February 2009

Atkins diet plan is a high fat, low carbohydrate diet plan. Atkins diet plan is an effective diet plan for those who want to reduce weight. Atkins diet plan recommends to reduce carbohydrate intake and to eat fat and protein rich foods such as fish, eggs meat, butter, cheese, olive oil, sunflower and other vegetable oils. Atkins diet plan recommends taking three meals per day and does not encourage skipping any meals or going for walking without eating.

Atkins Diet can be used safely and effectively to reduce seizures in children who have Sturge Weber syndrome. Atkins Diet is a proven alternative therapy for any child with challenging or drug-resistant epilepsy. Some doctors even recommend obese children to follow Atkins-style diets to lose weight and prevent illness.

Atkins Diet plan is good for elders but not for children because children are nutritionally different than adults and they need more calcium, vitamins and minerals than adults. Atkins diet can affect the growth and development of children. Atkins diet can be unhealthy for growing kids. Atkins diet increases bad lipids in kids. Atkins diet starves the brain of glucose and changes the body metabolism, and hence children have the possibility of suffering from permanent physical and mental damage as a result of being on this diet. Atkins diet can even affect thinking ability of children.

Atkins diet appears to be effective in a majority of children, but it is not effective for every child. The diet is also difficult to put into practice for children because every child's intake is different. Some reports say that Atkins diet plan is dangerous for kids. Some child nutrition specialists also say that Atkins diet is not good for children. But Atkins diet is safe and effective for obese children who need to lose weight.

The most common symptoms that may occur when Atkins diet is started include nausea or constipation. Most children on the Atkins diet will grow normally. But, sometimes Atkins diet may cause growth problem in some children. Kidney stones have also been reported in some children who do not drink enough water. The Atkins Diet plan has shown poor results and health risks in the long-term. Atkins diet plan can cause kidney damage, thin bones, constipation, increased cholesterol levels, diabetes and early heart attack, when followed as a long term diet plan. Weight loss can sometimes be a problem if the prescribed amounts of Atkins diet are exceeded, or if the child is physically inactive.

There are thousands of Atkins Diet products available in the market. Hence, the Atkins diet should be started only with the full support of a skilled and experienced pediatrician and experienced dietician. A skilled pediatrician will help you to assess the suitability of the Atkins diet for your child. Parents of children suffering from drug resistant epilepsy must essentially seek medical advice before using Atkins Diet as an alternative therapy for epilepsy. You can ensure whether Atkins diet is safe and nutritionally satisfactory for a child with the right level of support, basic understanding and experienced pediatrician’s or dietician’s advice. If the Atkins diet is followed as per recommendation and by carefully monitoring the child, there can be very few or no side effects and you can get the better results and success of Atkins Diet plan.

See Related Articles: