Cholesterol-free diet debated once again

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

The Karatay diet suggests eating lamb chops and steak. Hürriyet photo

Turkey is currently being influenced by a controversial diet developed by Turkish Cardiology Association President Canan Efendigil Karatay. Some doctors are concerned about the diet, which suggests eating red meat and eggs and avoiding the consumption of cholesterol pills, predicting it may cause heart attacks.

Daily Hürriyet health writer Osman Müftüoğlu addressed this issue in his column. He said Karatay suggested a high protein and a high cholesterol diet.

Müftüoğlu cited cardiologist Murat Kınıkoğlu’s criticisms of the diet in his article. “The Karatay diet has more wrongs than rights,” the doctor said. The diet could help people to lose weight in the short term but may cause heart attacks, according to Kınıkoğlu. The Karatay diet suggests eating lamb chops and steak, which can contribute to a rise in the body’s level of cholesterol.

“We all like taking suggestions about what to eat,” Kınıklıoğlu said. “The Karatay diet, however, suggests eating too much. We all know that eating less, not more, is the sustainable way for people to lose weight.” Even though some people are very satisfied with the diet, they do not realize inflammation within the body will increase. “This could elevate the risk of suffering from blocked arteries,” Kınıkoğlu said.

Kınıkoğlu warned that if people participating in the diet were analyzed over a long period of time the results would show that they had harmed themselves. He also predicted that as a result, “death rates might increase within five to 10 years” and said he was not the only health professional aware of this “reality.”

He compared the Karatay diet content to that of the Atkins diet. Both encourage people to consume protein while limiting consumption of refined carbohydrates and refined sugars. k HDN