relying on this ploy, telling us that he had cardiomyopathy, which, by the way, is nothing more than doctor speak for an enlarged heart.  And they think it was caused by a viral infection.  How original.  And how sickeningly transparent.  An enlarged heart is not caused by some infinitesimally small, malevolent virus.  Neither is high blood pressure, clogged arteries, congestive heart failure or heart attacks.  They always use terms like, May be caused by or Could have been caused by or We think it was caused by whenever trying to blame whatever they dont understand on a virus.  They never definitively blame it on a virus because it cant be proven.   In this instance it was thought to be caused by a virus.  Atkins arteries werent clogged with viruses; they were clogged with fat and cholesterol-laden plaque. But the smokescreen was successfully put before the public, and that was, after all, the extent of what they wished to achieve.      

          Anyone with a high school course in physiology would know that the dreadful condition of Atkins heart and cardiovascular system was the result of negative living habits, not some scapegoat virus.  But the bought and paid for experts over at Atkins central treated us to this steaming pile of pony loaf so as to deflect attention away from the truth.   

          By denying that Atkins had a diet-related heart condition and lying by saying it was due to a suspected viral infection, the Atkins team brought the deny and lie tactic to  brand new heights of absurdity.  Heres an analogy that should put it into proper perspective for you:  If a man, drunk off of his feet, runs over and kills a little girl, what would you think as a juror if in court his defense was that the girl was killed by two tons of out-of-control steel and had nothing to do with alcohol?  Would you acquit him?  The Atkins apologists attempted to put forth something equally as ridiculous and hoped everyone would fall for it hook, line, and pork chop.

          They even resorted to trotting out the grieving widow in order to garner sympathy.   Of course one has to feel for anyone who loses her mate, regardless of the surrounding circumstances, but listening to her talk as she vilified those fanatic vegetarians, you quickly realized that she knew even less about nutrition than did her husband, if thats possible. 

          Mrs. Atkins used as her reason for supporting the Atkins Death Diet and ridiculing people who had legitimate concerns about its dangers, the fact that her physicians had all assured her that her husbands heart condition was completely unrelated to his diet or any diet.  Gee, what a surprise.  You mean the same physicians who failed to grasp the dangers of the Death Diet and the effect it was having on Atkins heart?  The same physicians who suggested that his arteries were clogged with viruses not fat and cholesterol?  The same physicians who had a vested interest in Atkins not being revealed as the deceiver he was?  The same physicians who would have had to acknowledge their own ignorance of proper nutrition?  The same physicians that were being paid by Mrs. Atkins?

          Mrs. Atkins said she was outraged by the release of her husbands autopsy.  Of course she was outraged; its what let the pesky truth out of hiding and into the light of day.  Let me tell you what she was really outraged about.  She was outraged that the world would learn about the gross misinformation and damage wreaked on innocent, unsuspecting people by her husband and his insane eating program.  She was outraged at the prospect of losing out on millions and millions of dollars.  She was outraged that history would see Atkins for the grossly ill informed charlatan he truly was.

            I must bring to your attention one last illustration of the outrageous and brazen disregard for the truth exhibited by these scheming con artists.  Merely saying they are unscrupulous and unprincipled is an understatement.  The word integrity must be completely foreign to them.

             Approximately one month before the truth about what effect the Death Diet had on Atkins heart was released, headlines across the nation spoke of the new advice coming from the Atkins camp.  The New York Times stated that Promoters Now Advise Limiting the Amount of Red Meat and Saturated Fat. Immediately, fans of the diet began to freak out and express shock.  After all, they were told that fat in the diet is very good for you; it doesnt make any difference what kind of fat it is and there are no limits on how much is consumed; you can eat all you can and want so long as there are no carbohydrates.  As the insanity of such advice started to become apparent, the Atkins clan was trying to casually reverse their position in the hope that no one would notice.  But the people who were suckered into trusting their original advice as accurate did notice and they were coming undone.

          In an attempt to save face and further bamboozle the public, a paid for nutritionist on the Atkins payroll well versed in the deny and lie tactic was sent around the country by the Atkins camp to try and quell the outrage.  The plan was to lie. Simply lie, lie, lie, and lie some more, no matter what issues were raised and no matter what questions were asked.

