ATKINS - A DIET TO DIE FOR

Britain's Food Standards Agency, the equivalent of our USDA, has issued a statement warning the public that the Atkins diet can be deadly. The nutritionists detailed "health risks of low-carbohydrate diets, including Atkins, claiming that they are linked to heart disease, cancer and even obesity." In a sidebar, Guardian Health Editor Jo Revill visits San Antonio, the fat capital of the world, and reiterates the current "supersizing" myth - you know, it's not what we're eating, but how much, that's the problem. Sorry, no. You can supersize a salad of leafy greens as big as you want, and it'll never make you fat. It's what you eat - especially if you're eating Dr. Atkins' fave, saturated fat.
UPDATE 9/25: CAROLYN FEIBEL of North Jersey Record and Herald News tried Atkins... "By the third morning, I felt almost sick. The breakfast felt greasy and heavy. I cut out the bacon and struggled along with the eggs, which are not my favorite food." She notes that the diet's expense makes it "only practical for affluent Westerners with the luxury of choosing among many different kinds of meats, fish and cheeses." Finally, she opines, "the Atkins regimen is not permanently sustainable - if not for me, then for the planet."
UPDATE 9/29: But at least Feibel didn't have to be rushed to the hospital for her low-carb foray. Tracy Libby, 29, developed renal failure and dehydration after eight months on the diet. Here's her perspective, entitled I NEARLY DIED ON ATKINS.
UPDATE 9/30: Dr. John McDougall says a JAMA study proves the dangers of Atkins.