What You Should Know About Diet Aides And Certain Diet Tactics / Question
Published: June 22, 2005
Dear TeenHealthFX,
hey i am using the atkins deit and lately i get really light headed and get bad headaches. is there any relation w/ the 2?
Signed: Atkins Diet & Headaches - Any Relation Between The Two?
Dear Atkins Diet & Headaches - Any Relation Between The Two?,
As you probably know, the Atkins diet was originally published in 1973 and again in 1992. By 2002 it was one of the most popular high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate diet, with more than 10 million copies of Atkins's diet book being sold.
But how can a program based on traditionally ‘bad’ foods (burgers, cheese, milk, steak, bacon, etc) help us lose weight? The traditional presumed mechanism lies in the fact that all carbohydrates (sugars) are completely excluded (at least in the initial step of the program), so at the beginning your organism will “burn up” all your body’s carbohydrate stores, which are called glycogen. This molecule also retains water, so at some point water loss contributes to the rapid weight loss. Once carbohydrates are used, your system goes into an abnormal state called ketosis, which results from burning other fuels, this time fats instead of carbohydrates. As a consequence of these complex metabolic changes you loose weight. However, recently, ketosis has been questioned as the only factor responsible for weight loss (data published in The New England Journal of Medicine).
Researches have found that Atkins diet produces a faster weight loss than other diets however it is not persistent up to a year later. Also, it was found that participants following the Atkins diet experienced an increase in high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or ‘good’ cholesterol. On the other hand there are concerns about the increase in “bad” cholesterol (LDL) or at least failed to yield an improvement in lipids often associated with weight loss. Atkins diet is not recommended for patients with high blood pressure or kidney disease. It also focuses very much on fat and protein, cutting out your healthy whole grain foods and fruit and vegetables that are important for your health.
Responding to your question, Ketosis has a number of side effects that can make you feel a bit nauseous and it can make your breath smell. Some degree of lightheadedness and headache could be attributed to ketosis depending how compliant are you with the diet program.
If these symptoms are impairing your quality of live consider changing to a more balanced diet. It might be helpful to consult with a doctor or nutritionist to determine what type of diet suits your needs.
Signed: TeenHealthFX
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