Dr. Oz, who I’ve been reading up on, calls Paleo the “alterna-Atkins”. People have asked me repeatedly how the Paleo diet is different from Atkins. While there are similarities between the diets – namely that they’re both considered low carb – there are many differences. This is my attempt at succinctly laying these differences out for all to see.
1. Atkins doesn’t give a hoot about where your meat comes from.
You could be eating the most factory-farmed, GMO-infested, pesticide-laden, corn-fed, antibiotic-laced, omega 6-mongering beef, and the good people at Atkins won’t blink an eye. Same with their eggs. They just want you eating lots of protein and fat, and very few carbs. However, to their credit they say you should “steer clear of cold cuts and other meats with added nitrates”.
On the other hand, Paleo diet/Primal goers have a high regard for their meat quality. Pasture-raised and grass-fed is best for its nutrient levels and fatty acid composition. Plus, it’s better for the animal, the environment and those animals are more sustainable to raise. Moreover, it’s closest to what our genes are expecting.
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2. Atkins makes a lot of their money on their “products”, like their Atkins Advantage Caramel Chocolate Peanut Nougat bar, the ingredients and nutrition facts of which are below. Click on the image to enlarge… if you dare.
As you can see, not much regard for the quality of ingredients here. It’s funny to me that just about the same nutritional facts (fat, protein, carbs, sugar) can be found in a Larabar, which contains about 3 or 4 ingredients – all totally recognizable and all totally Paleo. There’s no reason to eat these bars full of processed corn, wheat, peanuts, soy, sugar, and artificial flavorings, artificial sweeteners, and poisonous colorings. But they sure do make a lot of money on them…
The closest the Paleo/Primal community comes to this kind of trash is, well, we don’t. Let’s see… Paleo vendors are selling meat, 4 ingredient trail mixes, basically homemade baked goods? Nothing even comes close to the Atkins Advantage bars.
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3. Atkins advocates eating vegetable oils. Here’s their list of acceptable fats that I found here:
Butter
Mayonnaise – make sure it has no added sugar
Olive oil
Vegetable oils – Those labeled “cold pressed” or “expeller pressed” are especially good and olive oil is one of the best.
Canola*
Walnut
Soybean*
Grape seed*
Sesame
Sunflower*
Safflower*
*Do not allow any oils to reach overly high temperatures when cooking. Use olive oil for sautéing only. Use walnut or sesame oil to dress cooked veggies or salad, but not for cooking.
At least they tell you not to cook those oils on “overly high temperatures”, whatever that means. But sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, soybean, and other vegetable oils like corn are overly processed with chemicals and heat. They’re often hydrogenated, but there’s no mention of that in their guidelines. The biggest problem here is that these oils are brimming with omega 6 fatty acids, which promote inflammation.
The Paleo/Primal guidelines are clear: don’t eat too many omega 6 fatty acids. In fact, don’t eat any in the form of sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, soybean, corn, or other vegetable oils. Fewer omega 6′s, less chronic inflammation. Less chronic inflammation means less heart disease, joint pain, skin problems, diabetes, and the list goes on and on.
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4. Atkins advocates the use of Splenda and other artificial sweeteners, as found on their list of things to eat page here.
On the other hand, the Paleo/Primal world suggests you stay away from those chemicals, since many people are sensitive to the phenylalanine in aspartame. There are studies now that suggest that eating artificially sweetened foods can increase your appetite for sweet foods (eating sweets begets eating sweets), and thus make you fat. There are also studies that suggest a link between artificial sweeteners and neurological disorders, including migraines and possibly seizures. Enough said.
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5. Atkins is fine with grains.
In phases 4 and 5 (of 5 phases), you’re allowed to eat a certain amount of oatmeal, whole wheat products, and brown rice. But we all know that grains beget cravings for more grains, and furthermore, even a small serving of grains can make a lot of people feel terrible. No wonder Atkins isn’t a very sustainable diet. They take you off these foods, which caused the problem in the first place, and then let you eat them again once you’ve lost the weight? Grains very often cause gut permeability, which causes all kinds of inflammatory conditions and symptoms. That’s part of the main premise of eating Paleo, so I won’t go into it now. But here’s a blog post for further reading if you’re new to this.
