Atkins as a ketogenic diet

There is a lot of talk in the keto community about how to show that 'the' keto diet is different from that darn old Atkins. As well as outsiders who say 'that keto diet is just a new name for Atkins,' as if that would be some sort of proof that something was wrong with keto.

The problem is that most people don't even know what Atkins really is. Perhaps they are mislead by the commercials for Atkins brand diet products. But to understand Atkins, go to the source: the original Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution book, published in 1972.

The Atkins approach as outlined in that book is clearly a ketogenic diet. The concept of 'ketones' is introduced on page 12!  Dr. Atkins says, 'Now for a carbohydrate-intolerant Mr Fat to be in ketosis is a signal for rejoicing." He also mentions that when in ketosis, one experiences no hunger.

He defines ketones as little carbon fragments that are the by-products of the incomplete burning of fat, and ketosis as the state in which the person is putting out ketones in the breath or urine.

He also insists that testing for ketones with urine test strips--- the only method available to ketogenic dieters in 1972. He suggests that when your test strips are 'turning purple every day' you can be confident you are in ketosis and so even if you've lost no weight today, you are in fat-burning mode.

In the diet plan--- perhaps a reproduction of the diet sheet he handed out to patients--- unlimited consumption of carb-free meats is allowed, so long as you are hungry. Modern ketonians say to restrict protein. But remember that Dr. Atkins had a practice which included persons who would never read their way through a whole diet book. There were no apps to tell you what percentage of your food intake was in the forms of carbs, protein and fat. And many of his patients had been low-calorie dieting for years, and were used to being hungry all the time when on a diet.

I think Atkins was and is a realistic ketogenic diet for many people. The problem I find is in the levels.

On Atkins, you start out in Induction, where you eat about 20 grams a day of carbs, in the form of two less-than-one-cup salads. Then, each week, you add about 5-8 grams of carbs in various forms--- cooked veggies, nuts, berries.... As long as your test strips are still turning purple, indicating you are still in ketosis, you keep adding until you find a good level for you to keep losing weight. It's only when you hit the lifetime maintanance level that you are allowed enough carbs to get out of ketosis.

Another thing Dr. Atkins book has in common with more modern keto books is that he speaks of many different scientific studies that back up his statements. He doesn't ask us to take his word for it!

One different thing about about this earliest Atkins diet book is that it was written at a time when there were no Atkins products on the market. There were no food items claiming to be low-carb in the grocery store. The early Atkins dieter had to shop in regular grocery stores and eat regular, commonly available food. And the concept of 'Net Carbs' had not been introduced, so people were reducing their total carbs, and not getting out of ketosis by consuming too much coconut or almond flours.

Atkins is, so far as I am aware, the first low-carb diet that taught about ketosis, and insisted that dieters test for it. Where more modern keto diet books are less readily available, or where a dieter lacks the ability to buy such books online or lacks the funds, snagging a copy of the original Atkins book is a good place to start learning about the keto diet. I've been re-reading the book for years, since I've found that when re-starting my diet after a lapse, reading a bit from the book daily helped me to stay on track. And the recipes in that original book are great!

Why are people ashamed of Atkins, or insisting that people on keto be ashamed of it? It's like asking that people with infections be ashamed of taking penicillin, since that is an old-fashioned drug these days. Should we demand a more modern medicine that is trendy, but won't solve our problem? I think not. Atkins is a good basic step --- a keto diet for the common person who is not a medical research geek. Though it certainly turned ME into a medical research geek by the good example Dr. Atkins gave in his book.