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HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS OF THE ATKINS DIET

Weight loss is a billion dollar industry that profits off the desperation of many to be thin in our skinny obsessed society. The Atkins Diet is a popular diet that has been around for a long time. It certainly has its share of supporters eager to share stories of rapid weight loss and transformed lives.

You hear much less about the harmful side effects of the Atkins Diet. Harmful and deadly side effects such as an increased risk of coronary disease due to consuming higher amounts of animal fats found in the meats suggested as sources of proteins on this plan. These animal fats are not easily broken down in the body and cause the production of bad cholesterol, which clogs arteries and can cause heart attacks and strokes.

There are other unpleasant and potentially harmful side effects of the Atkins Diet such as muscle weakness or cramping, diarrhea, fatigue, halitosis, and skin rashes. Headaches are also commonly reported, especially when beginning the Atkins Diet as the body adjusts to the restriction of carbohydrates. Continuous diarrhea could result in a dangerous depletion of nutrients the body must have to work properly, leaving a person very sick.

Some harmful side effects of the Atkins Diet happen within the first week of following the diet. It is not uncommon to drop 5 to 10 pounds the first week of the Atkins Diet and with many other diets for that matter. Dropping that many pounds so fast is certainly exhilarating for someone struggling to lose weight. But lost in the celebration over this dramatic weight loss is the consideration of the very real harm that is being done to the body. This rapid weight loss is actually a result of the body flushing excess water from the body and along with that water, nutrients and muscle are also flushed from the body. This has the potential of creating a host of health problems for those adhering to the Atkins Diet.

Further harmful side effects of the Atkins Diet happen when a person naturally becomes tired of having certain foods severely restricted from their diet, returns to eating them, and gains weight as a result. Many will start the diet over again even though eventually return to the point where they want to eat restricted foods. This can become an endless and dangerous cycle of weight loss and gain which can cause serious damage to the heart.

There are harmful side effects of the Atkins Diet that are of a psychological nature. The restricting of foods containing carbohydrates deprives the body of the nutrients it needs to make the hormones that control our emotions. The lack of the hormones needed to control emotions often leads to irritability, and sadness. The brain needs hormones for such functions as making decisions and powers of recall, both of which are effected when the body has fewer of these hormones than it needs. Self esteem takes quite a whopping when the weight lost begins creeping back on, even quicker with each dieting cycle for an extra whop. The Atkins Diet and other similarly restrictive diets are hard to follow for long. And because such restrictive diets are the least likely to produce real and forever weight loss, dieters are often left feeling disappointed with themselves and hopeless of ever reaching weight loss goals.

The dent made to the amount of money that you set aside for the purchasing food is another harmful side effect of the Atkins Diet. The Atkins Diet is an expensive dieting plan and can quickly become too cost inhibitive for many.
Consider all of the harmful effects of the Atkins Diet and the risks to your health before beginning this diet plan.