COUNTY LIGHTENS UP AS DIET CRAZE SPREADS.

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

Beef. Cheese. Eggs. Bacon. Fish. Chicken.

Salad with thick, rich, creamy dressing.

Wash it all down with club soda and what do you have? The wildly popular Atkins diet, of course.

Mayor Jim Torrey is on it. Lane County Commissioner Bill Dwyer and much of the county staff are on it. Seemingly half of Eugene-Springfield is on it or some version of it. And folks are finding the diet easier to stay on as they buy more low-carbohydrate products at fast-sprouting specialty stores, creating their own modified Atkins diets.

"I had so much to lose I don't think anybody can tell," said Torrey, who's lost about 40 pounds on the diet. "I've run out of pants that fit me, and I've got a whole bunch of belts I can't wear anymore."

The diet has been around for more than 30 years, ever since the late Dr. Robert Atkins, a New York City cardiologist, published in 1972 the first of several books - "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution" - promoting his low-carbohydrate, high-protein weight-loss regimen. Most mainstream doctors and health organizations have cautioned against the diet over the years. And although studies in the past two years have concluded not only that the diet works but that it might not be nearly as dangerous as previously thought in the short term, others caution that there is no evidence that it's safe in the long run.

Still, some local doctors swear by it.

"The success rate is just astounding," said Dr. Mark Lyon, a family doctor in Eugene who has lost about 25 pounds since going on the Atkins diet in November. "I wouldn't be doing this myself if I thought it was dangerous." Lyon has put about 70 of his patients on the diet and almost all have lowered their cholesterol levels, improved their blood pressure and weigh less, he said.

Several studies in the past two years have given the diet favorable results, said Colette Heimowitz, director of education and research at the Atkins Center in New York City, boosting credibility for the controversial diet and spurring greater interest.

Two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine last spring, shortly after Atkins died at 72 when he slipped on an icy New York sidewalk, said dieters shed twice as much weight in the short term and have healthier blood-fat levels than those on traditional low-calorie diets. But the studies cautioned that long-term studies are needed before the diet could be endorsed.

"We still don't know the long-term health effects of the Atkins diet," said Diane Stadler, an assistant research professor and dietician at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. Despite other studies showing dieters lose weight more rapidly on Atkins, OHSU has just completed a study that shows that Atkins dieters lost the same amount of weight on average over six weeks - 13 pounds - as those on a low-calorie, high-carb diet, Stadler said.

The diet is not for everyone, doctors say, particularly those with heart problems. Another danger seems to come from the effects of loading up on massive amounts of protein can have on the kidneys.

"I just don't think there's enough data yet," said Dr. Martin Jones, a Eugene internist. "I think the medical community, by and large, is still wanting answers."

Liz Cawood, who runs a public relations firm in Eugene, was on the Atkins diet about 18 months ago and had lost about 15 pounds. She went to lunch one day, however, and experienced sharp pains in her abdomen. She thought it was food poisoning, but it turned out to be kidney stones.

"It was a terrible experience, and I wouldn't do it again," she said. "The pain was worse than having a baby." Today, Cawood subscribes to a Weight Watchers program. She has lost 22 pounds on that one.

Dr. Dennis Ellison, a retired Springfield urologist, treated Cawood and said he has seen the same thing happen to a few other patients in 27 years of practice. High levels of protein can start a chain reaction that causes kidney stones, Ellison said.

The Atkins diet instructs dieters to drink at least eight glasses of water a day to flush out the byproducts of burning fat. It's also recommended that you consult with your doctor and have your cholesterol and trigylceride levels checked after the first two weeks, and then again at six weeks, Stadler said.

The diet works on the premise that when carbohydrates such as cereals, grains, pasta and fruit are the body's primary source of energy, they get burned first but easily turn to fat, Heimowitz said. When we consume mostly protein, the body will burn the fat, she said.

"It's the natural state of man," Heimowitz said. "It's the most direct system for fat burning."

Atkins dieters often report feeling better immediately, having more energy and fewer stomach-related problems such as acid-reflux.

"This is a great diet," said county commissioner Dwyer, who has lost 32 pounds on the diet, slimming down to about 180 pounds in just a month. His wife, Janet, has lost 45 pounds on the diet, he said.

Dwyer decided to go on the diet earlier this year because others at the board of commissioners' office were losing weight. "I watched the staff around here shrink away," he said.

Eugene internist Dr. Geoffrey Simmons is another advocate of the diet, having lost 19 pounds himself. But he says its drawback is that it can get boring.

That's where stores dedicated to a wide range Atkins-friendly foods are stepping in. Castus Low Carb Superstores just opened two stores in Eugene, one at the Delta Oaks Shopping Center and one at the Southtowne Shoppes.

Thursday, folks at the Delta Oaks store were loading up their shopping carts with low-carb chocolate ice cream, cereals, s'mores bars, pastas and breads.

"I don't crave anything," said Eugene's Linda Pratt, plunking down a bottle of low-carb chocolate syrup. She has lost 20 pounds on the Atkins diet. "I just love it."

CAPTION(S):

Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey says he has lost about 40 pounds since starting on the Atkins diet. He's one of many local people who are following the late Dr. Robert Atkins' advice.