          I happened to catch this woman, The Director of Research and Education for Atkins Nutritionals, being interviewed on a news program.  The interviewer asked why this revision was being made.  The answer was that they do not represent a departure from the original premise of the diet.  An out-and-out, bold-faced lie.  The interviewer, obviously incredulous at this blatant falsehood, asked how she could say that when the original premise was to gorge oneself on any amount of fat at anytime desired, and now she was saying to cut back.  In an astonishing display of audacity, the deny and liar shifted all responsibility and blame for the confusion onto the consumer.  Thats right, she tried to say that the new revision was not really a revision at all and that people had misinterpreted the original message and she was merely trying to set the record straight.  The unbridled gall of this woman was actually quite impressive. 

          The interviewer, obviously appalled at this absurd tactic, looked at her as though she had just thrown up on his shoes.  It was apparent that this woman was not going to give a straight or honest answer so after a bit more side stepping and doublespeak, the interview ended. 

          The reprehensible activities these people engaged in for no other reason than to attempt to protect this abomination that Atkins foisted on the world represents the very worst that can be exhibited by the human species: unbridled avarice, and a complete disregard for the truth.

          One day in the future people will look back in history with the same astonishment with which we now look at bloodletting and wonder how in the world so many people could have been so bamboozled and misled as to do something so anti life and so lacking in simple common sense.

          Let me bring this unsavory tale to a close.  The greatest gift in all of existence is life.  How precious and dear life is.  Can you think of anything more valuable than life?  By all accounts there is more life on our little planet Earth than the entire known universe combined.  We are living beings on a living planet.  In order to remain alive and experience good health we must supply our living bodies with living food not dead food.  Is that too complicated a concept to grasp?  Apparently it is for those who have been educated beyond their intelligence and know a whole lot about what isnt so.  Life begets life.  Death Doesnt.  The original Atkins Death Diet was comprised entirely of dead food.

          From this point forward, whenever you think about what to feed yourself, think in terms of how much living food you are feeding your body.  Although I know the subject of diet has been turned into one of the most confusing and contentious subjects of debate, in actual fact the simple formula for living a long, high energy, pain-free, disease-free life is this:  The more dead food you eat, the more unhealthy you will be.  The more living food you eat, the healthier you will be.  You may not think its that simple, but it is.

          Oh yes, on August 1, 2005, Atkins Nutritionals filed for bankruptcy.

Until next time, be well and God bless.

Harvey Diamond  

www.fitforlifetime.com

3:28 PM - 2 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

DEADLY DAIRY

The snow job put over on the American public continues. If the people of the United States were to somehow become aware of the true and actual effect that dairy products have had on their health, they would be lined up to sue the dairy industry the same way they're lined up to sue the tobacco industry. There is not a malady of the human body, serious or minor, that dairy products don't contribute to, cause, or worsen.

The multibillion-dollar dairy industry is in business to make money, and no tactic, honest or deceitful, is off-limits.   There can be no more effective selling tool for an industry than convincing people that they will suffer and become ill without using their product. And that is exactly what the dairy industry has done, quite ingeniously, I might add. After all, every health expert, no matter what discipline is practiced, acknowledges that a diet high in fiber and low in fat and cholesterol is best. Dairy products are extremely high in fat and cholesterol, and are devoid of fiberthe absolute, polar opposite of what is being recommended by one and all.

So how do you get people to feel they can't live without this product that actually has nothing to offer, unless you like having a stuffed-up nose and hacking up phlegm? That was the task. Calcium! If people could be frightened into thinking that their bones would become brittle like dried-out kindling unless they consumed dairy products for the calcium, the dairy industry would be home-free. Has their ploy worked? What's the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the word calcium? Women in particular have been preyed upon by this scheme by holding the threat of osteoporosis over their heads like a guillotine.

Here's the question I would like for you to ponder: Is it possible Mother Nature, the Grand Creator, God, the Supreme Intelligence of the Universe that created us and everything else in existence, would somehow forget to make something as crucial to life as calcium, the most prevalent mineral in our body, available to us, thereby forcing us to become the one and only species of mammal the length and breadth of the planet to never be weaned? Shall we never be weaned? C'mon now, how could we fall for such a preposterous suggestion?

In the grand scheme of things, every mammal on Earth, whether it's a dog, a cat, a whale, a cow, a rhinoceros, a giraffe, a wolf or a human being, large or small, ferocious or docile, shall have as its first food highly nutritious milk that flows from its mother's breast. Each species has its own milk that is unique to that species and no other. It is designed specifically to be the first and only food to supply the newborn with the best possible food during infancy, and every mammal, whether elephant or mouse, stops drinking milk once it is weaned, never to have milk again, not its own mother's milk nor the milk of another species. Do you actually think that this supremely intelligent plan, designed and implemented by Nature itself, applies to every species of mammal in existence except us? There is not another instance in nature where an animal, once weaned, will continue to suckle or start to suckle later in life. It does not ever happen.

