danger of empty calories in diet

this may explain Dr. Atkins untimely demise....

'Empty-Calorie' Diet Tied to Preclinical Heart Disease
Regimens heavy on fats, sweets boost the risk, researchers find

TUESDAY, Nov. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A person's eating habits are independently associated with risk of preclinical cardiovascular disease, U.S researchers report..

Researchers looked at the dietary habits of almost 1,300 women (who were free of cardiovascular disease at the start of the study) and checked their maximum carotid intima media thickness (cIMT), a measure of the carotid artery that is a good predictor of preclinical cardiovascular disease.

The study found that women with an "empty-calorie dietary pattern" had a significantly elevated cIMT (1.46mm) compared with women with heart healthy (1.18mm), light-eating (1.22mm), and high-fat (1.17mm) dietary patterns.

The relationship remained significant after the researchers controlled for other risk factors such as smoking, cholesterol, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure (the top number in a reading).

An empty-calorie dietary pattern includes high consumption of total and saturated fat, higher intake of sugars in the form of desserts and sugar-sweetened beverages, low intake of fruits and vegetables, and lower overall levels of protective micronutrients.

These findings about dietary patterns should be used for targeted prevention of cardiovascular disease, the researchers said.

The study was expected to be presented Nov. 6 at the American Heart Association annual meeting, in Orlando, Fla.

Link

Wed. Nov 7, 12:19am

I can't speak for what Dr. Atkins actually ate himself, but I did read his book once and it wasn't an empty-calorie or high-fat diet, although it was too low on green vegetables IMO. (I'm veggie so didn't follow it, but I was curious.) Moreover, the "maintenance" part of the Atkins diet was only one serving different than the USDA food pyramid (a carb serving substituted for a breakfast meat serving), even though it was marketed as being radically different.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 8:40 AM

Dr Atkins didn't die of anything related to cardiovascuar disease. And his diet didn't include empty calorie sweets of any kind. So really OP, you should get your facts straight first so you don't look like a fool.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 10:45 AM

I have a gluten allergy and I eat low carb because it's the only thing I can eat and my doc monitors my cholesterol and heart functions. They are perfect. In fact, losing weight through low carb has lowered my cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. this has nothing to do with Dr. Atkins.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 10:58 AM

The real empty foods are the simple carbs that Atkins makes you eliminate!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 5:48 PM

Empty calories are really things like just about anything you can buy in a 100-calorie pack. Sure it's only 100 calories, but it's 100 empty calories.

Empty calories are void of nutrients and are typically not very filling, long-term. Processed simple carbs are a big one. Chips, cookies, crackers, pasta, white rice, etc.

Sure, bacon is allowed on Atkins, and is probably an empty calorie food too, but Dr. Atkins doesn't tell people to change their diets so that they're eating entirely bacon; it's the dieters who decide to choose bacon over turkey breast, etc.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007, 5:50 PM

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