While low carb diets have been subjected to some of the most heated debates in history, research continues to show that it lives up to the hype. Research was conducted in 2002 by Duke University to determine the efficiency of the low carb diet. Not only did Duke University researchers find that the diet was effective, they also found that it could provide substantial weight loss, and this weight loss could be sustained over a significant time period. While low carb diets have become popular in recent years, they have been the subject of debate for nearly thirty years.

The low carb diets fail out of favor during the 1970s, and they begin to see a resurgence in popularity by the end of the 1990s and early 2000s. While the research from Duke showed positive results, the research on the low carb diets are ongoing. However, for Dr. Atkins and people who have used the diet successfully, there is nothing to debate. When the diet is used properly, the diet will work. During the Duke study, a group of participants were placed on the low carb diet for about six months. Each day, they weren’t allowed to consume more than 25 grams of carbohydrates.

The participants were allowed to eat as much meat as they wanted, and they could eat eggs as well. They were also allowed to eat vegetables such as cauliflower and broccoli. Of the total number of people who took part in the study, over 80 percent were shown to completely follow the diet program for the full six months, and they lost about 10 percent of their body weight on average. The typical participant of this study was able to lose about 20 pounds over the six month period. While the researchers were impressed with the results, they also said that they couldn’t measure the long term safety of the diet plan.

One thing that researchers noticed is that every participant got ketonuria. This can be described as a large number of ketones that are present in the urine. The number of ketones found in the average participant’s urine was equal to a person who had went days without eating. While it was impossible for the researchers to determine was this meant, ongoing research will show how healthy the diet is over the long term. While there is not question that the diet works in the short, the long term effects remain to be seen.