The Ketogenic Diet Vs. The Atkins Diet
When many people are first introduced to the Ketogenic Diet they make comments like “that sounds just like that Atkin’s diet” or “didn’t that Atkins guy do this and die?” However, while these diets do have some overlapping similarities, they are still fundamentally different.
The goal of Keto or the Ketogenic Diet is to get the body into ketosis and become “Keto-adapted.” This happens when the body starts producing ketones. Ketones are produced when the body breaks down fats for energy.
The difference between the Ketogenic Diet and Atkins is that Keto is focused on counting calories, consuming high fat, moderate protein, and low carbs. Atkins disregards carbs, focuses on high fat and high proteins and low carbs.
Both diets put your body into ketosis. One reason that the Ketogenic Diet focuses on low protein is that the body can still break down protein into glucose through a process known as gluconeogenesis.
The goal of the Ketogenic Diet is to get energy from fats instead of carbohydrates, sugars, and glucose so preventing protein from turning into glucose is important.
The Atkins diet is a much more specific diet and have specific steps that people can follow. The diet does cause its members to enter ketosis, so it could technically be considered a Ketogenic Diet. However, its idea of not counting carbs strays from the beliefs of most traditional ketogenic diets.
The Ketogenic Diet is primarily concerned with getting into Ketosis and becoming Keto-Adapted. The Atkins diet is more about restricting carbs to lose weight, which can incidentally put the individual in to Ketosis.
History of the Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet was promoted by Robert Atkins based on a research paper he read by Alfred W. Pennington called “Weight Reduction” published in 1958. Atkins did a study which showed his diet led to up to 2.9% more weight loss than a control group. Atkins also used the diet to deal with his own personal weight problems.
His first book was published in 1972 called Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution. He also released a new, slightly modified version (but still sticking to original concepts) in 2002 called Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. In 2010, The New Atkins For a New You updates the diet based on a decade of new information, and also includes more nutrient-rich foods.
Atkins Death Myth
There have been many stories created around the death of Robert Atkins. Many people think that his life was taken at a fairly young age (xx) because of his diet. They have used this fallacy to deduce that his diet was not healthy. However, the truth of the matter is that he died from falling and hitting his head. Some say he suffered a heart attack when he fell, although no conclusive evidence has been found.
Regardless, the death of Atkins is not enough scientific evidence to support or deny his diet any way, so the point really is moot.
Nonetheless, expect to hear this story brought up many times during your weight loss journey whenever his name is brought up.