The controversial Atkins diet favoured by celebrities is a potential health time-bomb and a 'pseudo-science', leading nutritionists warned yesterday.
Stars such as Friends actresses Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox Arquette are said to be fans of the diet, which allows devotees to eat meat and cheese instead of bread, pasta, fruit and vegetables.
But Dr Susan Jebb, of the Medical Research Council, claimed it could lead to kidney damage, heart disease, osteoporosis and high cholesterol.
She admitted the diet could help people lose weight in the short term but warned it was dangerously unbalanced and flew in the face of conventional wisdom.
Dr Jebb said: 'There is incredibly little evidence about the effects of the Atkins diet. One of the extraordinary things is that there is such enthusiasm for it. 'No one is evaluating what is happening to the millions of people following it. It is an unknown risk.'
The diet was devised by American Dr Robert Atkins, who believed carbohydrates were the main cause of obesity. His book, Dr Atkin's Diet Revolution, has sold millions of copies worldwide, although Atkins himself died of a heart attack last year.
Dr Jebb added: 'If you have a lot of extra protein in your diet, your kidneys have to process that and you may increase the risk of renal problems.
'Research has shwon that people who eat most carbohydrates have the lowest risk of heart disease.'
Health psychologist Dr Jane Ogden, of King's College, London, also attacked the diet. She said it let people eat what they wanted and gave them a 'pseudo-science' they could believe in.
'People want simple solutions when the reality is that, in the long term, they have to change their behaviour,' she added.
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(Wow that's serious stuff. If you have any other information on Atkins dieting, just email me and I'll publish it - so long as can be referenced to a newspaper, study, or other commonly recognised source of information.)
(Don't forget this was cut-n-pasted directly from the Metro Newspaper)
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