diet

The Atkins Diet Food Guide Pyramid, Part 3: All Foods Shown On the Atkins Pyramid Are Unrefined, Unprocessed Foods

Sunday, July 18, 2004
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)

eTrust Pro Certified

Pin It
If you look closely at the Atkins pyramid, you'll notice that it contains pictures of raw, unprocessed food ingredients. You don't see any packaged meat products in the meat category, and there are no canned vegetable soups in the vegetables category. The fruit category doesn't have commercially-prepared guacamole, canned fruits, or fruit drinks, and the whole grains category doesn't have flavored instant oatmeal.

This is a critical distinction because the health benefits of these minimally-processed foods and ingredients are all but lost when a person turns to processed, manufactured foods. Worse yet, most processed foods are tainted with highly toxic chemical additives that are well known to promote brain tumors, colon cancer, endocrine system disorders, stubborn obesity, and other problems that are avoided outright when eating raw, fresh food ingredients.

Let me give you an example of this. The meat category shows beef, pork and fish, but nowhere in the meat category do you find bacon. Virtually all bacon at the grocery store contains a cancer-causing chemical ingredient known as sodium nitrite. It's listed right on the label. Sodium nitrite, when consumed, results in the formation of highly carcinogenic nitrosamines, which are so toxic that lab researchers actually use nitrosamines to give lab rats cancer as part of their experiments! (To learn the shocking facts about sodium nitrite, read the sodium nitrite section of Low-Carb Diet Warning.)

You don't find bacon on the Atkins pyramid, but the vast majority of low-carb dieters consume large quantities of bacon, exposing themselves to alarming levels of cancer-causing sodium nitrite. Technically, they believe they're following the Atkins diet, but in reality, they're exposing themselves to chemical toxins that lead to serious, chronic disease. They'd be much healthier if they actually ate what was pictured on the Atkins pyramid: fresh meats, not packaged meats.

In case after case, many people on the Atkins diet try to bend the definition of whatever they're eating to make it match a recommended category on the Atkins pyramid. A person eating commercially-prepared guacamole, for example, may not read the label and discover that it's not really made from avocados. The primary ingredient? Hydrogenated oils, which are on the "no" list and are well known to cause severe cardiovascular damage. Food manufacturers use hydrogenated oils because they're cheaper than avocados. Add a little artificial green coloring, a hint of avocado, and viola! You've got guacamole! Most consumers never bother to read the labels, leading them to believe they're consuming yet another food item that's on the Atkins pyramid when, in fact, they're eating junk food.

The fruit category is especially ripe for abuse, no pun intended. Canned fruits are almost always packed in liquid sugar, transforming them into fruit-shaped chunks of sugar candy. Fruit drinks are very high on the glycemic index, counting more like sugar than whole fruits. I've even seen Atkins dieters buy apple pie and claim it counts as a fruit!

The point is, the Atkins pyramid clearly recommends unprocessed, unrefined, non-manufactured foods and ingredients. But in reality, that's not what people eat. They generally eat whatever they want and then try to squeeze it into an acceptable category on the Atkins pyramid.

If people would actually follow the Atkins pyramid and eat what's shown on the pictures, they would experience an amazing health transformation. Raw broccoli contains powerful cancer-fighting phytochemicals. Fresh avocados are loaded with healthy oils. Berries are abundant sources of antioxidants and disease-fighting vitamins and minerals. Fresh egg yolks contain a fascinating array of nutrients and sulfur compounds simply not found in the plant kingdom. The list goes on and on. By eating the foods actually pictured, a person can follow the Atkins pyramid and literally transform their health in a matter of weeks or months.

In reality, however, most people don't eat those foods. And that's why their Atkins diets are stalled out, or their chronic disease conditions may even worsen on the Atkins diet.

Technically, the diet shown on the Atkins pyramid is the Unrefined Foods Diet, which is one that I have promoted for years. The Unrefined Foods Diet allows you to eat practically anything you want, as long as it isn't processed, altered or manufactured. On the Unrefined Foods Diet, you can eat raw, cooked, or prepared foods of any kind as long as you buy them in their fresh, non-refined, non-processed state.

The only difference is that milk doesn't belong on the Unrefined Foods Diet, since milk is actually a highly refined food that has been artificially altered by homogenizing the naturally occurring milk fats, transforming them into health-damaging substances that the human body cannot properly metabolize. Not only that, but milk is nutritionally imbalanced for human consumption. It's the perfect food for baby cows, but it's a terrible choice for adults of an entirely different species. To learn the shocking truth about milk and why even Atkins dieters should avoid cow's milk, read the cow's milk section in Low-Carb Diet Warning.

Overall, then, the Atkins pyramid recommends unrefined, unprocessed foods with an emphasis on meats and vegetables. From a nutritional standpoint, that's an outstanding diet. While some might argue that vegetables should be consumed in higher quantities than proteins, there's little question that if both categories of foods are consumed in their unprocessed, unrefined state, the results will be a dramatically improved health outcome.

Just remember this: if you're following the Atkins diet and you're not eating the foods pictured on the Atkins pyramid, you're not really following the Atkins diet. You're actually following a low-carb junk food diet, and that's very different from the Atkins diet.

