Biochemistry of Nutrition: The Atkins Diet - Essay Example

The Atkins diet places a limited restriction on the consumption of fat and protein-rich foods like meats and cheeses (Hensley, 18). The rationale behind the Atkins diet is that a low carbohydrate diet enhances the potential for weight loss, and the addition of protein and fat-rich foods reduce hunger in an individual, thereby enhancing health and well-being. Reduced intake of carbohydrates will cause the human body to burn up stored fat for energy purposes, leading to a reduction in fat and weight (Hensley, 18).

In my opinion, the Atkins diet which is promoted as a high protein diet is really high in fat intake, with fat intake in the diet constituting almost 60% of the daily kcal. This means that the fat intake, including saturated fats, is nearly four times the recommended daily intake levels recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA). The Atkins diet which is promoted as a means to reduce weight and enhance health and well-being is not true, as it raises the risk for coronary artery disease (CAD), because of the high levels of fat intake.

Studies that have found evidence in support of weight loss suffer from the reliability issues in terms of the high levels of dropouts, raising question marks on the findings of these studies (Kappagoda & Hyson, 31). The Akins diet promoted as a diet for health and well-being of an individual is controversial, because of the high levels of possible fat intake in the diet, which enhances the risk for CAD.