Have you heard of the diet plan that Dr. Robert Atkins? Well, I am talking about the Atkins Diet. There are some people who say that this particular diet plan is the easiest way of losing weight. But wait, can it also be beneficial for those who suffer from gout? Can gout and Atkins Diet go on together? Read on to this article to know more!
Gout and Atkins Diet
In today’s day and time, you do not hear it go by its name. This is since the diet has already been recycled in various names. The main player in the game is the Ideal Protein with several centers all over North America. I personally have some relatives who are doing the diet so frequently, saying that the benefits of the diet are to regain the weight that they lost in a few months. And then, they will go back and redo it all over again.
You may ask, what’s the point? While we know that the high protein and low carbs diet are more fillings, thus making you lesser hungry, it helps in losing weight. However, this is not healthy at all. Us, humans, are not capable of living long with just eating a high protein diet. It will just wreak havoc on the health, hence putting you at an increased risk of developing illnesses. This is what gout sufferers should be knowledgeable of. That a diet with high levels of protein is one of the most common reasons why one may develop gout. furthermore, it is also connected to the onset of painful gout attacks.
Gout sufferers know that limiting foods that are high in purine. This purine is a compound that is being converted into uric acid by the body. A lot of high purine foods are meats that are actually dense in cells. This breaks down into a lot of purines, thus resulting in much higher levels of uric acid in the blood. This is what causes the onset of a gout attack.
Guidelines for eating protein
When eating protein, you should:
- Never forget that you may also get protein from nuts, tofu, dairy products, beans, and eggs. However, you must never eat meats and eggs in the same meal as it may cause too much protein.
- Avoid seafood like anchovies, mackerel, shrimp, shellfish, crab, and lobster.
- Avoid processed meats, just like the ones that you may find delicious.
- Avoid all organ meats like liver, brain, heart, kidneys, as well as some other organ meats.
- Limit the protein intake to about 4-6 ounces every day. If you are going to eat only meat on that particular day, limit it to about 4 ounces only.
Gout and Atkins Diet: Its Danger
Take note that losing weight very quickly may also trigger a gout attack. In the actual fact, gout sufferers are way more vulnerable to wild fluctuations of uric acid than the regular folk of losing weight. This is since it may cause the body to burn the muscles over the fat. If you happened to suffer from gout and you need to lose weight, you must be certain to lose it in a gradual manner. You may do it like, 1 to 2 pounds in a week.
Furthermore, fat may trap the uric acid in the kidneys thus causing worse health conditions. Drinking lots and lots of water daily may help the body in ridding the excess level of uric acid. Furthermore, high-protein diets just like the Atkins diet may increase the risk of acquiring cancer, heart diseases, renal diseases, osteoporosis, and gout.
That being said, is it really worth it to ruin the health for the sake of a few pounds? These high protein diets may get rid of the importance of eating fiber. As well as the nutrients located in complicated carbs like vegetables, fruits, rice, pasta, and whole grain bread. We know that all of these are important in the maintenance of a good health.
One last point on this particular diet is that it is just a lazy man’s diet plan. What I mean in here is that, for the past century, we have already shifted from working on farms to sitting on desks for 8 hours every day, being unhealthy.
Conclusion
The Atkins diet only allows you to lose weight by eating all of this protein and by not exercising or whatsoever. Although eating a diet that’s high in complex carbohydrates is all about foods that may provide energy. But if you’re not going to use that energy, you’ll gain weight. the main point here is that if you really want to live a long and happy, illness-free life, you must eat the majority of the daily calories in the intricate carbs restraining fat and protein and exercising for a few minutes every day.
To conclude, do not try the Atkins diet. Instead of doing good, it may just cause more harm.
