Another new study that is not yet published but was reported at the AHA’s annual scientific meeting.

Despite the promising results mentioned above, low-fat proponents will continue to claim that the Atkins diet is not a useful approach. They will use the facts that this study was funded by the Atkins Research Center and was only six months long as reasons to disregard the results.

What they fail to realize is that you can’t fool people consistently over time. If the Atkins Diet didn’t work, it is highly unlikely that he could continue to deceive many millions of people who do indeed lose weight on his program.

There is a reason why his book has been a best-seller for all these years. I suspect the main reason is that the diet clearly works for many people.

But the central question remains:

Is the Atkins Diet Best for You?

My simple and short answer is no, but not for the reasons that the "experts" claim.

A comprehensive explanation is necessary. There is no question that a radical reduction of grains is essential for successful weight loss. From my perspective, the scientific evidence for this is quite clear. You can review the fifty-plus articles supporting this approach that I have compiled from medical literature.

However, there are several foundational errors in the Atkins program. The first is that very little attention is directed toward encouraging people to focus on the quality of their food. Dr. Atkins’ newer books provide some mention of the need for this, but the mentions are brief and cursory.

Eating fried meats like bacon and using heavily processed meats like lunchmeats are fraught with their own long-term complications. While they may promote weight loss in the short-term, it is short sighted to load your body up with trans fats that have been associated with cancers and chronic diseases.

Additionally, most people don’t require the radical carbohydrate restriction that the Atkins program advocates. While restricting carbohydrates will help many people lose weight initially, many will also wind up reducing their weight because they are radically reducing their calorie intake.

A low calorie diet may allow short-term weight loss, but it is rarely effective in the long-term because it plays havoc with your brain’s set point of weight control. This will cause your metabolic rate to slow down, and you will burn fewer calories.

The foundational reason why the Atkins program does not succeed in the long run is that it fails to apply the reality of biochemical individuality.

You might have noticed that I strongly advocate William Wolcott’s Metabolic Typing Program. If you read this book you will begin to understand the profound variability that our environment and heredity have on our individual nutrient needs.

This variability will never allow one specific diet to work for everyone. To use one diet for everyone will be a prescription for disaster.

I did not understand this principle until quite recently. However, the logic behind this approach is quite obvious and most people seem to instantly grasp this insight.

Wolcott has simplified Metabolic Types into Carb Types, Protein Types and Mixed Types. The Atkins Program works profoundly well for protein types. Nearly all of the program’s successes belong to this type.

I happen to be a strong protein type and would do well on an Atkins type of program. That is likely the reason why there was such a dramatic similarity between my original eating plan and Dr. Atkins program.

However, Carb type individuals are an unmitigated disaster on the Atkins program, because they need about 60 percent of their diet as carbohydrate. However, the type of carbs they need are green vegetables, not bagels and cereals.

So, are there any quick and easy ways to find out if you are a Protein, Carb or Mixed person?

I can tell you how I do this clinically, and it works most of the time.

First, think about how you regard eating a high quality steak. If you crave it and you feel quite good after eating it, full and satisfied, you are more of a Protein type.

If you find the thought of steak very unappealing, or if you eat steak and it sits in your stomach like a lead weight for a long time, this is a major clue that you are more of a Carb person.

Next point, we just had Thanksgiving. What type of meat did you prefer, assuming the meat was equally moist?

Protein types prefer the dark meat as it has more fat and heavier purine type amino acids while Carb types prefer the lighter white meat. If you can’t even stand the thought of dark meat that would mean you are even more of a carb person.

Lastly, your reaction to caffeinated coffee is a major clue. If you get jittery from even a few sips, then you are a strong Protein type. If you could have a pot of coffee and go straight to bed, then you are a strong Carb type.

It is important to realize that Metabolic Types run a full spectrum. They run from very strong Protein type to mild Protein type, to Mixed to mild Carb type, to strong Carb type.

You could be anywhere along that spectrum. If you answered very strongly to all the protein or carb questions, then you are likely a strong Protein or Carb type. If you could answer either way on the questions, you are more likely a mixed type.

It is also important to recognize that Metabolic Typing is far more complex than my oversimplified, three questions above. The Metabolic Typing book has a comprehensive basic test, and we now perform an online Intermediate Assessment for all of our patients.

There are nearly 100 questions in the assessment that help us to further pinpoint a person’s Metabolic Type so we can individualize a diet approach best for them.

Your Metabolic Type is not set in stone, however, and it can change based on a number of different factors, such as the time of day, season, stress and activity levels. However, it typically stays close to a central mean.

So what does this all mean with respect to the Atkins diet?

If you are a strong Protein type, the Atkins plan will likely work for you as grains, ideally, should always be avoided. The only changes to his program would be to use vegetables, but not the dark, deep green ones. Asparagus, cauliflower, mushroom and spinach are the best choices. Paying attention to the quality of your meats and consuming grass-fed animals whenever possible is a good approach to take. Also, avoid eating fish contaminated with mercury and use high quality fish oil supplements. I now offer Carlson’s brand fish oil and cod liver oil on this site; it is of superior quality and freshness.

If you are a strong Carb person, however, the Atkins diet should be avoided. You should have 60 percent of your diet as fresh green vegetables, about 15 percent of your diet as fat and the remaining 25 percent as protein.