Does Jennifer Aniston's 'high protein, low carb' diet really work

asks sporty
A. You're talking about Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, which has also been used by Geri Halliwell, Renee Zellweger and Minnie Driver. It's claimed that you can lose weight if you eat a very high protein and low carbohydrate diet.

Q. So what do you eat
A. Lots of protein from meat, dairy products and fish, but little in the way of potatoes, bread or rice.

Q. How does the diet work
A. The theory is that your body converts the sugars from carbohydrates into fuel - too much and it turns into fat. If, however, you don't eat carbohydrates, you don't produce that fat.

Q. Is it the same as the Zone diet
A. It's similar. There's a lot of protein in the Zone diet - 30% of what you eat - but it does allow 40% carbohydrates, so it's more balanced. The Zone diet is popular with athletes.

Q. Do they work
A. Both can help you lose weight quickly.

Q. So, it's not a con, then
A. No, but there are drawbacks.

Q. Such as

A. For a start, there's no evidence that such diets will keep weight off in the long term. The Atkins diet is hard to maintain over a long period of time, as is any diet which strictly limits the sort of food you can eat. Also, it's not much fun if you're vegetarian.

More seriously, eating too much protein puts extra pressure on the kidneys, and in some cases it can increase the loss of calcium from the body, which can lead to osteoporosis. And now a new study shows that a high-protein diet may cause heart disease.

A new study from the American Heart Association claims that quick-fix diets - such as the Atkins and the Zone diets - means you miss out on essential vitamins, minerals, fibre and other nutritional elements, which can increase the risk of heart disease.

Dr Robert Eckel, a co-author of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Science Centre, claims that most people in the UK and the US eat too much protein anyway.

Q. What can I do to lose weight for good
A. Eat a healthy diet in moderation and do more exercise. For more help, visit www.realslimmers.com

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by Sheena Miller