Read the news on the front page here today and was surprised/concerned?

Danish obesity expert Dr. Arne Astrup, whose survey is published this week in The Lancet medical journal, concludes that headaches, muscle weakness and either diarrhea or constipation are reported more often by Atkins dieters than people on conventional diets. Those side effects may be signs that the eating plan isn't healthy in the long run, he says. Those on the Atkins diet for a year started to complain of headaches, muscle weakness, cramps and diarrhea, which Astrup said could be explained by the reduced levels of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain cereals and bread that are consumed.
"These symptoms are clearly consistent with a kind of carbohydrate deficiency," he said. "People simply do not get the 150 grams of carbohydrates a day which is the minimal requirement for supplying your brain and muscles with the glucose from carbohydrates that are necessary for the organs' normal function." Astrup and his team also studied three trials that looked at the longer-term effects, and found that after six months, people started to regain weight.

Does this apply to South Beach as well? In Phase II, I know we are supposed to 'start adding' the healthy carbs back in - do we need to have 150grams of them a day? What should I be aiming for?

Thanks guys! Heh, there is always something new out there to confuse me in what I am trying.

Well, we aren't supposed to count carbs so I have no idea how much I consume but I know that personally I eat a LOT of vegetables and whole wheat breads, pasta and tortillas as well as rice. South Beach is much higher in healthy carbs so I wouldn't think this would be a problem for most people.

I've never counted carbs either, and I have less problems with headaches, weakness, cramps, and constipation that I ever did before. I've been on this plan for about 9 months, and I only ever gained once, and that was only 1 pound...

I believe that if you eat plenty of a wide variety of veggies and beans, you'll get all the carbs you need in phase 1.

Then when you get into phase 2, you'll definately be able to get plenty of carbs when you add the whole grains.

Atkins is a very low carb diet to start, with only 20 g a day for the first 2 weeks, then you slowly add 5 g of carbs at a time (a day, a week? I forget which) until you reach a point you stop losing.

Hrm okay. Because I eat my veggies and stuff and my yogurts and some of the Phase II recipes, and I am at under 100g of carbs a day still. (According to my tracking at www.fitday.com) I'll start adding more of the whole wheats in and stuff, see if that gets me up a bit.

I would also be wary of generalizations like "Everyone needs 150g of carbs." Surely this has to depend on your body weight--a 120-lb person doesn't need as much as a 180-lb person. Also remember that the USDA nutrition information labels on food packages say you "need" 2000-2500 calories a day--whereas I know, from sessions with a nutritionist, that I only need 1800 calories a day to maintain my weight.

If you're eating lots of veggies--which are almost 100% carbs--then you're very likely getting plenty of carbs.

I've seen a wide range of what's considered a healthy range any where from 100-180 is considered opitmal....but don't ask where I read or heard that little tidbit. It's something that just sort of stuck in my brain.

Go by how you feel. Do you still feel the way you did in the first few days of phase 1? Then maybe you do need to add a serving or two of something higher in carbs.

I found this when I searched the web:
http://www.hormel.com/templates/know...mid=108&id=770
Recently, the Institute of Medicine submitted a recommendation that the "Recommended Daily Allowance for Carbohydrates" be lowered from 300 grams a day to 130 for healthy adults and children over 4.

Well I know that my brother in law who is diabetic, was told to keep his carbs under 180 per day. But then again, they base it on ANY carbs, and we are eating the healthy, better for you carbs.

I've been trying to increase my caloric intake per day because I've been hovering around 1000. It's so hard, the amounts I need to eat are more than I am hungry for! This is getting really difficult now. I can't find a groove.