Some people make up their minds first and try to fit facts into a supporting structure afterwards, even scientists who would claim they have no vested interest in the result. Take, for example, Dr. D. Paul Robinson and the work he did that’s reported in US Teen Dies After Following High-protein Diet.
The research concerns a 16-year-old girl who collapsed suddenly and died after spending one to two weeks on a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. The doctor admitted “there might be other explanations for the teen’s death, including an abnormal heart rhythm,” but claims a diet she was on for less than two weeks did so much damage to her heart that she passed away.
On the other hand, the Atkins people (contacted for comment on this story) pointed out that they were not aware of this situation’s particulars but “that the Atkins approach has been used by millions of Americans for 30 years now, and there have been no documented cases of serious reactions or fatalities.” There is no evidence presented that the girl actually followed the Atkins plan or followed any specific plan and in any case the plans do not even suggest that individuals should eat no carbohydrates and they should also take supplmental vitamins and minerals.
Maybe it’s me, but I just see this as another attempt by the medical establishment, specifically the American Dietetic Association, to denigrate and slander the low carb Way of Eating whenever or wherever they can. As time goes on, and their objections are more and more taken as foolish objections based on emotional commitment to previous pronouncements to a plan that actually works, I suppose these people just get more desperate. Sad, really.
BillSaysThis 