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Originally Posted by fishsandwich
I am having such a difficult time getting through Dr. Atkins' book. First, it has been terribly copy-edited, which just brings out my mental red pen. I want to make corrections all over the damned book! His chatty style is also really bothering me.
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Yeah, the book's not well-written. I'm not sure diet books ever are.
Which edition do you have?
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Second, I'm concerned about his constant "harking back" to the 19th century and before. ...
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What is his point in mentioning the 19th century? Is he comparing the diet then with the diet now?
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I'm also concerned about how much he advocates the new low-carb substitutes: ...
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I do remember he was very pro-artificial sweetners. It's a source of debate amongst low-carbs - for a variety of reasons. Some have criticisms similar to yours - they're not natural and may have unanticipated consequences. Others feel like relying on AS make interfere with losing the taste for sugar. After a while eating less sugar, you lose the taste. Sweet things you ate formerly are now too sweet. A third reason that's given for not using AS is that there's some evidence that the sweet taste alone can cause a rise in insulin.
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Maybe I just really don't want to like this. :-/
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Maybe.
Keep in mind that Atkins was a clinician not a scientist. He was a doctor who helped people lose weight. He wrote a book meant to be read and used by the average person. And many of his patients might have objected to giving up all sweets. They might not have stayed on the diet without the AS. He was a practical man.