More than 7 years after the death of Dr. Atkins, the inventor and promoter of the controversial Atkins diet,  new legitimate scientific evidence may vindicate the man much maligned by the conventional heatlh community. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health divided over 300 participants into two groups: one ate a low fat diet, the other a low carb diet (the low carb dieters were permitted to eat as much fat and protein as they wanted,  just like the Atkins diet).  Six months into the study, the low-carb group had a greater reduction in diastolic blood pressure, triglycerides and a particularly bad form of “bad” cholesterol called VLDL (very low-density lipoproteins). And amazingly, at all measured points throughout the two-year study, the low-carb group had a significant increase in HDL (”good”) cholesterol.

The amazing and surprising conclusion that I draw: when compared with a low fat diet,  a low carb diet may actually be more effective at lowering risk factors for heart disease. So bring on the bone-in porterhouse and steamed broccoli (I can live without the baked potato).

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