Read Atkins Diabetes Revolution Online
Authors: Robert C. Atkins
Atkins Diabetes Revolution
Atkins Diabetes
Revolution
The Groundbreaking Approach to
Preventing and Controlling
Type 2 Diabetes
Based on the teachings of
ROBERT C. ATKINS, M.D.
with
Mary C. Vernon, M.D., C.M.D.,
and Jacqueline A. Eberstein, R.N.
There is only one person to whom we could have dedicated this book: Bob Atkins. His vision inspired us and influenced our professional careers. His courage, passion, steadfastness, and willingness to think outside the box have galvanized us—and many others—to carry on his legacy.
Contents
PART ONE: BLOOD SUGAR AND YOUR HEALTH
1. The Diabetes Crossroads
2. Wrong Turn: The Long Road to Diabetes
Success Story: A New Path Without Pills
3. Weighing In: The Number One Risk Factor
4. A Deadly Quintet: Meet the Metabolic Syndrome
Success Story: A Healthy Lifestyle Is Music to His Ears
5. Warning: Prediabetes!
6. Diagnosis: Diabetes
7. Managing Your Diabetes
8. Twin Peaks: High Blood Pressure and High Blood Sugar
Success Story: A Sparkling Achievement
9. The Cardiac Connection
Success Story: A New Lease on Life
PART TWO: TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR HEALTH
10. The Atkins Blood Sugar Control Program
11. Take Action
Success Story: A Lucky Hostess
12. The Importance of Good Fats
13. The Importance of Protein
14. The Atkins Glycemic Ranking
Success Story: Fighting His Own Way
15. Fiber Facts
16. The Bountiful Harvest
Success Story: Man on a Mission
17. Controlling Your Carbs—and Liking It
18. Sugar Nation
19. Drink to Your Health
20. Getting Extra Help: Supplements for Blood Sugar Control
21. Getting Extra Help: Supplements for Heart Health
Success Story: An Alternative to Drugs
22. Walking Away from Diabetes
23. Your Personal Exercise Program
24. It’s Not Just Baby Fat
Success Story: Bouncing Baby Joy
25. Type 2 Diabetes and Your Child
PART THREE: LIVING THE PROGRAM
26. Meal Plans
27. Recipes for Success
Scientific Studies That Validate the Atkins Nutritional Approach
1. Acceptable Induction Foods
2. Moving Beyond Induction
3. The Power of Five and Ten
4. The Atkins Glycemic Ranking
5. The Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid
6. Drugs for Hypertension
In true Atkins tradition, producing this complex book was a team effort, led by Michael Bernstein, senior vice president of Atkins Health and Medical Information Services at Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. (ANI). Olivia Bell Buehl,vice president and editorial director,coordinated the day-to-day operations.Paul D.Wolff,chairman and chief executive of- ficer of our company, and Scott Kabak, president and chief operating officer,were both instrumental in getting this project off the ground.
To ensure the accuracy of the nutritional information, nutrition- ist Colette Heimowitz, M.S., vice president and director of education and research, reviewed the manuscript and worked closely with us throughout the project. Dietitian Marlene Koch, R.D., developed all the meal plans and accompanying recipes that allow even individuals who have to severely restrict their carbs to enjoy tasty, varied, and easy-to-prepare meals. Nutritionist and coordinator of education and research Eva Katz, M.P.H., R.D., spent untold hours tracking down often elusive scientific references and ensuring the accuracy of all the references. Leyla Muedin and Shannah Johnson, R.D., assisted her. Leyla also reviewed Dr.Atkins’patient files to find those whose clinical experiences included in these pages represent the thousands who consulted Dr. Atkins for blood sugar disorders and related issues.
Contributing writer Sheila Buff put our thoughts into words, patiently reworking the manuscript as we refined the content. Contributing editor Lynn Prowitt-Smith gave the manuscript a final polish to help simplify an often complex subject.
Nutritionist and executive editor Christine Senft, M.S., and Web site content manager Rachel Fireman helped find many of the individuals whose experiences are related in this book, assisted by Kathy Maguire. Freelance writers Janet Cappiello Blake, Catherine Censor, and Mary Selover interviewed them and wrote the case studies. Special thanks also to the individuals who shared their personal stories with us. Senior food editor Allison Fishman reviewed all the meal plans and made valuable suggestions. Associate food editor Kelly Staikopoulos oversaw the testing of all recipes.
Atkins Nutritionals medical director Stuart L. Trager, M.D., reviewed the entire manuscript. As a triathlete, he also gave valuable assistance on the fitness program.Likewise,pediatrician,researcher,and member of the Atkins Physicians Council Stephen Sondike, M.D., vetted the chapters on childhood obesity and diabetes. Food scientist and vice president for product development at Atkins Nutritionals Matt Spolar and his associate Paul Bruns, Ph.D., contributed valuable expertise on the intricacies of sugar alcohols and were always ready to answer the most arcane questions.
