On being thin: the protein diet

Thousands of articles have been written criticising The Atkins Diet, a book written 30 years ago, but when it comes to ill-informed nonsense, Allison Jones ('It's in to be thin - and damn the consequences', Sunday Morning Post, January 18) takes the low-carb biscuit.

Dr Atkins is no longer around to defend himself, but science has taken up the cudgels on his behalf. Finally, we have worked out what Dr Atkins knew all along about the relationship between refined carbohydrates, insulin and the storage of fat in the human body. To quote a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald: 'Unknown to Dr Atkins, two leading universities were on the verge of publishing [now published] studies in the New England Journal of Medicine affirming his life's work. Not only does his diet work, they say, but in reducing the chances of stroke and heart disease it is one of the most healthy food regimes one can adopt.'

In essence, our hunter-gatherer ancestors were designed for survival. Critically, that involved our storing of energy in the body - in the form of fat - to get them through times of scarcity and famine.

We are the same today. That's the problem. In the west all foods are available in abundance 24 hours a day, seven days a week - and we do not have to chase it, kill it, or wander for miles to find it and pick it. Is it any wonder that we are overweight and obese?

It should be noted that Eskimos (before McDonalds came to Alaska) lived on a diet that contained no carbohydrate whatsoever. Early polar explorers were often forced to get by on the same diet, getting (unknowingly) vital vitamin C from the offal of the animals they killed. They survived perfectly well.

Dr Atkins did not recommend a diet of protein only, but a balanced diet rich in protein plus 'high quality' carbohydrates. Meanwhile, we should eat less, exercise regularly and, yes, avoid all those sugary, starchy refined carbs.