The bottom line is that probably 90% of the people who say they're on the Atkins diet really aren't. They're on some evil twin version of the Atkins diet that's loaded with processed foods and disease-causing ingredients like hydrogenated oils, sodium nitrite, monosodium glutamate, and many others. And that's not the pathway to losing weight.

This article is reprinted from Analysis: The Atkins Lifestyle Food Guide Pyramid, a public education ebook provided free of charge by the non-profit Consumer Wellness Research Center.

Next: Part 4: The Importance of Exercise

Get breaking news alerts on GMOs, fluoride, superfoods, natural cures and more...
Join over four million monthly readers. Email privacy 100% protected. Unsubscribe at any time.

Articles Related to This Article:

Plant-Based Diets: An Overview of Options for Optimal Health

The Mediterranean Diet Reduces Mortality From All Causes

Eat a gluten-free diet for type 2 diabetes and celiac disease

Health blogger threatened with jail time for advocating Paleo diet that cured his diabetes

Low-Carb Diets Do Not Have to be Stressful or Boring

The Dukan Diet is just another dangerous high-protein fad

Related video from NaturalNews.TV


Your NaturalNews.TV video could be here.
Upload your own videos at NaturalNews.TV (FREE)



About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams launched TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also the founder of a well known HTML email software company whose 'Email Marketing Director' software currently runs the NaturalNews subscription database. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org

Have comments on this article? Post them here:

 people have commented on this article.

Related Articles:

Plant-Based Diets: An Overview of Options for Optimal Health

The Mediterranean Diet Reduces Mortality From All Causes

Eat a gluten-free diet for type 2 diabetes and celiac disease

Health blogger threatened with jail time for advocating Paleo diet that cured his diabetes

Low-Carb Diets Do Not Have to be Stressful or Boring

The Dukan Diet is just another dangerous high-protein fad

Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com

Email this article to a friend

Permalink to this article:

Reprinting this article: Non-commercial use OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.

Embed article link: (copy HTML code below):
Most Popular
Today | Week | Month | Year

See all Top Headlines...



Now Available at ShopNaturalNews.com

O3 Essentials OraJuvenate™
A powerful, cleansing dental cream for maximum oral/dental health.
New Cancer Solutions
Over 3 hours of content covering today’s best cancer tests, how to kill cancer cells and the best diets and exercise routines.
Freeze-Dried 100% Organic Whole Corn
Our freeze-drying method preserves taste, texture and nutrients better than any other food preservation method ever invented.
Fenix TK35 Flashlight
Tough, waterproof, extremely bright and it’s touted to throw an 800+ lumen beam more than 1,000 feet into the night.
Inca Treasure Smoothie Pack
This pack of our four most popular superfoods from South America is the perfect combo pack for smoothie lovers.
Pink Himalayan Salt
This salt delivers significant levels of magnesium, zinc and selenium, with trace levels of dozens of other elements.
Pinhole Glasses - Aviator Style
Pinhole glasses are becoming famous for helping people improve their vision without the risks of laser surgery.
Oxy-Rich Facial Serum
O3 Essentials Jojoba Oxy-Rich Facial Serum is cellular nourishment for your skin. Helps smooth fine lines while enhancing tissue elasticity.
Freeze-Dried 100% Blackberry Halves
Our freeze-dried blackberry halves are grown in Serbia under strict organic standards.

Also on NaturalNews:

Health Ranger Videos
Activist music
CounterThink Cartoons
Food documentaries
FREE Special Reports
Podcasts

Advertise with NaturalNews...

Support NaturalNews Sponsors:

Advertise with NaturalNews...

Most Popular Stories

Dear Donald Trump: Blockade the lying mainstream media and recognize the independent media as America's real free press
Kellogg's found to have financial ties to the money man for cop-killing left-wing HATE groups: George Soros

25 Amazing Facts About Food

This FREE downloadable report unveils a collection of astonishing and little-known facts about the food we eat very day. Click here to read it now...

 

Resveratrol and its Effects on Human Health and Longevity - Myth or Miracle.

Unlock the secrets of cellular health with the "miracle" nutrient Resveratrol Click here to read it now...

 

Nutrition Can Save America

FREE online report shows how we can save America through a nutrition health care revolution. "Eating healthy is patriotic!" Click here to read it now...

The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D

In this exclusive interview, Dr. Michael Holick reveals fascinating facts on how vitamin D is created and used in the human body to ward off chronic diseases like cancer, osteoporosis, mental disorders and more. Click here to read it now...

Vaccines: Get the Full Story

The International Medical Council on Vaccination has released, exclusively through NaturalNews.com, a groundbreaking document containing the signatures of physicians, brain surgeons and professors, all of which have signed on to a document stating that vaccines pose a significant risk of harm to the health of children. Click here to read it now...

Health Ranger Storable Organics

GMO-free, chemical-free foods and superfoods for long-term storage and preparedness. See selection at www.StorableOrganics.com



Recommended Resources On:

Natural News trends
Health Ranger news
Natural News GMOs
Mike Adams tracker
Natural News photos
Natural News Global
Natural News in focus
Natural News connect
Natural News shocking stories
Natural News radar
GMOs
Quackwatch
Vaccines
Health freedom
Dr. Paul Offit

This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2014 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.

eTrust Pro Certified Android app on Google Play