Finally,this project would not have occurred had it not been for the superb efforts of our editor, Sarah Durand, and her team at William Morrow. Special thanks to Jane Friedman, Cathy Hemming, Michael Morrison, Libby Jordan, Lisa Gallagher, Debbie Stier, Kristen Green, Kim Lewis, Chris Tanigawa, Lorie Young, Juliette Shapland, Betty Lew, Richard Aquan, Barbara Levine, and Jeremy Cesarec.
—M.C.V. and J.A.E.
I would like to thank Tricia Thomann, R.N., Melissa Transue, R.N., and Heather Yates, P.A., as well as the rest of my dedicated staff, whose support allows me to pretend to be in three places at once.I am also indebted to my family, patients, and partners for their support. Eric Westman, M.D., was always just a telephone call away when I had a question that needed an immediate answer.
—M.C.V.
I would like to thank my husband, Conrad, for his patience and understanding of all the late nights and weekends this project consumed.
—J.A.E.
For 29 years I worked side by side with Bob Atkins in a variety of roles, including nutrition counselor and director of medical education at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine, until his death in April 2003. From the very beginning of our relationship, it was obvious to me that Bob’s mission was to put an end to the twin epidemics of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.His desire to address this dual crisis became even more immediate in the last decade of his life as he was diagnosing more people—and more younger people—with diabetes.
But first let me tell you a little bit about myself.In the five years after I graduated from nursing school, my experience was primarily in a conventional medical setting, including intensive care and the recovery room. I began to work with Bob quite by accident. In my initial interview I told him bluntly that I was highly skeptical of his dietary approach. As I reluctantly accepted his offer to work as a staff nurse in his medical practice, I doubted that I would stay long.
Within a few short weeks, I was surprised to observe firsthand the benefits his patients experienced. Not only did they lose weight without experiencing hunger, they also invariably reported improvements in an array of symptoms. As Bob was not yet using complementary therapies, these improvements were clearly related solely to diet.
Like many young women, I was always concerned about my weight. I began to put on extra pounds at age 12 and struggled for years to keep my weight under control by skipping meals and low- calorie dieting. I never let myself gain more than ten pounds before I took action,because my family history of diabetes and morbid obesity scared me. As a nurse, I knew where I was headed.
Even though I was able to lose those extra ten pounds easily, when I was dieting I was always hungry and fighting carbohydrate cravings. I also experienced symptoms such as irregular heartbeats, palpitations, tremors in my hands, insomnia, weakness, and a host of other symptoms that no 25-year-old should have.
Never once did any of the doctors I consulted ask me about what I ate or my family history. Nor did it ever occur to
me
that my symptoms were related to my weight-loss efforts. After ruling out an over- active thyroid and an adrenal tumor, doctors treated my symptoms with cardiac drugs.I was convinced my problem wasn’t with my heart, and I soon stopped taking them.
A few months after beginning to work with Bob,I experienced a recurrence of the symptoms.When I told Bob about my medical history and the tests I had been given, he asked me why I had never had a glucose tolerance test (GTT). I didn’t have an answer. In those days, hypoglycemia—the only reason someone would take a GTT—was considered a “fad” diagnosis and not taken seriously, so the test was never even suggested.
Bob routinely ordered a GTT as a part of his new-patient workup, so I joined the next group of new patients and finally had my diagnosis: severely unstable blood sugar that by today’s definition would fit the diagnosis of diabetes—at the ripe old age of 25.
I have Bob to thank for the good health I enjoy today. I am grateful for his courage, commitment, and perseverance in his beliefs. I share this personal information because I know what it is like to confront the health issues we talk about in this book—and I want you to know that you can succeed just as I have.
When Bob’s widow, Veronica, approached me about completing this book, I was deeply honored. And although Bob’s shoes are very large ones to fill, I am confident that I can transmit the message, as he would have expressed it himself. In fact, after working closely with him for many years, I find that I use the same words and phrases he so often used because I intimately know his approach to both obesity and diabetes. The basics were set forth in
Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution,
as well as in the many, many newsletter articles he penned, presentations he made at medical conferences, radio shows he hosted, and, most important, the records he left behind.
I am fortunate that my partner in this endeavor is Mary Vernon,M.D., C.M.D., a family practitioner and vice president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians. Bob had a significant influence on the way Mary practices medicine. He was a larger-than-life character, but in many ways Mary reminds me of him. She shares his enthusiasm for caring for and interacting with patients.Like him,she has a natural curiosity and is willing to learn from her patients and other practitioners. Mary is equally open to exploring complementary approaches and began to use Bob’s controlled-carbohydrate approach because she could see that it worked for her patients.Last but not least, not only is Mary as intelligent as Bob was, but like him she loves going to work each day and helping people get better.