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The Atkins Grapefruit diet is a diet plan, not supported by the firm of Dr. Atkins, that plays on the popularity of the grapefruit diet and the Atkins diet name. A closer look into this diet shows that it may not be all it claims to be.

First of all, it’s pretty difficult to find information on the Atkins grapefruit diet plan. Smart people know that when someone is perpetrating a deception, or a con, they will usually gloss over facts. This is what the Atkins grapefruit diet seems to do in an attempt to persuade people to associate it with two supposedly effective diets.

Is the Atkins Grapefruit Diet part of the Atkins Diet or supported by the company of the late Dr. Atkins? The answer is no, not only is there no mention of the Atkins Grapefruit Diet on the Atkins web site, but there is no fruit of any kind mentioned in the list of permitted foods in the Atkins diet Induction phase.

The induction phase recommends the following foodstuffs:

Fish of all species. All fowl such as turkey and chicken. All shellfish. All meat such as beef or pork. Eggs cooked in all styles, including fried. Cheese. Vegetables. Herbs and Spices. Fats and Oils. Low carbohydrate beverages, including diet soft drinks.

Did you notice anything? No fruit is mentioned on that list. Later phases of the Atkins diet, however, do recommend limited quantities of fruits such as cantaloupe, strawberries and even lemon juice, and the pre-maintenance and maintenance phases even specifically allow small amounts of grapefruit. But when compared to the quantity of Grapefruit recommended on the Atkins Grapefruit Diet, once more there is a disagreement.

The Atkins Grapefruit Diet advocates a cup of grapefruit juice or a cup of grapefruit sections, with 8 and 18 carbs respectively. Even the most generous phases of the Atkins diet recommends limiting grapefruit consumption to below 8 carbs per day. That’s a exact contradiction of one diet with the other.

Most reasonable people would inspect the Atkins website itself the moment they heard of the Atkins Grapefruit Diet. If they saw no mention of that diet on the website, then a red light would flash and an alarm would sound.

In general, you should remember this: any diet that recommend too heavily on one foodstuff, such as grapefruit on a grapefruit diet, is unhealthy for any but extremely short periods. The Atkins Grapefruit Diet is not associated with the Atkins diet, and may disrupt with the results of the Atkins diet in its early phases.

Acne is one of the commonest skin problems afflicting the human race and it affects people irrespective of age, caste, colour or gender. Acne is a tremendously embarrassing and burdensome problem, because it is so obvious and off-putting. Acne can be defined as red eruptions on the skin, sometimes filled with a white substance, causing itchiness and pain. The most common form of acne is called acne vulgaris or puberty spots.

Acne vulgaris can be described as follows: … an inflammatory disease of the skin, caused by changes in the pilosebaceous units (skin structures consisting of a hair follicle and its associated sebaceous gland) . Acne lesions are commonly referred to as pimples, spots or zits – [source: Wikipedia]. It is an upsetting problem that we do not seem to have much control over. However, there are different manners in which to treat acne: you can try medication from a skin specialist or you can try home or natural remedies.

Home remedies are less time consuming, less costly and have no side effects. However, they do require a bit more patience, because certain routines have to be followed diligently in order to get rid of the problem for good. A natural cure for acne is just as efficacious as medication. Here are a few home remedies to cure your acne. To start with, your daily consumption of water ought to be a minimum of eight to ten glasses. This helps you to detoxify your system and destroy the harmful bacteria that cause acne.

A surfeit of oily food also leads to acne, therefore fried and spicy food should be strictly avoided. A near complete abstinence of fried and fatty food will have a notable, beneficial effect on an outbreak of acne. Furthermore, including chromium and zinc in your diet also helps to eradicate acne. There should be the correct combination of nutrition and skin care.