Not only have we humans figured out a way to disregard and defy the awesome design of life itself, but look at the animal we turn to in order to do so. Even if we were somehow able to continue drinking the milk of our own species, it would still be wrong; milk is for infants, not grown-ups. But we don't go to an animal that is even remotely close to us in size, like a chimpanzee. In fact, most people might recoil or be offended at the very idea of drinking chimpanzee milk. Yet we have somehow been psychologically manipulated into accepting as reasonable the drinking of cow's milk. How about milk from a dog, or a horse, or a hyena or a sheep, or a pig? Would you drink those? Why not? The only reason people are accustomed to cow's milk is because they were trained to drink it from childhood. It could just as easily have been hog milk that we were made to accept as normal, in which case we would very likely be offended by the idea of drinking cow's milk.

Cow's milk, being uniquely constituted for its young, is the food for a ninety-pound calf at birth, which will ultimately reach the weight of somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds in only two years. Human milk, being uniquely constituted and suited for its young, is the food for a five- to ten-pound infant who will ultimately reach the weight of somewhere between 100 and 200 pounds in eighteen years. In other words, cow's milk is specifically designed for an animal that will grow very large, very fast. Do you think that's something people who are trying to lose weight want? To get real big, real fast, like a cow? Plus, is milk (or products made from milk like cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.) consumed in its natural state? No, its pasteurized, which means that it's heated to a temperature so high that nothing living could possibly survive. Everything good you're hoping to get from it is either destroyed or deranged.

The protein component in milk is a thick, coarse substance called casein. It is broken down in the body by the enzyme rennin. Because Nature's intent is for us to be weaned from milk and not have it again, by age three or four rennin is nonexistent in the human digestive tract in all but a very small number of people. The idea that the dairy industry would have us believe that we should consume dairy products to get calcium is absolutely preposterous. The calcium in cow's milk is, first of all, much coarser than the calcium in human's milk, and second, the calcium in cow's milk is bound to the casein, which prevents it from being absorbed by the human body. There is 300 percent more casein in cow's milk than there is in human milk, and it is used to make one of the strongest wood glues in existence. Sounds like just the thing to eat for successful weight loss, doesn't it? Glue!

The big issue in all of this is, of course, calcium and osteoporosis. The human skeleton is a thing of beauty. We are born with 350 or so bones, which fuse into the approximately 206 bones in an adult skeleton. Through the loss of calcium, bones can become so porous that they can break with very little provocation. Going over a bump in the road while driving, sneezing or even being hugged can cause fractures. High-protein, high-acid diets cause calcium to be leached from the bones. There is irrefutable evidence to prove this, more than you could read in a lifetime. Proponents of diets high in meat and dairy products will try to deny it, but its like trying to deny the sun is hot. It is an indefensible position. Meat and dairy contribute more to osteoporosis than any other factor. The Masai of Africa, Inuits and Greenlanders eat enormously high-protein diets, almost to the exclusion of all else. They develop osteoporosis at a very early age and are bent, disabled and decrepit in their twenties and thirties. On the other hand, the Abkhazians of Russia, the Vilcabambans of Ecuador and the Hunzas eat a diet that minimizes protein food, and they stand erect with little or no osteoporosis well into their eighties and nineties.

The dairy industry would have you believe that dairy products would put an end to the problem of osteoporosis. This is ironic in light of the fact that dairy products cause osteoporosis. I can understand the dairy industrys trying to do whatever it can to sell more product. What I find objectionable, in fact criminal, are the so-called experts, the medical doctors, dieticians and nutritionists who should know better, but have failed to educate themselves, who are out there telling an unsuspecting public to consume dairy products for calcium. It would be like telling an alcoholic to sober up on a bottle of whiskey.

Consider this: The four countries of the world whose population consume the greatest amount of dairy products are the United States, Great Britain, Sweden and Finland. The four countries of the world whose population has the highest incidence of osteoporosis are the United States, Great Britain, Sweden and Finland. The countries whose population consumes the least amount of dairy products are the African and Asian countries. The countries whose population suffers the least incidence of osteoporosis are the African and Asian countries. Exactly what else do you need to know to be convinced?

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