Fitness and Health Healthy Eating Tips

Dr. Atkins and Dr. Dean Ornish Finally Agree

I am laughing hysterically as I read “Insulin Resistance:
The Hidden Disease You May Already Have” by Jack Challem, http://www.thenutritionreporter.com/insulin_resistance.html. No I am not laughing at the content of the article because the information reported is informative and important.
However, I do find it funny that “Dean Ornish, M.D., recently wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association that insulin helps convert calories into triglycerides and cholesterol, increasing the risk of coronary heart disease.”
No two doctors represent opposite sides of THE DIET WAR spectrum better than Dr.’s Atkins and Ornish. Yet as I read this article, I can’t help but to find amusement in knowing that after all the opposition between the two men, they actually have something in common when it comes to heart disease. Dr. Atkins also believed that insulin was directly associated with increasing the risk of heart disease.
Interestingly enough others agree that carbohydrates can play a role in increasing risk factors of heart disease:
The American Dietetic Association recommends, “avoiding extremes in carbohydrate (including alcohol and refined sugar) and fat intake”
Gerald Reaven, MD, also explains (In Chapter 14, page 271, of his book “Insulin Resistance: The Metabolic Syndrome X”) that high carbohydrate diets produce rises in triglycerides that are associated with high insulin levels.
So, I guess if great minds think alike, I’m in too!

About the author

Valerie Goldstein

Valerie raises the bar for health and nutrition know how with unconventional expertise and unconditional support for wellness.