PSA- please read

[ebonlock]

I just found out from my sis what happened to our cousin. It wasn't a heart attack as we'd first thought, rather a condition I'd never even heard of before called ketoacidosis. What it basically means is that she poisoned herself to death by taking in way too much protein. For a detailed description of the condition check out:

Ketoacidosis ...
The Menace Of The High Protein Low Carbohydrate Diet

Please, anyone even considering doing the Atkins diet, read this information and take it to heart. There is no diet in the world worth losing your life over.

Comments

[kirbyk.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's terrible news. Heart attacks are just one of those things in life, that we can affect our odds for but never totally become immune to. A sad fact of life.

But something like this - it's a very popular diet, and most people have no idea it's dangerous. It feels a bit like a betrayal by society, like it's lead someone astray through very little fault of her own.

Believe me, next time someone mentions they're considering Atkins (which isn't uncommon at all to hear), I'll bring up that a good friend of mine lost a cousin, and they really need to understand what they're doing before shifting to a radical diet.

What a sad, and maddening, event. I wish this kind of thing never happened.

Best wishes to you and your family, of course.

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Believe me, next time someone mentions they're considering Atkins (which isn't uncommon at all to hear), I'll bring up that a good friend of mine lost a cousin, and they really need to understand what they're doing before shifting to a radical diet.

What a sad, and maddening, event. I wish this kind of thing never happened.

Best wishes to you and your family, of course.

Thank you, and please do spread the word about this. The senselessness of it is truly appalling, but it does help to illustrate just how little most people understand how their bodies work and what they need to stay healthy. I've always argued that Atkins was not a healthy way to lose weight, but I had no idea it was this dangerous.

[mister-sunshine.livejournal.com]

Why didn't her doctor catch it?

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Why didn't her doctor catch it?

I'm not sure, it's entirely possible that the symptoms snuck up on her rapidly and that she was totally unaware of any of the warning signs. I certainly don't know that I would've picked up on them myself, they're rather non-specific.

[kaffee-spinne.livejournal.com]

This article is informative...apparently there is a link between the diet and people with blood sugar issues: http://www.philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/atkinsrevisited.htm

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

This article is informative...apparently there is a link between the diet and people with blood sugar issues: http://www.philkaplan.com/thefitnesstruth/atkinsrevisited.htm

That was a very helpful article, thanks!

[kaffee-spinne.livejournal.com]

I've posted this on my LJ, too, and have gotten some good comments.

[tyee.livejournal.com]

That's awful. Ketoacidosis is scary and it's a known risk of the Atkins diet. I'm sorry about what happened to your cousin.

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

That's awful. Ketoacidosis is scary and it's a known risk of the Atkins diet. I'm sorry about what happened to your cousin.

Thanks. Though I was a bit startled when I started looking around for articles on a connection between the two and could only find those claiming there was none.

[tyee.livejournal.com]

Yes. The problem is that most people who write articles on the Atkins diet wouldn't know the citric acid cycle if it walked up and bit them on the ass. Most people writing about diets in general only extrapolate from individual experience. I'm on the Atkins diet, and I'm still ok so it must be safe for everyone under all circumstances! Go logic! The Atkins diet is helpful to some people, but if you are on it you need to have your blood sugar checked first and then make sure to drink a lot of water and watch for signs of ketone buildup. Sadly all of the publicity about how the risks are all lies keeps people from actually learning information they need to know. And your cousin is an example of the tragic consequences. I'm terribly sorry for that.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

I did Atkins for a while, and I am pretty sure that the Atkins book discusses ketoacidosis and the need to drink lots of water. At least, this was not unfamiliar to me.

[tyee.livejournal.com]

The Atkins book probably does; I don't know because I haven't read it. The problem is, neither have most of the people who try the "Atkins" diet. And most of the publicity in the form of articles etc. either ignore that there are some important health factors to consider, or else erroneously state that concerns about the health risks are false attempts to discredit the diet or whatever.

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

The Atkins book probably does; I don't know because I haven't read it. The problem is, neither have most of the people who try the "Atkins" diet. And most of the publicity in the form of articles etc. either ignore that there are some important health factors to consider, or else erroneously state that concerns about the health risks are false attempts to discredit the diet or whatever.

I actually saw a lot of the latter in the articles I read on the subject. It was like there was some weird pro-carb conspiracy out to persecute the Atkins faithful or something. I think it's fair to say that a lot of folks who get on the diet, or any radical diet, don't tend to understand that there are detrimental health effects involved unless you really know what you're doing. And most of the people in this world can't be bothered to read the instruction manual for their VCR let alone an entire diet book.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

People are idiots. Every diet thing I've ever seen or read says that if you're intending to lose a lot of weight (and that's what it would take to get ketoacidosis, unless there's some freaky metabolism thing going on) that it should be done under medicial supervision. Right there, off the bat, should warn them that there are health factors involved with dieting.

If they 'go on Atkins' without reading the literature, they're dumb.

But, for as tragic as all this is, there is also the arguement that being that overweight can be just a big a health risk as the ones extent in any diet. Speaking from personal experience as both a clinically obsee person *and* someone who has done Atkins.

[ex-declinean757.livejournal.com]

OK, this is scary. My GP tried to put me on the Atkins diet last year, and ketoacidosis was never mentioned, not by him or any of the literature he gave me on the diet.

*shaking head*

[psyfic.livejournal.com]

This is terribly sad. She probably went on the diet to help herself - to lose weight or to get "healthier". This is a real tragedy.

I just hope more people start to check out things like diets and supplements/medications more thoroughly before just starting them and not just expect their doctors to tell them everything. They can't and sometimes they just don't. Anyway, it's not the doctor's health, it's our own, so we have to take the major responsibility for it.

I'm so sorry about all this, {{{E}}}. This is like a double blow. I hope you're doing okay.

Re: *shaking head*

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

I just hope more people start to check out things like diets and supplements/medications more thoroughly before just starting them and not just expect their doctors to tell them everything. They can't and sometimes they just don't. Anyway, it's not the doctor's health, it's our own, so we have to take the major responsibility for it.

That's a key concept right there, educating yourself and understanding your body and making informed decisions. Doctors aren't gods, they make the best decisions they can based on what they know and what information they have on hand. Doctors and patients have to work together, they really do.

So Sorry

[morgandawn.livejournal.com]

I posted the links provided here. So far the only comment I've received is that the ketoacidosis may be problamatic primarily for people with diabetes.

http://www.ketosis-ketoacidosis-difference.com/

I think any elimination diet needs to be carefully considered. I still like the eat less, excercise more approach which worked for my partner and me.

Re: So Sorry

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

I posted the links provided here. So far the only comment I've received is that the ketoacidosis may be problamatic primarily for people with diabetes.

http://www.ketosis-ketoacidosis-difference.com/

I think any elimination diet needs to be carefully considered. I still like the eat less, excercise more approach which worked for my partner and me.

Thanks for the link, it's entirely possible that in this case diabetes may have played a part in her death. It certainly does run in our family. But anyone with any kind of blood sugar abnormalities could certainly be at risk, and many may not even be aware that they are.

Personally I'm with you on the dieting front and have been for years. The only way to really sustain weight loss (and that should be the ultimate goal) is to change your lifestyle. We have such a screwy relationship with food in this country, and generally a rather hazy understanding of nutrition and just what it is our bodies need.