ATKINS, REDUX TAKE AREA BY STORM

Some believe Dr. Robert C. Atkins is a weight-loss messiah. Most nutritionists believe he is the diet Antichrist.

Either way, the Atkins Diet is sweeping the Cape Girardeau area. Doctors are recommending it to patients. Patients are recommending it to each other.

To participate, all one must do is drive to the nearest bookstore and pick up "Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution."

According to the book, the diet works by putting people into ketosis -- a state where the body burns its own fat for fuel. To do that, Atkins requires participants to cut out all carbohydrates, which include those from bread, fruit, potatoes and some other vegetables.

A basic menu includes eggs, bacon and decaffeinated coffee for breakfast; a bacon cheeseburger with no bun, tossed salad and seltzer water for lunch; and shrimp cocktail, clear consomme, steak, tossed salad and sugar-free Jello for dinner.

In his book, Atkins criticizes the American Medical Association for rejecting his diet. The medical community is so programmed against high-fat meals, he says, that they refuse to accept his logical approach.

Some Cape Girardeau area dieters who tried the Atkins Diet are sold on it. One declined to use his name for this article but said he lost 50 pounds in four months on the plan three years ago. He has gone on and off the diet ever since to maintain his loss.

He said problems with indigestion, heartburn and high blood pressure disappeared while he was on the Atkins Diet.

Cape Girardeau resident Janet Presson said the diet made her feel more energetic and cleared up persistent sinus trouble. She and her husband got on it after seeing the good results their friend, Dr. Rod Crist, experienced.

She started on the diet one year ago and still follows certain portions of the regimen.

Other participants haven't been so lucky, reporting exhaustion, bowel trouble and a variety of other ailments. Many don't last more than a few weeks on the plan.

Dr. Georganne P. Syler, a nutrition expert and professor at Southeast Missouri State University, said there are reasons for the bad reactions some Atkins Diet participants experience.

The body normally gets energy from carbohydrates and fats while proteins make muscles grow. If one stops taking in carbohydrates, the body starts to burn protein.

"What Dr. Atkins wants you to do is totally alter the body's normal process and to deplete the body of carbohydrates," Syler said. "That can be done, but it will start breaking down muscles and organs."

After five to seven days, the body adapts and doesn't burn as much protein. As Atkins says, it primarily burns stored fat.

But Syler said the adaptation produces ketones, which are toxic acids. The kidneys start working overtime to get rid of ketones and electrolytes get off balance. After that? She doesn't know.

"You don't see many people who stay on this very long," Syler said. "Atkins says stay on this the rest of your life, but I've never seen an article following one person for five years on the Atkins Diet."

She said physicians prescribe it because of its quick results, which please their patients.

"Doctors treat symptoms," Syler said. "They don't always look at health as holistic."

Several Cape Girardeau doctors also are prescribing Redux, an appetite suppressant recently placed on the market. It works by increasing levels of seratonin, a natural substance in the brain that signals the body to eat less.

Syler said the Food and Drug Administration thinks the drug is useful, but only for six-month periods. There are also limits on how overweight patients on Redux should be.

"While people are on this, they need to learn healthy eating patterns," Syler said. "And it shouldn't be prescribed for every Tom, Dick and Harry."

Dr. Michael Freeman, a Cape Girardeau gastroenterologist, agreed. He directed a program out of St. Francis Medical Center for the morbidly obese and studied Redux as a possible solution to the problem of obesity.

"Any kind of appetite suppressant only starts the process," Freeman said. "I believe in behavioral modification. People need to realize when they truly are hungry and when they are full.

"Some people need a little extra help to get started, but appetite suppressants don't do anything other than set the stage for what you need to do."

Jackson resident Sharon Pinkerton, 52, started taking Redux on Aug. 29. Pinkerton said she and Dr. John Russell, a Cape Girardeau physician, researched the drug before deciding to use it.

She went to Weight Watchers on several occasions but didn't experience lasting benefits. She tried Atkins but quickly became bored with the food requirements.

This time, Pinkerton is striving to make lifestyle changes. She walks more than two miles a day and eats a low-fat diet.

According to Redux patient information, possible side effects include diarrhea, dry mouth, drowsiness, insomnia, fatigue, headaches and depression. Pinkerton said she hasn't experienced any side effect during her time on Redux.

The pills cost about $60 a month, and patients take two each day.