Popularity of Atkins diet grows, but low-carb dieting isn't just for losing weight: it can reverse

But the Atkins diet goes far beyond that. Although this article states that the diet is solely for losing weight, research is discovering that the Atkins diet is also a way to reverse digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Crohn's Disease. It's being shown to prevent and even reverse type II diabetes. It leads to a healthier cardiovascular system and prevents heart disease, even reversing some symptoms of heart disease that might ordinarily be treated with drugs or surgery.

The Atkins diet is much more than just a diet for losing weight: it's a diet that I believe should be followed for life, and one that I personally follow even when I'm not trying to lose body fat. White sugar, corn syrup, refined white flour and other processed carbohydrates simply have no place in the diet of healthy human beings. I call them metabolic disruptors, and there's a tremendous amount of evidence showing that processed carbs interfere with the normal metabolic functioning of the human body.

But there are pitfalls that are important to avoid when following a low-carbohydrate diet. Recommended reading: Low-Carb Diet Warning.

• Excercising is a core part of the Atkins diet.
• People who are serious about this diet must be on a daily, regimented exercise and meal plan.
• Labeled the "new diet phenomenon" by the New York Times, the Atkins diet plan has changed the face of the growing health-conscious American population.
• The Atkins diet consists of four phases: induction, ongoing weight loss, pre-maintenance, and lifetime maintenence.
• Allowing a minimal carbohydrate threshold but still primarily focusing on protein intake, this step of the plan allows you to broaden your range of healthy food and drinks.
• For those people who are clinically diagnosed as overweight, the Atkins diet plan is one of the most excellent and efficient ways to shed the extra pounds.