The diet’s system and popularity
On times when health issues concern people about their weight, all sorts of diets are researched in attempt to lose a few pounds. The problem is when people take on some one of these how-to-eat guides that aren’t appropriate for losing weight and for a nutritional meal. The latest diet to arrive in North America is from the French Pierre Dukan, who now has to answer to several critics on the matter.
The diet’s system and popularity
Dukan’s method is a lot alike Dr. Atkins’ publications. The diet consists in a four-step procedure: attack, cruise, consolidation and stabilization. The first stage allows consuming nonfat and protein rich foods as much as you want, and lots of water. The second one includes vegetables to the menu. On the third stage it’s allowed to have two slices of bread, cheese, fruit, two servings of carbohydrates and meals with wine and dessert twice a week. The final stage is supposed to last forever, but at first you go back to the only protein stage one.
The diet’s creator has already sold 3.5 million books in France. Besides have been translated to 14 other languages, Dukan had three books on the top five best sellers in France. On the preface, the Dr. wrote “My dear friends, today I am reaching out to you with the certainty that I can help you put an end to the inevitability of weight problems in North America.”
Critics against the Dukan diet
A professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University’s School of Public Health and chairman of the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee, Frank Sacks, has a negative opinion about the diet: “This is just another one of those diets invented by a charismatic individual who makes a lot of promises and has loads of testimonials but is not based on any scientific data whatsoever.”
The spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association and a dietitian herself, Sian Porter, said “We call it the ‘Do-can’t’ diet. Even if you can survive it for the first few days, it’s hard to stick with it. It’s hard on your kidneys. And it’s expensive.” As if the professionals’ opinions weren’t enough, France’s governmental National Agency for Food, Environmental and Work Health Safety classified the Dukan diet amongst the 15 inappropriate and risky methods.