How To Do The Atkins Diet Safely

Learn how to do the Atkins diet safely. The Atkins diet is a low-carb diet designed to trick the body into burning fat instead of glucose. While dieters have claimed success with this weight-loss diet, there are health concerns as it encourages focusing on meat, cheese, and other sources of protein and fat rather than fruits and grains, which are low in fat and protein, but high in carbohydrates. The American Heart Association does not recommend the Atkins diet, nor any low-carb diet. Is it possible to do the Atkins diet safely?

1. Eat the good fat. To do the Atkins diet safely it is important to eat plenty of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat sources rather than focusing on saturated fats. Avocados, olives, minimally-processed nutritional oils, nuts, and fish are all beneficial, helping to reduce LDL cholesterol levels.
2. Eat your veggies! Just because a diet suggests eating less carbohydrates, that is no excuse not to eat most vegetables. Potatoes and sweet potatoes may be off the list, but greens, broccoli, squashes, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes and other fresh vegetables are definitely a part of a healthy and safe Atkins diet. They are essential for nutrients as well as fiber (which will be in short supply without whole grains and legumes).
3. Consume protein in moderation. The Atkins diet is not an all meat diet. Eating eggs and bacon for breakfast, a burger without the bun for lunch and fried chicken for dinner is going overboard. The proteins you do eat should be healthy. Consume lean proteins, such as fish, poultry, and tofu, and use healthy cooking methods such as baking, steaming, and roasting in olive oil.
4. Go natural. A healthy diet based on natural foods is a wonderful idea for losing weight, improving well-being, and everything else under the sun. It is possible to do the Atkins diet safely if you eat natural, rather than processed foods. This means cooking at home as much as possible, grabbing the raw almonds and veggies for snacks, and avoiding manufactured food products as much as possible.
5. Watch out for hydrogenated oils. Because the Atkins diet does include more high-cholesterol foods (eggs, dairy, and meat) it is important to stay away from hydrogenated vegetable oils. They are much more dangerous than saturated fats, which are beneficial in moderate amounts when from natural food sources. This means, eat butter, not margarine, and read labels — most packaged products are made with hydrogenated oils.

Want to know how to do the Atkins diet safely? Eat natural foods as much as possible, focusing on low-carb vegetables, lean proteins, and beneficial fats. And treat yourself to a bowl of brown rice or oatmeal once in awhile! Balance is the key to health, not deprivation and excess.