92 Joel Fuhrman, M.D.Dangerous Weight-Loss Schemes
Unfortunately, some of the most heavily promoted and bestselling
books are also among the most dangerous. Some of the more popu-
lar books are Dr. Atkins' Health Revolution and New Diet Revolution;
The Zone, by Barry Sears; and Protein Power, by Michael and Mary
Eades.
The popularity of these books is evidence that people are looking
for a quick, effortless way to lose weight without having to curtail
their dangerous love affair with rich, unhealthful foods. People are
desperate to lose weight, and these books preach what people want
to hear: that you can eat lots of fat, cholesterol, and saturated fat and
still lose weight. This illicit romance can lead to tragic consequences,
with some people literally dying to lose weight.
High-protein-diet gurus usually claim that they hold the truth
and that all other doctors and scientists are wrong. They promote the
idea that their recommended diet is the healthiest. They would have
their devotees believe there is a worldwide conspiracy of more than
3,500 scientific studies involving more than 15,000 research scien-
tists reporting a relationship between the consumption of meats,
poultry, eggs, and dairy products and the incidence of heart disease,
cancer, kidney failure, constipation, gallstones, diverticulosis, and hem-
orrhoids, just to name a few health problems.Reviewing and understanding both the positive and negative as-
pects of various popular diets will aid in your understanding of nu-
tritional science in general. It is a worthwhile exercise to reinforce
and expand the information gained from prior chapters and to look
at some of the scientific studies to help us understand the perpetu-
ated myths and controversies. My patients have a high success rate
in not just losing but also keeping off the weight permanently be-
cause they receive such a comprehensive and scientific edification in
human nutrition. It will help you give up believing in magical diets.The Atkins Cancer Revolution
Robert Atkins's books, as well as other authors advocating high-protein
weight-loss plans, recommend diets for health and weight loss with
significantly more animal protein than is typically consumed by the
average American. Americans already eat approximately 40 percent