Atkins Diet

What is the Atkins Diet?
The Atkins diet says you will lose weight and not be hungry. This sounds good. The whole theory is based on a low carbohydrate diet. You'll also be on the road to better heart health and memory function, as well as other wellness benefits.

The diet is based on the theory that overweight people eat too many carbohydrates. Our bodies burn both fat and carbohydrates for energy, but carbohydrates are used first. By drastically reducing carbohydrates and eating more protein and fat, our bodies naturally lose weight by burning stored body fat more efficiently.

Benefits of the Atkins Diet
As a result, your body changes from a carbohydrate-burning engine into a fat-burning engine. So instead of relying on the carbohydrate-rich items you might typically consume for energy, and leaving your fat stores just where they were before (alas, the hips, belly, and thunder thighs are popular fat-gathering spots), your fat stores become a primary energy source. The purported result: weight loss.

How the Atkins Diet Works?
Restricting carbohydrates to a mere fraction of that found in the typical diet cause the body to go into a state of ketosis, which means it burns its own fat for fuel. A person in ketosis is getting energy from fat. When the body is in ketosis, you tend to feel less hungry, and thus you're likely to eat less than you might otherwise. However, ketosis can also cause a variety of unpleasant effects (such as unusual breath odour and constipation) in a small number of people.

In slightly more detail, consider what happens when you eat a high carbohydrate meal. Sugar from the carbohydrate quickly enters the bloodstream. To keep the blood sugar from rising too high, the body secretes insulin. Insulin allows the extra sugar to be stored in the liver and muscle as glycogen, but these stores are rapidly filled to capacity. The insulin then converts any extra sugar to fat, the stuff we're trying so hard to get rid of.

According to the Atkins theory, if the body keeps on making "too much" insulin as it tries to deal with the "excess" sugar it may become less responsive to insulin and eventually may develop the metabolic disorder diabetes. The Atkins theory states that this should properly be called "unstable blood sugar" since the blood sugar level rises and then drops quickly.

Vitamins to help with Atkins diet
An integral part of making healthy lifestyle choices is to simultaneously adopt a supplement program, with a multi vitamin formula, that contains certain nutrients including chromium, pantothenic acid, selenium and biotin which play a role in regulating blood sugar and insulin, as well as in burning fat. It should also include additional amounts of antioxidants.

Chromium
Chromium, which deserves the most attention, helps activate the uptake of insulin at its receptor sites. It is best assimilated in the form of chromium polynicotinate. A spate of studies has shown that chromium will build muscle, decrease body fat and lower cholesterol levels.

Vitamin B5
Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is a remarkable nutrient that helps control cholesterol, supports the adrenals and produces "friendly" bacteria in the intestine, making it a valuable tool in preventing yeast overgrowth.

Selenium
Selenium is a powerful antioxidant. It may also play a beneficial nutritional role in preventing diabetes.                                                                  

Biotin 
Biotin is an unsung B vitamin whose nutritional role was emphasised by a study that noted a significant drop in diabetics' blood sugar levels after taking the supplement. It has many other health benefits, like hair growth, great for skin and nails

Things to help with Atkins diet
There are many vitamins and books that may help with your Atkins diet.  A small selection can be seen below.