despite the saturated fats inherent in the quantity of red meat eaten. In fact, many people
have found their cholesterol levels lowering dramatically during the cutting phase of the
diet, without use of supplements.
There are, of course, people who will have a problem with cholesterol regardless of the
diet they’re on. Again, a visit to your doctor for a thorough checkup as detailed in Chapter
3 is a necessity before practicing the Anabolic Diet. Monitoring cholesterol levels and
making necessary changes as needed will also be important to those with a genetic problem
with cholesterol.- If this diet is so good, why hasn’t someone thought of it before?
Actually, Dr. Robert Atkins has been touting a limited form of this diet for some time,
although the Anabolic Diet is quite different in structure and based on more recent
research. It’s only been in the last decade that much of the work focusing on the “metabolic
shift” and supplement research has been done, and much of this research goes ignored by
Atkins and others on the low-carb track. We’ve put all this research together for the first
time in designing the Anabolic Diet.
You also have to remember that dietary fat has been the favorite villain of the medical
and food industry for many years. There’s been a very strong prejudice, if not hysteria,
connected with it, and many people are very resistant to presenting the kind of information
you’ll find in “The Anabolic Diet” to the public. - Are there certain fats I should be trying to get in the diet?
Marine lipids, or fats associated with fish, are very important. You should get some of
your fats every day, or every other day, from fish products. Use salmon oil capsules if you
don’t like fish. Opt for saltwater fish over freshwater where possible, and don’t be afraid
of lobster or shrimp. Unless you have a chronic problem, they shouldn’t present any real
cholesterol problem.
Also, try to balance out the consumption of saturated fats from meat with some mono
and polyunsaturated fats where possible. - Are there certain fats I should be avoiding?
As long as you include marine oils and some polyunsaturates to control cholesterol, you
shouldn’t have to be too restrictive. You shouldn’t be eating a pound of beef tallow every
day but, on the other hand, steak and burger and the like will be encouraged. If you find
that you can only take in 4–5,000 calories a day when bulking up and you need extra
oils, you may want to use vegetable oils. Take a half an ounce a couple times a day. Salmon
oil caps will also increase calories. - Margarine or butter?
I take no sides here. Recent studies have been very critical of the possible health effects of
margarine. Butter is a wonderful source of fat, but it’s saturated fat. Both have their up
SOME COMMON QUESTIONS 75