Atkins diet safety questioned

Atkins diet that became world wide popular over the last couple of years caused a life-threatening condition to an obese woman who followed it.

The diet’s theory says that the body that is starved on carbohydrates will start burning stored fat. Atkins diet allows an intake of high-fat foods like meat, butter and other dairy products that are usually limited in other diets but limits high amounts of cuts potatoes, rice and pasta as well as fruit and vegetables.

The woman who started following Atkins managed to lose 9 kilograms after meat, cheese and salads and taking minerals and vitamins sold by Atkins Nutritionals Inc. A month after she was admitted for emergency treatment, suffering from shortness of breath, nausea and repeated vomiting that had lasted several days.

When the urine and blood tests arrived, they showed she suffered from ketoacidosis, which is a condition of high levels of ketone acids build up in the liver as a result of a depletion of the hormone insulin.
This condition is seen mostly in diabetics and people who starve themselves and may lead to coma.

It has been revealed that the woman developed severe ketoacidosis following the Atkins diet.