The high-fat, high-protein and low-carbohydrate Atkins diet of eggs, meat and cheese may put the followers at risk for heart disease in just one month, a new study suggests.
Researchers at the University of Maryland say the popular diet raises your "bad" cholesterol and damages the blood vessels thus increasing the risk of heart disease.
Dr. Michael Miller, lead author of the study said, "I think the Atkins diet is potentially detrimental for cardiovascular health, if maintained for a long duration and without attempts to lose weight."
"A stabilizing Atkins diet is not the way to go," he added.
After putting 26 people on three diets, the high-fat Atkins and the low-fat South Beach and Ornish diets, researchers found that the Atkins Diet raised the study subjects' bad cholesterol by an average of 16 points.
It also brought on symptoms of hardening of the arteries, a precursor to strokes or heart attacks. However, the subjects had better lab tests on the other two diets.
The Ornish Diet lowered their bad cholesterol by 25 points, while the South Beach Diet lowered it by 10 points. The conditions of their arteries also improved on both diets.
Though the Atkins diet does help in losing weight but the experts say the consumption of saturated fats are not good for heart health. In addition, many people experience rebound weight gain which is not good. The results were presented at this week's annual meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Fla.
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