Does following the Atkins Diet increase my cholesterol?

Does following the Atkins Diet increase my cholesterol?

Andrea Giancoli (Registered Dietician ) gives expert video advice on: What are the side effects of the Atkins Diet?; Does following the Atkins Diet increase my cholesterol?; What are long-term risks of the Atkins Diet? and more...

What we originally thought, because Atkins was high in these fatty foods, high in saturated fat and cholesterol, this would increase your risk for heart disease. Over the short term, because Atkins restricts so many foods it restricts a lot of calories. You are on a low calorie diet and you lose the weight. Anytime you lose weight, our cholesterol improves, so it doesn't seem to matter so much that the foods in the beginning. It's the weight that we lose that improves that cholesterol profile. However we don't have long-term studies that we can look to and say that in the long-term that this might not or will increase heart disease. There's still that possibility out there.