Atkins Morning Start Breakfast Bars

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The Atkins diet, officially called the Atkins Nutritional Approach, is a low-carbohydrate diet created by Robert Atkins from a research paper he read in the Journal of the American Medical Association published by Gordon Azar and Walter Lyons Bloom. Atkins stated that he used the study to resolve his own overweight condition. He later popularized it in a series of books, starting with Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution in 1972. In his second book, Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, he modified parts of the diet but did not alter the original concepts. The Atkins Diet involves restriction of carbohydrates to more frequently switch the body’s metabolism from burning glucose as fuel to burning stored body fat. This process, called ketosis, begins when insulin levels are low; in normal humans, insulin is lowest when blood glucose levels are low (mostly before eating). Ketosis lipolysis occurs when some of the lipid stores in fat cells are transferred to the blood and are thereby used for energy. On the other hand, caloric carbohydrates (for example, glucose or starch, the latter made of chains of glucose) impact the body by increasing blood sugar after consumption. (In the treatment of diabetes, blood sugar levels are used to determine a patient’s daily insulin requirements.) Lastly, because of fiber’s low digestibility, it provides little or no food energy and does not significantly impact glucose and insulin levels. In his book Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, Atkins made the controversial argument that the low-carbohydrate diet produces a metabolic advantage because “burning fat takes more calories so you expend more calories.” He cited one study where he estimated this advantage to be 950 Calories (4.0 MJ) per day. A review study published in the Lancet concluded that there was no such metabolic advantage and dieters were simply eating fewer calories because of boredom. Professor Astrup stated, “The monotony and simplicity of the diet could inhibit appetite and food intake”. The Atkins Diet restricts “net carbs” (digestible carbohydrates that impact blood sugar). One effect is a tendency to decrease the onset of hunger, perhaps because of longer duration of digestion (fats and proteins take longer to digest than carbohydrates). Atkins states in his book “New Diet Revolution” (2002) that hunger is the number one reason why low-fat diets fail and that the Atkins diet is easier because you are allowed to eat as much as you want.