Top Misconceptions about Low-Carb Diets: Atkin’s Death

Ok, let me re-phrase that – the fact that Dr. Atkins is dead is NOT the misconception. So, I hope you didn’t open this up hoping for an Atkins conspiracy theory about him retiring to Lake Tahoe with Elvis and Tupac. I’m sorry to report that he has passed. Thankfully, he has a whole team and corporation carrying on his message (and selling lots of “Atkins” branded food products to boot).

The misconception that I’m “aiming at” here is this one: “Atkins died of a heart attack, induced by following his own diet!”

Yes, yes, it would have been a conventional nutritionist’s wet dream for a headline, however it is quite untrue. I’m always amazed how many people bring this up thinking that they’ve got the ultimate zinger for my “low-carb craziness”. Just for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past 35 years, Dr. Robert C. Atkins is the originator of the ‘Atkins Diet Revolution’ – one of the most well known low-carb diets ever popularized in America.

The facts regarding his unfortunate death are this:

On April 8, 2003 Dr. Atkins slipped on some ice on his way to work, hit his head on the pavement, and had to be rushed to the hospital. Surgeons removed a blood clot that resulted from the incident, but he went into a coma. Two weeks later he suffered multiple organ failure. The death certificate lists the immediate cause of death as “blunt impact injury of head with epidural hematoma”.

When admitted to the hospital it was reported that Atkins was roughly 6 feet tall and 200 lbs. I don’t think any of us would consider that “fat” especially for a 73 year old man. Sadly, at the time of his death (2 weeks later) his weight was listed as 258 lbs reportedly because of massive fluid retention due to his condition and subsequent care in the intensive care unit.

The origin of all the “he died from his own diet” lie comes from the ‘Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’, who (shockingly enough) is a vegan group who was very anti-Atkins. But they weren’t the only ones trying to distort the facts to further their own agenda…

In March of 2007, Newsweek magazine printed an opinion piece written by classy carbohydrate-loving pal Dr. Dean Ornish, also not an Atkins fan, where he repeated the same lies regarding Atkins death. Thankfully, Newsweek had this brought to its attention and quickly published a retraction, saying “An earlier version of this story contained an inaccurate account of events surrounding the death of Dr. Robert Atkins. Newsweek regrets the error.”

Still, this seems to be one of those “vampire rumors”, you know, the ones that refuse to die. Not everyone in the low-carb camp agrees with the Atkins Diet 100%, but, I think that we can all agree that he dedicated his life to helping people – and succeeded. Cheers to that.

“My English sheepdog will figure out nutrition before the dietitians do.”

- Dr. Robert C. Atkins

Only one thing you can say to that. Word.

Related posts:

1. Top Misconceptions about Low-Carb Diets: Kidneys