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Old 02-11-2004, 08:18 PM   #1  
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Unhappy news report on Dr Atkins autopsy on NY news stations

Hi all, Even though I am not on Atkins right now I was very upset to see a news report TONIGHT here in NYC (on ABC) saying nasty things about Dr Atkins and his diet.

Somebody recently got a hold of his autopsy report and they said he weighed way too much at his death and had heart problems because of his way of eating. The news report said that this latest info is causing many people to rethink being on the Atkins diet. Now there is a group of Doctors coming out against Atkins.

His poor widow had to release a statement saying that he gained a lot of water weight those last days when he was lying there helpless in a coma.
She also said his heart problems was caused by a virus and had nothing to do with his way of eating.

I feel so bad that now that Dr Atkins is not around to defend himself so many stories are being spread around. His poor widow has had to defend him several times now. A few weeks ago I heard on the radio that Mayor Bloomberg of NYC made some kind of "joke" about how Atkins would still be around if he ate differently. His widow had to come to his defense one more time. The mayor responded with a half-hearted apology and invited Mrs Atkins to join him for a STEAK dinner ( I hope she refused). Of course we all know Dr Atkins died because of a bad fall on ice. I remember that day being so icy here in NYC. I stayed home that day because of the ice. I just wanted to give you all a heads up just in case this story might wind up going out to the rest of the country so it won't take you by surprise.
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Old 02-11-2004, 09:34 PM   #2  
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Default Story from ABC news website

Atkins' Records Ignite Another Diet Fight
Medical Records Showing Dr. Atkins Obese and With Heart Troubles Spark Diet Fight

The Associated Press

NEW YORK Feb. 11 — The debate over Dr. Robert Atkins' popular high-fat, low-carb diet flared posthumously when it was learned that Atkins himself was a bloated 258 pounds at his death.
A city medical examiner's report filed after Atkins' 2003 death from a fall showed the 6-foot doctor was at a weight normally considered obese. A physicians group that is highly critical of the diet released details of the report Tuesday, claiming the Atkins diet led to weight and heart troubles for its 72-year-old creator.

Atkins' allies immediately disputed that.

The Atkins Physicians Council said the carbohydrate-shunning doctor gained more than 60 pounds through fluid retention in the eight days he spent in a coma before dying last April. He had slipped on an icy street and hit his head.

Atkins weighed 195 pounds when he was admitted, the group's chairman said.

"Critically ill patients, when sustained on fluids in the hospital, gain weight," said Dr. Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council, a group affiliated with the Atkins diet empire. "He was grossly swollen, so much so that his family and associates barely recognized him."

The medical examiner's report also noted that Atkins had a history of heart trouble, including congestive heart failure and high blood pressure. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the records on Tuesday.

The doctor's heart troubles had been previously known publicly, and the council asserted Tuesday that they were a result of cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart, which it said stemmed from a viral infection, not diet.

"We need to set the record straight. This is a man who managed his weight," Trager said. "Isn't it time to let this man rest in peace?"

Atkins was the author of the best-selling "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution," which advocates meat, eggs and cheese and discourages bread, rice and fruit. His books sold 15 million copies and attracted millions of followers.

Physicians for Responsible Medicine, the group that released the report and promotes a vegetarian diet, acknowledged that fluid retention may have been responsible for some of Atkins' weight gain, but probably not all of it. The group maintains that the Atkins diet poses weight and health risks to the millions who follow it.

A healthy 6-foot man weighing 258 pounds would normally qualify as obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At 195 pounds, he would be considered overweight.

The medical examiner's report was not based on an autopsy but on an external exam. Conditions such as congestive heart failure and high blood pressure would not be observed by the medical examiner in such a case, but would be drawn instead from previous doctors' observations and records.

In April 2002, a year before he died, Atkins issued a statement saying he was recovering from cardiac arrest related to a heart infection he had suffered from "for a few years." He said it was "in no way related to diet."

One doctor not connected to the case said extensive weight gain can indeed occur in comatose patients, especially those with heart trouble like Atkins.

"It's certainly possible that in an effort to try to resuscitate him they keep giving more and more fluids, and essentially he keeps them in the body," said Dr. Robert Yanagisawa of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

For years nutrition experts and doctors have debated the Atkins diet, which allows up to two-thirds of calories from fat, or more than double the usual recommendation. Atkins argued that carbohydrates generate too much insulin, which makes people hungrier and encourages them to put on fat.

When Atkins' book was first published in 1972, the medical mainstream was promoting a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. The American Medical Association labeled the Atkins' diet "potentially dangerous" and Congress summoned him to Capitol Hill to defend the plan.

The Atkins diet recently gained renewed popularity after studies showed that people lost weight without compromising their health. The studies showed that Atkins dieters' cardiovascular risk factors and overall cholesterol readings changed for the better.

