Celebrity followers: Halle Berry and Jennifer Aniston.

The Atkins diet has received praise and criticism in equal measure. The main aspect of Atkins is the intense reduction of carbohydrates- in the first two weeks of the diet, the ‘Induction’ phase, only 20g of ‘net’ carbohydrates can be consumed daily (the equivalent to a medium apple or orange). After the two weeks, carbohydrate limit increases slightly, but is still well below the recommended average.

Pros:

• Once you’ve got into the swing of the diet, it doesn’t require too much thought.
• There’s a heavy emphasis of finding your own carb intake, so the diet seems much more tailored than a ‘one-size fits all’ idea.

Cons:

• It takes a lot of fiddling and ‘trial and error’ to work out your carb intake- so you could end up putting weight back on, or becoming ill.
• The ‘Induction’ phase is difficult. Dieters often suffer ‘carb crashes’ after a few days and it can be very difficult to get all the nutrients you need on such a low carb diet.

Average meal: The average meal in Atkins often consists of a meat portion, some salad, eggs and vegetables. The aim is to keep carb intake low, and protein intake high.

Written exclusively for The Life Dept | Live Longer | 27 October 2011.

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