Saturday, September 24, 2011

The Advantages of the Atkins Diet Food Pyramid

By James Cook


The Atkins Diet has become popular with many people around the country for its unique approach of promoting weight loss while allowing people to eat meats, cheeses, and other tasty low-carb foods. This food pyramid basically indicates that the majority of our diet should include high protein foods such as meat, fish, poultry and eggs. The next stage of the Atkins diet food pyramid consists of vegetables and dark green vegetables in particular, as they are a source of fiber and contain many vitamins and minerals that are essential to a healthy diet. On a smaller scale is the importance of fruits on an Atkins diet.

Lower glycemic index fruits are preferable, but by adding daily exercise, other fruits can be added. Next are oils, nuts and dairy products. These are all high-calorie foods, although they do contain nutritional value. At the top of the Atkins diet food pyramid are whole grain foods such as brown rice. Again, the amounts consumed can depend on the amount of exercise taken.

While you won't see as many familiar items for lunch on a sample menu for the Atkins diet, there are still plenty of foods that will allow you to eat well and keep the carbs down. The value of exercise is a unique addition to the Atkins diet food pyramid, and lessens the chances of dieters feeling hungry. Vegetables and fruit are prominent on the pyramid, and even larger portions of these are allowed with the use of exercise.

If you want something a little less leafy, a roll-up made by wrapping cold cuts around sticks of cheese can be tasty without adding many carbs. Vegetables and fruits are next, followed by meats and dairy. There is no mention of quantities in relation to the amount of exercise one partakes. The Atkins diet food pyramid places vegetables and fruits ahead of grains and both pyramids place a good deal of importance in the meat groups. One has to wonder how valuable the USDA food pyramid really is as it advocates the minimum recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables and does not support the benefits of exercise or warn against foods such as refined sugars and hydrogenated oils.

For a great dinner idea for your sample menu for the Atkins diet, try broiling a steak and adding some thinly sliced onion and mushrooms on top. Both pyramids could be updated to provide more health benefits, and neither is perfect, but by encouraging exercise and realizing that exercise is what should define the quantities of a diet, the Atkins diet food pyramid does compare favorably.




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