Although low-carb diets have been around for at least a century, the Dr. Robert Atkins diet has received the most attention since it was unveiled 30 years ago.
The diet is based on the theory that overweight people eat too many carbohydrates. By drastically reducing carbs and eating more protein and fat, our bodies naturally lose weight by burning stored body fat more efficiently.
The plan allows people to eat foods most dieters only dream about. Few limits are set on the amount of food, but it restricts the kinds of foods -- no refined sugar, milk, white rice or white flour and other grains and starchy vegetables.
It begins with a two-week induction phase in which carbs are restricted to fewer than 20 grams per day, most of which must come from salad greens and other vegetables, such as asparagus or broccoli. You can eat beef, poultry, fish, eggs, bacon, cheese, cream or butter. No fruits and nuts and no caffeine.
Later during the pre-maintenance and maintenance phases, carb consumption is increased to no more than 30 to 40 grams a day, but the focus remains on high-fat and high-protein foods. Refined sugar, milk, white rice, white bread or pasta made with white flour are banned forever.
By drastically restricting carbs, the body goes into a state of ketosis, during which it burns its own fat for fuel. A person in ketosis is getting energy from ketones, little carbon fragments that are the fuel created by the breakdown of fat stores. People in ketosis tend to feel less hungry, but it also causes unpleasant side effects, such as nausea.
Atkins claims this eating plan converts the body from a carb-burning engine into a fat-burning engine.
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