If there’s anything about Paleo that really hits home for people, it’s that grains make them feel bad. Whether it’s digestive problems, skin flare-ups, joint pain or whatever, they just don’t work for most people’s genetic make-up. So Paleo takes those foods out. Forever.
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12 Comments
Jim Purdy
YOU SAID:
“If there’s anything about Paleo that really hits home for people, it’s that grains make them feel bad.”
That is indeed the case with me. I can’t exactly explain the feeling I get, but I just feel bad all over.
Jennifer Moore
Paleo for 3 months… feeling better than I can EVER remember (I’m 49)
Have read the paleo books. Now reading “wheat belly”.
Give yourself a gift. Read it. And understand why you feel better without
the wheat!!!
Mike
I like this article for breaking down the differences between Atkins and the Paleo Diet. I would have prefered a more objective view because I am interested in the Paleo diet but am unable to find grass-fed meats, which is probably why Atkins is more popular.
Neely
Mike – Try searching on http://www.eatwild.com for grass-fed and pasture raised meats in your area. Good luck!
csimmons
You obviously don’t know much about the Atkins Diet, or at least the original book written by Doctor Atkins in 2002. In the book he stresses quite clearly and often that processed meats are not allowed. Also, non-starchy vegetables are not only allowed, but strongly encouraged, just like in the Paleo Diet. Non-starchy fruits are also allowed, although in the later phases. He even mentions – quite often, actually – that Atkins is based in part on what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate – just like the Paleo Diet.
Fact is, Atkins and Paleo are more similar than they are different. That the company Dr. Atkins founded now only seems to push processed, prepackaged garbage is unfortunate, but it doesn’t negate the fact that the Atkins Diet has helped millions of people lose weight (including me) and keep it off, with no significant side effects.
I’m very interested in the Paleo way of eating and will more than likely structure my diet around it’s principles, since I want to cut dairy and certain grains.
J Crawford
I have read and tried the Atkins diet with actually great success until it comes to adding the carbs back in gradually for the maintence phase. I have regained over the last few years, adding in more than just whole grains,lol. I am now going to try induction of Atkins style but also using some paleo concepts. Then when transitioning to maintenance I plan to use more paleo concepts by not adding in some of the allowed foods from maintenance and using more paleo foods there. Probably not going to give up dairy such as cheese though.
I was really shocked to see the first statement here though, that Atkins doesn’t give a hoot about where your meat comes from. Having read his books I can testify that he absolutely encouraged hormone free, antibiotic free, organic meats, and free range poultry and eggs whenever possible. You will find that in his book Age Defying Diet in the section titled “select safe foods” , where he also addresses genetically modified and irradiated foods. I also have used his cookbooks which will specify things such as nitrate free, etc. So even though it is not as much the focus of Atkins plan as the Paleo, it is there.
Jamie z
I have been diagnosed 3 years now with RA/SLE crossover with signifigant unfounded chronic stomach problems and hypoglycemia. I have been living a healthy lifestyle my whole life as a model and actress at a young age i have stayed trim and fit. It wasnt until my daughter at the age of 14 started developing similar problems that I began to really take a look at our diets. Mind you at the age of 30 I did try the Atkins diet but it never had any positive affect on my medical conditions. When I came across the thought process of the paleo diet things started to make sense to me. We started following it very closely and within 1 week the digestional problems I experienced for a LIFETIME were gone! My energy with 6 autoimmune diseases is double and although I was not even close to being heavy both my daughter and I lost a healthy 10-12 lbs in 2 months time. There is no sugar or carb cravings. In fact eating them makes us both ill almost instantly now. I have talked to several doctors in various medial institutions who are monitoring this diet closely and who truly see a difference in my bloodwork, my innflamation, weight, and disease progression. I have even been able to ween off of some of the medications and hopefully more to come. Im not saying its a miracle. Im saying its common sense. I eat what was put here for me to eat. I raise my eggs and my veggies. I shop for grassfed lean meats when possible and i eat balanced. Fruits veggies meat. We make breads out of almonds and coconut. We make ice creamish products. But i will never ever go back and for a 14 year old teenage girl who is socially active to hang out with friends and look at a bag of chips and say to her friends ” no thanks want to try my kale chips “. And some sleepover just to eat because they love I cook from scratch and it taste amazing. If we could do this anyone can! With SLE some nights I could barely open a can of soup I had no energy or time running her from here to there with dance competitions. But we live different now remember ” you are what you eat. Dont be cheap, easy and fast”. And also “if you cant pronounce it dont put it in your mouth”. One more thought. The other day I had mustard with meat I was eating and recieved a comment from someone snuckering “real paleo” I said actaually it is I made it and listed my ingredients. I said i see you are eating pickles what is in those? He listed his ingredients. Not all too bad until he got to calcium chloride etc .. I said that sounds delicious. And his comment was ” its salt its on the periodic table”. I said really wow i dont remember it. Lets google that. After 10 minutes we found it is salt in fact. The very same salt they use for snow removal or in oil tanks and septic tanks. And can be used in food. I dont know about you but if I am going to eat salt of any kind its not going to be one that has not been found to be potentialy dangerous to humans thus far and was made in a lab Ill stick to the one mother nature has put here for us. I mean I dont see anyone kn the roads licking the pavement. Just food for thought!
