Atkins Diet and Hypertension

There is no rationale for using the Atkins diet andyou should never trust a diet that suggests that you completely cut out a particular food group. You can lost weight by consuming less calories. Period. Whether those calories are from carbohydrates, fat, or protein. Now there are healthy ways to lose weight (ex. eating a generally healthy, well-balanced diet that is low in fat ~ 25% of your daily caloric intake, moderate in protein ~ 25-30% of your calroic intake, and moderate in carbohydrates ~ 40-45% of your daily caloric intake) and there are unhealthy ways to lose weight (ex. fad diets such as the Atkins diet which suggest that you cut out entire food groups which provide essential nutrients that your body needs). If you go to mypyramid.gov you can type in your sex, age, height, weight, and whether you'd like to get to a healthy weight or remain at your current weight and it will give you your personal recommendations for daily calories, fat, and protein as well as how many servings you should get from each food group. As for your hypertension...was this a problem for you in the past in which you were following a low sodium diet or taking medication? If not, it wouldn't hurt to watch your sodium intake. Aim for 2300mg of sodium or less each day by avoiding foods high in sodium such as canned foods, frozen dinners, processed foods, restaurant and fast food items, and avoid adding salt, garlic salt, onion, salt, or seasoned salts when cooking your meals at home. Hope this was helpful!