Alleged Atkins Diet Victim Files Suit

15. The most common form of heart disease is atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis occurs when plaques of cholesterol and other substances form in the artery walls, eventually clogging the passageway for blood. When plaques rupture, they trigger the formation of a blood clot, occluding the artery. When the blood supply is cut off, a part of the heart muscle dies; this is known as a heart attack.

16. Atherosclerosis is not, for the most part, caused by heredity. Only a small percentage of the population has a true genetic tendency toward heart disease.

17. Atherosclerosis is not caused by old age. The main reason that older people are more likely to have heart problems than younger people is that they have had more time to be exposed to factors encouraging atherosclerotic progression, including unhealthy eating habits.

18. Rather, the risk of developing heart disease is clearly linked to serum cholesterol concentration. The higher a person’s serum cholesterol concentration, the greater the chance that person will develop heart disease.

19. The amount of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol a person consumes will influence that person’s serum cholesterol level.

20. Cholesterol is found only in food products that come from animals, including beef, pork, poultry, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, and essentially every other meat, egg, and dairy product. No foods from plants contain cholesterol.

21. Since the human body is designed to produce enough cholesterol for its needs, the intake of cholesterol through diet is unnecessary.

22. According to U.S. government recommendations, serum cholesterol levels should be below 200 milligrams per deciliter. Cholesterol consumed through diet tends to add to one’s serum cholesterol level.

23. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (“NHLBI”), a division of the federal government’s National Institutes of Health that provides leadership for a national program of research and education in diseases of the heart, recommends that for good health, the average American adult should consume no more than 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day. NHLBI further suggests that persons seeking to lower their cholesterol levels and reduce their chances of developing heart disease should consume no more than 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day. These limits have been incorporated into NHLBI’s National Cholesterol Education Program (“NCEP”), an educational campaign that aims to raise awareness and understanding about high blood cholesterol as a risk factor for heart disease and the benefits of lowering cholesterol levels as a means of preventing heart disease. NCEP also recommends limiting the quantity of meat, including poultry, to be included in a cholesterol-reducing diet to no more than six ounces per day.

24. Animal products also contain saturated fat, which causes the liver to produce more cholesterol. Unsaturated fats do not have this effect. The effect of dietary saturated fat on serum cholesterol levels is greater than the effect of ingested cholesterol (although most foods high in saturated fats are also high in cholesterol and vice versa). The NCEP recommends that people seeking to lower their cholesterol levels limit their intake of saturated fat to less than seven percent of total calories.

25. The Atkins diet ignores all these recommendations. As set forth in Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution (1999 ed.) at 13, dieters

[C]an eat an almost limitless variety of meat and fish and salad and vegetables prepared in the most appetizing manner (i.e., with butter and cream and spices and herbs to taste) …

Further, as set forth in the preface to the paperback edition (reprinted in the hardcover edition) of Dr. Atkins’ book, “you’ll be able to lose while eating second and third helpings of traditional main courses.” The hardcover at 22 states that:

Fat satiates the appetite. Fat is the only one of the three food categories that can stabilize blood sugar. Fat stops carbohydrate craving. And fat, in the absence of carbohydrates, accelerates the burning of stored fat. The wise dieter can use fat to his advantage. [Emphasis supplied.]

On page 26, Dr. Atkins states that he will show his readers:

How to use the rich sumptuous foods forbidden on other diets to make your new diet a luxurious eating pattern fit for a prince or princess.

(Exhibit D

26. As set forth above, the Atkins Business insists that the Atkins diet is safe for everyone, regardless of the amount of high-fat food eaten.

27. The Atkins Business makes these claims despite the fact that there has not been a single long-term study of the Atkins diet. The longest study done to date followed participants for only one year. Furthermore, no study has tracked a large number of participants. As a result, there is no scientific evidence as to what effect following the Atkins diet will have on customers who follow the Atkins diet for periods longer than one year.

