In what is being touted as one of the longest head-to-head studies of popular weight-loss plans, the Atkins diet helped women lose more weight in one year than the Zone diet, the Ornish diet or a diet based on U.S. government guidelines.

The findings, according to the study’s lead author, suggest the Atkins diet may be healthier than people have realized. Now, I have enormous respect for Dr. Atkins' pioneering work with nutrition, however, his plan does not "work" for everyone in regard to losing weight, and it is not the healthiest way of eating for others.

Biochemist Russ Bianchi, who submitted this article, also pointed out that while eating a high-protein diet (and eliminating refined carbs) will trigger ketosis to burn stored fat for the first 63 days of the diet, after that a yo-yo effect occurs. In order to maintain any weight loss experienced in the beginning months of the Atkins diet, you’d have to go on a high-refined-carb diet, as the body adjusts to kilating protein to stored fat, according to Bianchi. Clearly not a healthy choice.

There are numerous reasons why the Atkins diet ultimately fails for most people, with the primary one being that it attempts to prescribe a “one-size-fits-all” diet to the entire population. What is needed instead is a much more personalized approach, which you can get by finding out your nutritional type, and then eating the foods that are right for yours.

Journal of the American Medical Association March 7, 2007 (Registration Required)

SFGate.com March 7, 2007