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the atkins diet
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Nutritional Assessment of The Atkins Diet Mary is a 20 year old college student who is 5'5" tall and weighs 165. Her friend at exercise class tells her about a new diet called The Atkins Diet. Will this weight-loss plan work for Mary? Answer the following questions to help determine the correct answer to this. Does the diet meet all nutritional needs except energy? Explain. (4 points) No. The Atkins Diet encourages dieters to significantly reduce carbohydrate intake and therefore deprives the body of it’s most vital energy source- glucose. By reducing the amount of carbohydrates that can be consumed, the diet restricts nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables, which are essential to a healthy body. By omitting certain foods, such as fruits and grains, the Atkins diet boast a diet that is deficient in such major nutrients as dietary fiber and carbohydrates, as well as in selected vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, which help reduce the risk of disease. The Atkins Diet suggests finding these nutrients in supplements, which is a rather expensive and unhealthy way to get nutrients that can otherwise be found naturally found in foods. Does the plan offer a reasonable rate of weight loss? Explain. (3 points) No, The Atkins Diet does not offer a reasonable rate of weight loss. The induction phase of the Atkins Diet shifts the body into the harmful metabolic state of ketosis where the body relies on stored fat for energy. The Atkins diet suggest that a person should lose between 5 to 10 pounds in the first two weeks of induction. A healthy diet should show moderate losses in weight rather than some “miracle.” It took longer than two weeks to acquire the amount of stored fat the body has and should therefore take longer than two weeks to burn it off. It is harmful to lose that much weight in that short of a time period. Will she be losing muscle or fat? Support your answer.(5 points) If Mary chose to follow the Atkins diet, she would be losing some fat, but also a large amount of muscle. By allowing the body to enter a state of ketosis, Mary’s body breaks down stored fat to supply energy. The negative side of this is that ketosis can lead to muscle breakdown also. By using the body’s allotted amount of protein for energy, it reduces the amount of protein available for it’s essential duties (muscle repair, rebuilding, etc). Also, a large amount of the weight loss Mary will experience will be as a result of fluid loss. Carbohydrates are vital for fat metabolism. By restricting the intake of carbohydrates to an inadequate amount, the body is unable to completely metabolize fats, which defeats the whole principle of burning fat by using the Atkins Diet. Can we predict excess fluid loss to be part of the weight loss on this diet? Explain. (4 points) Yes, excess fluid loss would be expected as a result of the Atkin’s diet because high protein intake induces frequent urination. Consequently, a large amount of the weight loss Mary will experience will be as a result of fluid loss. This is proved by an article that the American Heart association published that states “weight loss that occurs as a result of a high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet is likely to be mostly water weight.” This is harmful not only because body fluids are essential to the body’s maintenance of homeostasis, but also because increased urination causes the body to excrete essential vitamins an nutrients such as calcium. Excess fluid loss from the Atkins diet can be largely attributed to the induction of ketosis. Ketosis prevents the body from breaking down fats into water and carbon dioxide, which is essential to a healthy metabolism. By taking in too much protein, the body reacts by trying to excrete the large amounts of nitrogenous waste and Can we predict any biochemical imbalance from this intake? Explain. (5 points) Yes, biochemical imbalance can be predicted from the principle behind the Atkins diet.
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