Alex
I don’t think you truly understand the atkins diet. I’ve done it before. If you READ THE BOOK you will know that atkins allows only whole grains in small, controlled portions after you lost the weight. You don’t go back to eating the crap you used to once you’ve lost the weight you wanted to lose. You still only get 20-60 carbs per day depending on what your body can tolerate without weight gain. Also, atkins doesn’t say you have to eat certain fats/oils. It has a list of acceptable ones and you can use whichever ones you want. It’s not like you’re eating safflower oil by the spoonful. As for artifical sweeteners, atkins does NOT allow aspartame. Splenda (or sucralose) is OK because the only way it is chemically modified is by turning sugar into something your body CAN’T digest. Splend has NEVER been linked, in any study whatsoever, to migranes, seizures or whatever. That’s aspartame and, I believe, Saccharin. Get your facts straight before telling people paleo is better for you. I’ve done the research. Paleo is not better for you.
Squire
@alex
I have followed the Atkins diet for years and agree with most of what you said. However Splenda actually has been linked to many side effects including migraines. It took me three years to figure out what kept making me feel like I was having a stroke. My entire left side would go completely numb and i started getting anxiety attacks! I had mri s and had to see a neurologist. He eventually said I was having atypical migraines caused by some kind of allergen. I finally figured out it was the fruit flavoured water sweetened with Splenda that I had been drinking. Within a month after cutting it out of my diet I didn’t have another episode. That stuff is poison!
Cabert
I just wanted to add my 2 cents regarding Splenda as well. I was using it in my coffee every day and started having some bizarre symptoms. I was having vertigo spells where I felt like my whole body was moving in different directions and like I was falling when I was actually not moving at all. I also had arm and leg numbness. After a neurologist, 2 cardiologists, and an MRI to rule out MS failed to diagnose anything, I finally figured out it was the Splenda when I had more than usual in a day and had a really bad vertigo spell about 15 minutes later.
I stopped using Splenda, and within about 3 weeks the vertigo went away. The numbness took a couple months to go away, but it finally did as well. I thought it was “just modified sugar,” but I wouldn’t wish that stuff on my worst enemy.
K K
Atkins foes not say eat vegatable oils or chemically enhanced meats anymore than automakers say speed by supplying cars that CAN GO OVER THE SPEED LIMIT. Atkins says you can eat and stay within parameters. You decide the quality. I feel sorry for this gal.
jsdavis
JCrawford and csimmons have it summed up. This really isn’t an objective view on the difference at all. The main points being that Dr. Atkins wrote the book (the original in 2002),and it was an amazing program. After his death, the name is just stamped on things and put out as “Atkins health foods” to make money. Like someone else said, that’s shame, but if you really did more research into the diet, you would realize that these two diets really do have more in common than you realize.
For some people, always buying the best, all natural, perfect, no additives, free range chicken or beef isn’t always affordable. There are still affordable options, and you can still lose weight and be healthy, but some of us don’t have that extra money to put into buying the top of the line products at our local health food store. Either way, both WOE’s are valid. You just need to find what works best for you. I’ve never felt better than I do being on Atkins, and it’s the only WOE that has worked for me to get the weight off and keep it off. It might be better for others to choose Paleo, but either way, that decision should be made with objective advice and lots of information…not just a little.