June 2002    
<< Home    Volume 01 Issue 06

Atkins' Diet and His Cardiac Arrest

 

Robert Atkins, MD, the founder of the high-fat, high-cholesterol, high-protein, low-carbohydrate Atkins diet, recently suffered a cardiac arrest attributed to an underlying cardiomyopathy (April, 2002).  (Cardiomyopathy is a disease weakening the heart muscle, often leading to congestive heart failure and death. Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating effectively.)

 

He has made a public statement that this life threatening event "is in no way related to diet." He claims, instead, this is due to an underlying infection.  Granted, it is possible that an infection could have damaged his heart, but there are some dietary issues that should be considered for anyone with a cardiomyopathy and a cardiac arrest.  Most importantly, if his diet contributed to or was the primary cause of his deteriorating health, then to claim that diet had nothing to do with his heart disease would be a disservice to people seeking better health through honest advice about better nutrition.  Here are some scientific facts you can count on:

 

In a report in the October 9, 2001 issue of the journal Circulation, the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association wrote "High-protein diets may also be associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease due to intakes of saturated fat, cholesterol, and other associated dietary factors.1"  Even though Dr. Atkins' heart may have shown no significant disease of his large coronary arteries on a recent angiogram, this finding does not exclude the possibility that his smaller coronary arteries are diseased.  Disease of the small coronary arteries is a cause of cardiomyopathy, and this disease is frequently associated with cardiac arrest and sudden death.2Like large vessel disease, small vessel coronary artery disease can be due to a high-cholesterol, high-fat diet.

 

Another potentially serious consequence of the Atkins diet is a rise the free fatty acids in the plasma (blood).  In a report in the September 1980 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, the Atkins diet was fed to 24 subjects for 12 weeks; as a result, the plasma free fatty acids almost doubled.3 Elevations of free fatty acids are associated with cardiac arrhythmias, which can lead to a cardiac arrest.4

 

Many people are misled by advocates of high-protein diets, like Dr. Atkins, who tell people carbohydrates are "bad for them."  We all agree, sugars and refined flours are unhealthful.  But this fact does not allow "experts" to condemn high-carbohydrate, wholesome foods, like rice, corn, potatoes, beans, green and yellow vegetables, and fruits.

 

One simple observation anyone can make provides irrefutable evidence that carbohydrates are the ideal foods to keep people trim and free of diseases common to Western civilization.  People living on carbohydrate-based diets, like those from rural Africa, Japan, Korea, and China, are trim throughout life and have a much lower incidence of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and breast, prostate and colon cancer, than do Americans.  When these people migrate to the United States and exchange their native grain- and vegetable-based diets for higher-fat, higher-protein, and lower-carbohydrate meals -- based around meat and dairy products -- most become fat and sick – just like the majority of us living in the United States.  If carbohydrates were indeed "bad for you," then you would see the opposite – Africans and Asians moving to our country would become trimmer and healthier looking.

 

All the facts considered, for Dr. Atkins to say his diet had no part in his condition is unlikely to be true, and is not supported by current medical evidence.  Most importantly, his statement undermines a warning that is currently echoed by health organizations worldwide: high-fat, high-cholesterol diets are detrimental to human health, especially when it comes to heart disease.  My intention is not to exploit this man's health problems.  Rather, I believe for the public good, the right thing for Dr. Robert Atkins to do is to admit that he is recommending an unhealthful diet, and that his personal diet may be a factor in his own failing health.

 

References:

1)      St. Jeor, S.  Dietary protein and weight reduction: a statement for healthcare professionals from the Nutrition Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism of the American Heart Association. Circulation 2001 Oct 9;104(15):1869-74.

2)      Veinot JPThe spectrum of intramyocardial small vessel disease associated with sudden death. J Forensic Sci. 2002 Mar;47(2):384-8.

3)      Larosa JCEffects of high-protein, low-carbohydrate dieting on plasma lipoproteins and body weight. J Am Diet Assoc. 1980 Sep;77(3):264-70.

4)      Oliver MFMetabolic causes and prevention of ventricular fibrillation during acute coronary syndromes. Am J Med. 2002 Mar;112(4):305-11.

 

©2002 John McDougall All Rights Reserved