28. The short-term studies done to date do not establish that people can safely eat unlimited high-fat food as claimed by the Atkins Business. On the contrary, the effects of low-carbohydrate diets, including the Atkins diet, are highly variable from one person to another. Studies have shown that serum cholesterol concentrations for a sizable number of people either do not improve or significantly deteriorate on low-carbohydrate diets such as Atkins. In several studies, cholesterol levels have been shown to rise for at least some individuals on such diets. For example, two recent studies funded by the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine (Westman 2002 and Yancy 2004) showed that approximately 30 percent of participants had increased LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. The investigators in one study reported, “Perhaps the biggest concern about the low-carbohydrate diet is that the increase in fat intake will have detrimental effects on serum lipid [i.e., cholesterol] levels.” (Yancy 2004)

29. No studies show that individuals following the Atkins diet or any other Atkins-style diet have fewer heart attacks or other cardiac events. Moreover, some studies have suggested that, because the Atkins diet is highly skewed in its macronutrient profile-very high in fat, saturated fat, protein, and cholesterol, and low in carbohydrate and fiber-even those individuals whose cholesterol levels may appear to improve over the short run on the diet have no assurance of reduced risk of heart problems.

30. Dr. Atkins acknowledged in his own writings that, for a large minority of people, risk factors worsen on the Atkins diet.

31. In Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution (1999 ed.) at page 139, Dr. Atkins states as follows:

I admit that there are individuals who are fat-sensitive and will develop a less favorable cholesterol level on a high-fat diet than on a low-fat diet. Intensive study of medical reports strongly suggests that fewer than one person in three falls into this category. [Emphasis supplied.]

Dr. Atkins called this phenomenon “Fat Sensitivity.” (Exhibit E).

32. Thus, defendants knew that approximately one-third of those customers who bought their products and followed their nutritional advice would have increased cholesterol levels and, correspondingly, increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

33. Plaintiff, Jody Gorran, began the Atkins diet in early May 2001. He went on the Atkins diet relying on Dr. Atkins’ book, Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, and on information learned on the Atkins, Inc. Web site. Mr. Gorran remained on the Atkins diet, in reliance on the book and the Web site, until the end of October 2003.

34. Prior to starting the Atkins diet, Mr. Gorran researched the diet and learned of warnings by the medical and scientific community that diets high in saturated fats posed a significantly increased risk for cardiovascular disease. These warnings were discussed in Dr. Atkins’ book and on the Atkins, Inc. Web site. In each case, readers of the book and the Web site were told to ignore the warnings and instead to rely upon Dr. Atkins and Atkins, Inc. for advice on a healthful diet. For example, the following statements are found on the Web site:

Of the many misconceptions that surround the Atkins Nutritional Approach TM, perhaps the most widespread is the assumption that eating foods high in fat is a health risk. Not so-in the absence of refined carbohydrates. Fallacy: A nutritional approach that promotes a liberal intake of high-fat meats and dairy products will raise cholesterol levels, ultimately leading to heart disease. Fact: It is true that every major health organization, as well as the U.S. government, endorses a low-fat diet in the unquestioned belief that fat causes heart disease. But are they right? A good deal of compelling evidence points in the opposite direction.

See, http://atkins.com/Archive/2001/12/18-292461.html (accessed April 29, 2004).

Is it OK for me to consume more than 20 percent of my calories in the form of saturated fat? Absolutely, although you would really have to work at it because protein-rich foods that are high in saturated fat, such as bacon, sausage, butter, cream, the skin on poultry and the fat in red meat, fill you up pretty quickly, which means that your appetite for them is self-limiting. But this is actually beside the point. Whether you end up with 15 percent of your calories as saturated fat-or even 20 or 25 percent-you’re fine as long as you’re also following the rules of the ANA, which include controlling your carbs. There is no scientific research showing that consuming fat, saturated or otherwise, is bad for you in the context of a controlled-carbohydrate lifestyle. Indeed, as most of our followers are now aware, independent studies on the ANA released in the past two years have repeatedly confirmed that Atkins offers a hearty-healthy lifestyle.

See, http:/ /atkins.com/Archive/2004/2/3-915798.html (accessed April 29, 2004).