Everybody questions the health of Dr. Atkins, but no one questions the health of other physicians

Fact is, most physicians are in terrible health. I've met a lot of doctors, and I only know one who is in excellent health. It all comes down to credibility: if a doctor is overweight, stressed out, and suffering from diseases, by what right does he or she have to advise other people on how to be healthy in the first place?

It only makes sense: get your health advice from healthy people, not from people who only have a medical degree. Medical schools don't even teach health. They teach diseases and drugs.

Back to Dr. Atkins, the entire debate has no purpose other than to distract people from the real credibility gap of our modern medical system. Dr. Atkins was on to something. His diet really works, and he fought the entire medical establishment to promote what he believed in. The diet isn't perfect, but it was far better than what the ADA, AHA (American Heart Association) and other health industry groups were promoting. And the industry can't stand it. Now that Dr. Atkins is dead, the attacks on Dr. Atkins' credibility have only intensified. Leave it to Western medicine to kick a guy after he's already passed away. At least Dr. Atkins had a real accident (hitting his head on the ground as he fell). Most physicians die from chronic health failures that have nothing to do with traumatic injuries.

What Killed Dr. Atkins, and What Keeps the Issue Alive? Dr. Robert Atkins, the diet doctor who popularized the notion that dieters could eat fat and lose weight, has been dead for nearly a year, after he fell on some ice and hit his head last April, yet indecorous questions about his health and, yes, his weight persist, and the mayor, who hasn't even been on the diet, can't seem to stay out of it all. The report concludes that Dr. Atkins, 72, had a history of heart attack and congestive heart failure and notes that he weighed 258 pounds at death. They are to be shared only with the next of kin or anyone authorized by the next of kin, physicians or medical facilities that treated the deceased, or state or federal facilities that legitimately need it.