Accusation #15: AtkinsFacts.org Makes "Misleading" Assertion About Saturated Fat
A number of objectionable statements appear on the AtkinsFacts.org website regarding Atkins...
* Health Effects of Saturated Fat. Your assertions at page 26 regarding the health effects of saturated fats are misleading. Studies looking at the effects of saturated fat on LDL and total cholesterol have primarily been conducted in conjunction with a high carbohydrate diet.
Similarly from your website: "Is it OK for me to consume more than 20 percent of my calories in the form of saturated fat? Absolutely," you replied, "you're fine as long as you're also following the rules of the ANA [Atkins Diet], which include controlling your carbs." Dr. Frank M. Sacks, a professor of cardiovascular disease prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health, called this argument simply "ridiculous."[1110]
As documented in the section Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Are Bad for You, the balance of evidence clearly shows that the intake of saturated animal fat is associated with increased risk of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.[1111-1113] "I still don't understand the [Atkins] rationale in limiting trans fats and not saturated fat," said a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and director of nutrition therapy at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. "Trans fats act very similarly in the body as saturated fat -- they both increase LDL 'bad' cholesterol..."[1114]
The best dietary strategy to reduce one's risk of dying from the #1 killer in the U.S. is to reduce one's consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol. The evidence backing this, according to the American Heart Association, is "overwhelming."[1115] A 2004 review of the evidence agreed, and recommended less than 7% of daily calories from saturated fat.[1116] Followers of your diet, as reported in a "Research Supporting Atkins" study, eat as much as 30% of their calories from saturated fat.[1117]
No wonder then, that Dr. Jean Mayer, one of the most noted nutrition figures in history, author of over 750 scientific articles, President of Tufts University and recipient of 16 honorary degrees, warned anyone going on "this faddish high-saturated-fat high-cholesterol [Atkins] diet" that one may be "playing Russian roulette with your heart and with your blood vessels."[1118]
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