Over the weekend an article appeared in my twitter stream titled "The Dukan Diet(And how it could kill you)". I read it with a sense of growing despair over the mis-informed rubbish being spouted. The author of the piece had done no research outside of another blog (an individuals blog, like mine, not one advocating the diet, nor trying to sell something), and had concluded that the diet was incredibly unhealthy and that going vegan would solve all the problems the dieter was trying to resolve.
My wife also read the blog post, and responded on twitter with:
A few hours later the response came back:
So, let's take some of these points, and the original blog, and see what we can make of them.
(It is worth noting that the blog has been updated since it's original post to say:
No, I did NOT go outside the person’s blog to research this, but based on what they were saying, I’m FREAKING CONCERNED. Is that such a bad thing? I am not mocking the person whom originally blogged about this, merely stating my concerns with their diet!
ALSO it sounds a LOT like the Atkins diet, which my own father was on. And not to mention MANY doctors are saying that the Atkins diet is TERRIBLE for your health in the long run! In fact, here’s a link to WebMD’s article on both the Atkins Diet, the Dukan Diet, AND Veganism in case you want to compare. Also, here’s a PDF on veganism from the American Dietetic Association
That’s not to say no matter what will you be healthy if you follow a vegan diet, you have to follow a BALANCED vegan diet. Skinny Bitch is a book I do NOT recommend checking out to help you go vegan! Here’s a link by webMD as to why(My dad, doesn’t trust ANYTHING from The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine but DOES trust WebMD as to overall it’s pretty darned unbiased, and while PCRM has a ton of GREAT stuff pertaining to veganism, web MD is a great general source for info)
So, judging by what I read on that person’s blog, they gave a fairly decent description of the diet, and it appears I did a pretty decent analysis of it from what I read. So go ahead and mock me if you will. At least I won’t have muscle loss, constipation, bad breath, fatigue, nutrient deficiencies, and/or kidney problems!
This update contradicts one of the responses to my wife, but we won't nitpick. Clearly the author has done 0 proper research before posting an article on something she has no knowledge.
And so to the points:
- The Dukan diet is similar to the Atkins diet.
The Atkins diet allows you (in fact it practically insists) large amounts of fat. I've seen people on the Atkins diet, and the strive to eat as much bacon and fatty lamb as they can cram down is enough to put you off the diet for life. It also avoids carbs and veg for a long period of the diet depriving you of basic fibre and nutrients whilst filling your body with protein AND FAT.
The Dukan diet has an INITIAL attack period of between 2 and 7 days (NO LONGER) where you eat nothing but protein. It should be stressed at this point, that this is not just meat. Yes, there are no vegetables allowed during this period, but it only a maximum of one week. Also, this protein must be lean. There is very little cholesterol. After this period you can eat as much veg as you like from a list that excludes potatoes, restricts carrots, but allows pretty much everything else. And you can eat this veg every other day. The rest of the time you are eating protein. Not meat. Protein. This includes low fat fromage frais, low fat yogurt, eggs, tofu and processed soya.
After this "Cruise" phase where you lose your weight the diet re-introduces occasional starchy meals, cheese, bread, grains etc. It does this slowly, and in moderation, giving you the basis of a balanced diet with no chance of immediate weight "bounce".
The final phase "stabilisation" allows you free range on food bar a day of protein per week. However, after a prolonged period on this diet the hope is that you will have established a good eating pattern and won't need to fall back on fatty, carb filled treats.
The other factor that differentiates the Dukan diet from the Atkins diet is Oat Bran. Throughout EVERY stage you are prescribed increasing amounts of Oat Bran every day. This starts out at a tablespoon and a half, and climbs to 3 tablespoons at the end of the diet (for the rest of your life). This oat bran provides essential fibre and nutrients to keep things "moving". As someone who has been on this diet for over 2 weeks now I can confirm that things in that area are not a problem.
- The Dukan diet makes you tired
On the contrary, a diet of carbs and sugar makes you tired. Since starting the Dukan diet I have never felt better. I need less sleep, I feel more energised, and I haven't had a problem going to the gym 3 times a week.- The Dukan diet causes muscle loss
Actually, as muscles (and skin) are made up of protein, the diet has no effect on muscle loss. In fact skin tone and muscle growth are enhanced by the diet. Other parts of the body may not be catered for during that first week, but muscles are not one of those areas.- The Dukan diet causes bad breath
Fair enough, on day 3 I did have some bad breath. The ketonic cells being broken down in my gut have that effect. It lasted a morning. I do chew gum but that is for the flavour and the need to keep my jaws busy. Bad breath is not a problem, and in all cases can be countered by upping your water consumption.- Green tea is not allowed
Actually green tea is allowed after the first week. Lemon (also mentioned) as allowed throughout as a food additive, but not to drink as it contains too much sugar.
There are many other things I could pick out of the post, but to do so would descend into nit picking!
The final point the author sent to my life was to ask how much veg I ate previously. The answer would be not much. They were always supplementary, never the main dish. I would never eat them without plenty of sauce and a good chunk of meat on the front of the fork. Since starting this diet I have eaten meat free salad; soup with multiple spoon fulls of just veg; mushroom, tomato and onion (cooked with chicken, but eaten both with and without the meat). In the past, once the meat was gone, the meal was over. Now, the plates are cleaned, the meat content has gone down, it's all good!
As for the author's preferred diet of choice, veganism, can there be a diet more against our very nature, and our own bodies' desires? Human's are omnivores, they eat meat, veg, and fruit. For a long period of our evolution, the meat was the primary part of our diet supplemented with in season gatherings. Even as we enter the last 2000 years we have relied on whatever can be grown to supplement hunted (or farmed) meat. It is only as we enter the latter stages of the 20th century that vegetarianism then veganism come to be possible, never mind choosable, as diets. Mass produced fruit and veg imported over large distances, cultivated using chemicals and artificial means are required for a such a diet to exist. Artificial minerals and vitamins in pill form are required to supplement the lack of nutrition you aren't getting from eating meat (even worse in the case of vegans where you aren't even getting omega from fish, nor any calcium from dairy). Before pushing your vegan agenda on others, stop to consider how long you would survive without your supplements, living only on local produce in season.
Veganism (plus supplements) works for the author, and that's fine; the Dukan diet is currently working for me. In 15 days I have lost 14.5 pounds. The weight loss is now controlled and gradual, and my diet is healthy and (reasonably) balanced.