Last month, the doctor's widow, Veronica Atkins, demanded an apology from Mayor Michael Bloomberg after he called her late husband "fat." She declined comment on Tuesday's disclosure.

Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner, declined to comment on the report, which she said was erroneously released to a doctor in Nebraska who requested it and apparently gave it to the vegetarian group.

It was later discovered that the doctor was not "the treating physician" and should not have had access to the report. Borakove said her office planned to complain to Nebraska health officials.

The mayor said the report "should not have been released."
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Old 02-11-2004, 10:17 PM   #3  
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Yes I read this yesterday and find it sad that people cannot leave this poor man alone. He in the news for months before his fall and looked fine and a healthy weight to me. It was well known that he had heart troubles for many years.

I just remember when I was pregnant with my first baby and was in the hospital on bedrest for 4 weeks. They knew I was diabetic from the pregnancy yet the IV's in my body had glucose in them many times and my Dr. would freak out on the nurses. I had had no sugar for a good portion of that pregnancy and the sudden sugared fluids caused me to gain more than 25 lbs. in those last 4 weeks. I think much of it was water weight which left me 2 weeks after her birth. My feet went from a size 7 to a 9! No one even recognized me the day I had my c-section - I was so swollen. So I can truly understand his wife's side of the story.

In any case - I love this WOE and I feel great and my blood work couldn't be better!
Thanks for posting this Pookie for all our Atkins friends on the West coast. It's big news here because of location - and Bloomberg's comments.
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Old 02-12-2004, 09:03 AM   #4  
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They want to destroy his diet because business's are hurting, if you noticed orange juice comercials are promoting lower in sugar juice, pizza places, bagel places are all trying to jump on the band wagon and promote lc items. It comes down to the mighty buck.

The only happy business' are dairy, eggs ($3 a dozen ??), meats (which have all increased $$$$$).

In my opinion, at the age of 70+ your bound to have something wrong w/you.

There was an article in "The Record" yesterday and here's a few snips from it...sorry can't type the entire article....

The title is "Atkins Weighed 258 lbs, coroner's report shows.."

Bottom line in the article was, Atkins was in a coma for eight days before dying, his body retained 60 lbs of fluid during this time. When he was first admitted to the hospital he weighed 195 lbs (at 6 feet tall and 72 years old).

Critically ill patients, when sustained on fluids in the hospital gain weight, said Dr. Stuart Trager, Chairman of atkins Physicians council. He was grossly swollen so much that his family and associates barely recognized.

Physicians for Responsible Medicine, the group that released the report and promotes a VEGETARIAN DIET (there you have it folks duh) acknowledged that fluid retention may have been responsible for some of Atkins weight gain. The group maintains the atkins diet poses weight and health risks to millions who follow it.

In its report, the medical examiner wrote that Atkins had a record history of heart troubles including congestive heart failure and hypertension. The wall street journal reported on the records tuesday. The examiners report was NOT based on an autopsy but on an external exam..................

In april 2002 a year b/4 atkins died, he released a statement saying he was recovering from cardiac arrest related to a heart infection from which he had suffereed "for a few years." He said no way was it related to diet...............

We need to set the record strait. This is a man who managed his weight, Trager said, Isn't it time to let this man rest in peace ?

Last month, the doctors widow Veronica Atkins demanded an apology from Mayor Michael Bloomberg (NY) after he called her late husband "fat".
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Old 02-12-2004, 09:06 AM   #5  
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Gee Pookie, your article is almost similar to the one I read yesterday.. LOLOLOL... oh well.
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Old 02-12-2004, 09:56 AM   #6  
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Quote:
Physicians for Responsible Medicine, the group that released the report and promotes a VEGETARIAN DIET (there you have it folks duh) acknowledged that fluid retention may have been responsible for some of Atkins weight gain. The group maintains the atkins diet poses weight and health risks to millions who follow it.
That's exactly what I was going to point out. This is the same damn group that started all sorts of upset saying that they did a study on Atkins and that the woe makes people die. The neglected to say, however, that of the whopping 15 people they studied, the 2 that died had previous conditions and died from unrelated issues.

them! I love this woe and I wish they'd just leave the poor man and his widow alone!
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Old 02-12-2004, 11:15 AM   #7  
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ugh, I hate that physician's group. They have one friggin isolated incident of a young girl who died--that cannot be attributed to Atkins at all since she wasn't even on it that long.

What really gets me is this--as much as we rip on Atkins Nutritionals for their bars, money, and fuzzy guidelines getting messed with for induction, they never hide that they want to make money. The Dr's group, however, has this front of "community awareness project." If you dig deep enough-guess what? THEY SELL DIET BOOKS. If you ask me, I prefer the "Buy something now" honest approach of the atkins website to the Sneaky "health warning" format of the other one.

bleh
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Old 02-12-2004, 11:31 AM   #8  
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Just their name alone is misleading! Argh! I'd love to go kick them!
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