Skip to main content

Atkins medical report - should not have gone public

By
The cardiologist who is accused of inappropriately getting a report on the death of Dr. Robert Atkins has said he never wanted the report to end up in the media.

According to the New York City medical examiner's office, Dr. Richard Fleming was sent a copy of the report when he asked for it (it was mistakenly sent).

The office thinks that Dr. Richard Fleming then gave it to Physicians for Responsible Medicine and they released the details (a few days ago).

Reports like this are only ever sent to a doctor who had been treating the patient. A spokeswoman for the New York medical examiner said that her department sent a letter to Nebraska health officials. The letter said that Fleming inappropriately got and distributed a copy of its report. Fleming denies this.



Fleming said that he clearly stated he was not a physician who had been treating Dr. Atkins or any family member.

The report contained details about Dr. Atkins weight and his medical history.

According to the report he died a fat man (quite obese). For someone who created a diet for staying slim this information could shock and puzzle people (it could make people think the whole diet is a sham).

He also had a history of heart problems (according to the report). As the Atkins diet claims to help heart conditions this information could further confuse and alarm people.

Fleming said that his interest was purely scientific. He wanted to gain insight into the health effects of the Atkins diet (low carbs, high fat and protein) which millions of people around the world are on. Atkins Diet books have sold over 15m copies.

Fleming said he felt betrayed as the information in the report was intended solely for research and not for the media.

However, Dr. Neal Barnard (President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) insists it was Fleming who took the initiative to contact his staff about the report.

Barnard said that Fleming was well aware that the report was being released to the press.

Barnard said that the intention was to stop the promotion of the Atkins Diet (the intention of releasing the information).

The Atkins Physicians said that Dr. Atkins heart condition was due to a viral infection (not the diet). It also said that he retained a lot of fluid while he was in a coma (for eight days) and this caused his weight to increase.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is too much soy bad for men?

By
While soy may be beneficial to women in a variety of ways, research in monkeys suggests that it could have an adverse effect on the behavior of men, according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Reporting in the current issue of the scientific journal Hormones and Behavior, the researchers found that in male monkeys, "long-term consumption of a diet rich in soy isoflavones can have marked influences on patterns of aggression and social behavior." Isoflavones are a naturally occurring plant estrogen in soy protein. "Although considerable attention has been directed at the potentially beneficial effects of isoflavones in reducing the risk of various cancers, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and postmenopausal symptoms, less effort has been invested in characterizing neurobehavioral effects," according to the study.
4 comments
Read more

Heart Disease Risk Factors Reduced By 90% With Drug-Free Program

By
TempusClinic, in Los Gatos California, announced that the results of a 6-month study on the effects of its Metabolic-Hormonal Transformation (MHT) Program shows that participants in the TempusClinic personalized fitness and nutrition program showed a 90% reduction in their risks of heart disease, without any medications. Increased vitality and higher sex and growth hormonal levels were additional positive results. Participants were average people who had no history of significant athletic activity, and who had previously followed a self-directed low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. Dr. Mike Nichols, founder and director of TempusClinic, presented the findings at the American College of Sports Medicine Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 'The results are outstanding,' said Dr. Nichols. 'Participants reduced their risk factors for future cardiac events by 90%.
Post a Comment
Read more

Research still lacking on low-carb diets says latest study

By
According to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control, obesity and lack of exercise cause more deaths in the United States than any preventable cause except smoking. Many people who want to shed pounds either lose their determination because there are no quick fixes or reach weight-loss plateaus and give up in frustration. Are low-carbohydrate, high-fat plans, such as the Atkins diet, a workable answer to the obesity epidemic? Millions of Americans believe so, but conclusive research, especially on long-term effects of such diets, still is lacking. Writing in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Dean Ornish, founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute and author of numerous diet books, seeks to "find common ground among seemingly contradictory information about different diets, present an evidence-based rationale for optimal nutrition and describe many of the half-truths and distortions of the Atkins diet and other similar diet...
Post a Comment
Read more