A solution of ground nutmeg with fresh milk regularly daubed on the afflicted area also helps to eradicate acne. Cinnamon powder and honey is just as effective in curing acne. Boiled Neem tree leaves applied to acne acts as a disinfectant. [Neem is a tall, usually evergreen East Indian tree (Azadirachta indica) widely cultivated in tropical Asia for its timber, resin, bitter bark, and aromatic seed oil, which is used medicinally and as an insecticide (source = 'Free Online Dictionary')].

The afflicted area should be washed with special anti-acne soap a minimum of three or four times a day. Make-up must be religiously avoided when suffering from acne. Make-up makes acne worse. Acne should never be squeezed as it may cause infection or / and make it spread. Squeezing your acne may also lead to permanent marks on your skin, which leaves your skin looking unsightly. Don’t let your hair fall onto the acne-infected area either.

Your hair should be kept tied back to prevent touching the acne. Pillow cases should be washed on a daily basis to prevent the germ spreading. The regular cleansing of your skin should be done to keep it free from bacteria. Apart from this, a healthy lifestyle should be followed with a proper, balanced diet, exercise and sleep. Remember if you take good care of yourself, ailments will have trouble affecting you, especially a small thing like as acne!

Some people have to try to make your life miserable, if you let them. It was obvious to everyone that I looked and felt better, but some people just have to try to spoil it. I was told: lots of people have died of kidney or liver failure after being on Atkins I read it in the newspaper; you will have a heart attack, it’s not natural; your cholesterol will climb sky high and you will need your toes amputated or you will have a stroke; it will affect your eyesight. All sorts of rubbish. So, I went to see my GP, who admitted that he did not know anything about the Atkins diet, but he also added that he had heard nothing bad about it either. He sent me for a series of tests at the hospital and the results were all satisfactory. He was happy that I’d lost 18 lbs and so was I. Six weeks later, I went for another cholesterol check-up, because of the high fat levels in the diet and, although my cholesterol level was up very slightly, the doctor said there was no cause for concern at all.

The book warns that you might suffer from bad breath (halitosis). I don’t know whether I did or not – no-one mentioned it, but I started brushing my teeth four or five times a day just in case. I guess that’s another benefit of Atkins: increased awareness of oral hygiene. It also warns of constipation. I didn’t get that either, although I didn’t give up black coffee, which has always had a laxative effect on me. But how can you become constipated if you’re allowed to eat well over 1lb of greens a day? I wasn’t eating that well before the diet! So my two main concerns were unfounded.

After a couple of weeks I was getting bored. Not with the diet, but because I’m single and am used to going to the pub (and drinking beer). So, I decided to treat this scientifically. One day, after work, I had three pints of Guinness and felt great. Before the diet, I would have drunk five or six to feel the same. To my delight, the next morning the ketone sticks told me that I was still ‘on the diet’. Over the following weeks, I thoroughly enjoyed checking out what would ‘work’ and what would not. I found that cider is a complete no-no. Some beers and some lagers are OK. Red and white wine are OK. Consuming alcohol does not knock you off the diet, but it slows your rate of progress. But even slow progress is progress, I say. Better than giving up the diet.

Don’t let people encourage you to ‘just have a little bit’. They don’t understand or don’t want to understand the trouble they’re causing you. One’s body can hold two days worth of carbohydrates: one square of chocolate, one slice of bread, a bowl of cornflakes or one sugar in your coffee will cost you TWO days to clear out of your system. Don’t let people do it to you. This is not a diet that you can stop and start when you like, in fact I think that it probably could be dangerous to keep allowing your ketone and other levels to fluctuate wildly. There are also the high fat levels in the content of the Atkins diet, which is not dangerous if you keep to it, because you body devours fat and cholesterol in the absence of carbohydrates.

That is the story so far, with me having got down to under 16 stone and keeping it there until very recently when I moved to the Far East to live. The food is so different here, but once I get used to the food and have my own house and own kitchen, I will get down to 15 stone, I’m sure I will ” without any real effort.

Well, there you have it … My grateful thanks to you, Mr. Blackwell, wherever you are these days, you changed my life and my understanding of food and drink with that book and thank you, Mr. Atkins too.