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Authors: Robert C. Atkins
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or brain. We can now use blood tests to detect markers of the prothrombotic state (see Chapter 9).
YOUR CHOICE: LIFESTYLE CHANGES OR DRUGS?
You’ve probably noticed that throughout this chapter we’ve discussed two contributors to the metabolic syndrome: a high-carb diet and a lack of exercise. The standard medical advice for the metabolic syndrome is the reduced-calorie, low-fat diet based on the flawed food pyramid. (The Atkins Lifestyle Food Pyramid, which has been presented to the USDA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and White House staffers as one alternative, appears in Appendix 5, page 470.) Although portion-controlled diets such as the American Heart Association diet may work for some people, they fail for many others. Because these diets emphasize carbohydrates and frown on dietary fat, they may actually make the metabolic syndrome worse, unless one is able to lose weight on such a program. 42
Even increasing your activity level probably won’t offset the negative effects of such a diet. In fact, low-calorie, low-fat diets can actually cause you to lose both muscle and fat, while decreased dietary carbohydrates and increased protein can actually enhance muscle mass. 43 , 44
Here’s the scenario that is likely to unfold after you visit your doctor and get diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome. You follow your doctor’s conventional dietary and fitness advice to the letter, but your health fails to improve.You may even gain weight and see a worsening of other metabolic syndrome signs.
The next thing you know,your doctor is whipping out the prescription pad and showering you with samples of statin drugs and medications for high blood pressure.You find yourself swallowing four or five expensive pills several times a day. Your blood pressure and LDL cholesterol may come down a bit, but your weight stubbornly stays the same or even climbs. Your triglycerides and HDL cholesterol hardly budge. But there’s more. All those drugs, plus the carbohydrates in your diet,make you feel tired and weak,so you don’t have the energy or even the inclination to exercise.
However, because your blood pressure is down and your LDL cholesterol is slightly better, your doctor is pleased. Unfortunately, you probably aren’t. You feel worse—and because you’re not dealing with the underlying problem, you’re getting worse. Your conventional high-carb, low-fat diet, along with medications, is simply not the path to good health.
THE ATKINS WAY
A surprisingly small step can be enough to slow the progression of the metabolic syndrome. A very modest amount of fat loss—as little as 7 to 10 percent of your body weight—can bring about significant improvement. Changing your metabolism from fat storage to fat burn ing can stop the progressive damage to your body. Add in just 30 to 60 minutes a day of moderate exercise, and you’re likely to step even farther away from that downward spiral.
How can you make this happen? As we’ve said, the metabolic syndrome can be stopped or reversed through a controlled-carbohydrate program combined with exercise: the Atkins Blood Sugar Control Program. This program has been specifically designed to combat the metabolic syndrome and its predictable outcomes. If you have already crossed the diabetes threshold,the program can help you stop the otherwise inevitable descent into heart disease, stroke, and other problems—and bring you back to better health.
----
DO YOU HAVE THE METABOLIC SYNDROME?
Agree or disagree with the following statements to determine if you have the metabolic syndrome.
1. My waist is greater than 40 inches (men) or 35 inches (women).
a. Yes
b. No
2. My triglycerides are 150 mg/dL or more.
a. Yes
b. No
3. My HDL cholesterol is 40 mg/dL or less (men) or 50 mg/dL or less (women).
a. Yes
b. No
4. My blood pressure is 130/85 or more.
a. Yes
b. No
5. My fasting blood sugar is 110 mg/dL or more.
a. Yes
b. No
If you answered yes three or more times,
YOUR CHOICE: LIFESTYLE CHANGES OR DRUGS?
You’ve probably noticed that throughout this chapter we’ve discussed two contributors to the metabolic syndrome: a high-carb diet and a lack of exercise. The standard medical advice for the metabolic syndrome is the reduced-calorie, low-fat diet based on the flawed food pyramid. (The Atkins Lifestyle Food Pyramid, which has been presented to the USDA, the Department of Health and Human Services, and White House staffers as one alternative, appears in Appendix 5, page 470.) Although portion-controlled diets such as the American Heart Association diet may work for some people, they fail for many others. Because these diets emphasize carbohydrates and frown on dietary fat, they may actually make the metabolic syndrome worse, unless one is able to lose weight on such a program. 42
Even increasing your activity level probably won’t offset the negative effects of such a diet. In fact, low-calorie, low-fat diets can actually cause you to lose both muscle and fat, while decreased dietary carbohydrates and increased protein can actually enhance muscle mass. 43 , 44
Here’s the scenario that is likely to unfold after you visit your doctor and get diagnosed with the metabolic syndrome. You follow your doctor’s conventional dietary and fitness advice to the letter, but your health fails to improve.You may even gain weight and see a worsening of other metabolic syndrome signs.
The next thing you know,your doctor is whipping out the prescription pad and showering you with samples of statin drugs and medications for high blood pressure.You find yourself swallowing four or five expensive pills several times a day. Your blood pressure and LDL cholesterol may come down a bit, but your weight stubbornly stays the same or even climbs. Your triglycerides and HDL cholesterol hardly budge. But there’s more. All those drugs, plus the carbohydrates in your diet,make you feel tired and weak,so you don’t have the energy or even the inclination to exercise.
However, because your blood pressure is down and your LDL cholesterol is slightly better, your doctor is pleased. Unfortunately, you probably aren’t. You feel worse—and because you’re not dealing with the underlying problem, you’re getting worse. Your conventional high-carb, low-fat diet, along with medications, is simply not the path to good health.
THE ATKINS WAY
A surprisingly small step can be enough to slow the progression of the metabolic syndrome. A very modest amount of fat loss—as little as 7 to 10 percent of your body weight—can bring about significant improvement. Changing your metabolism from fat storage to fat burn ing can stop the progressive damage to your body. Add in just 30 to 60 minutes a day of moderate exercise, and you’re likely to step even farther away from that downward spiral.
How can you make this happen? As we’ve said, the metabolic syndrome can be stopped or reversed through a controlled-carbohydrate program combined with exercise: the Atkins Blood Sugar Control Program. This program has been specifically designed to combat the metabolic syndrome and its predictable outcomes. If you have already crossed the diabetes threshold,the program can help you stop the otherwise inevitable descent into heart disease, stroke, and other problems—and bring you back to better health.
----
DO YOU HAVE THE METABOLIC SYNDROME?
Agree or disagree with the following statements to determine if you have the metabolic syndrome.
1. My waist is greater than 40 inches (men) or 35 inches (women).
a. Yes
b. No
2. My triglycerides are 150 mg/dL or more.
a. Yes
b. No
3. My HDL cholesterol is 40 mg/dL or less (men) or 50 mg/dL or less (women).
a. Yes
b. No
4. My blood pressure is 130/85 or more.
a. Yes
b. No
5. My fasting blood sugar is 110 mg/dL or more.
a. Yes
b. No
If you answered yes three or more times,
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