TS: Suing McDonalds for making you fat -vs- Suing Atkins for blocking your arteries

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Dieter Sues Atkins Estate and Company
A 53-year-old man sued the estate of Dr. Robert C. Atkins and the company that promotes his diet yesterday. The suit says following the Atkins diet for two years raised the man's cholesterol so much that his arteries became clogged and required a medical procedure to open them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/27/national/27atkins.html?th

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I hate any of these kind of suits. No-one made you eat mcDonalds, the same as no-one forced you to follow the diet. Ppl always want to blame something/someone else.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, their argument is that they weren't warned of the dangers ...

But hell, even if you don't realize the *specific* dangers, any foo could guess that altering your body's chemistry may be risky...

the dumbfucks.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:36 (twenty-two years ago)

if i'm as dumb as that i'd sue the education system for making me thick

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:37 (twenty-two years ago)

he should have spared the court costs and had his gullet sewn shut.

― Chris 'The Velvet Bingo' V (Chris V), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:40 (twenty-two years ago)

man after near electrocution sues Franklin for discovering electricity

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:41 (twenty-two years ago)

There was a guy who tried to sue Miller Brewing (as a joke/example) because the bottles of beer he drank didn't warn him of the ill effects he would feel after consuming the product.

Actually, in light of the smoking suits, I don't know wht this case was laughed out of court. It makes about as much sense...

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:43 (twenty-two years ago)

But if you undertake a diet without looking into it properly, you cannot blame someone else when it has an adverse affect.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Area Man Researches Diet - Sues Library for Wasting his Time
Turns out, this diet is unhealthy. Now I've spent two hours of my life reading about something that will not benefit me. I want that time back. Reading! I was reading, for god's sake. It really hurt.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 27 May 2004 11:54 (twenty-two years ago)

You don't think companies have a duty to disclose health information about their products?

― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:05 (twenty-two years ago)

They do. Suing because they didn't disclose the arsenic in the pudding has merit. Suing because )although the label said contains 500g fat and 2000g sodium) "I didn't know that was bad for me" is shifting blame in the wrong place. (But there is a large gray area there...)

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Atkins is about increasing protein-intake so you don't feel as hungry, this doesn't mean you shouldn't also eat lots of F&V and do plenty of exercise. Lawsuits like this should not exist.

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:11 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm thinking of suing Al Gore for inventing the internet leading to me wasting time on ILX when I should be doing some work instead

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:12 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm suing you for writing that superfluous sentence. What a waste of time.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm suing you just because I feel like it

― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:16 (twenty-two years ago)

That causes me great emotional distress.
...
..
.
..
...
Countersuit.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:19 (twenty-two years ago)

The problem is evident with the Atkins diet. As far as I understand it, the diet promotes eating fried foods & red meat, but not eating carbs such as bread & pasta. it will undoubtedly help you lose weight, but a diet that specifies that you cannot eat fruit in the first 2 weeks sounds crazy to me.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Woah, this thread has become a Heineken advert.

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:24 (twenty-two years ago)

wasssssssuuuuuupppppppppppp

― ken c (ken c), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:28 (twenty-two years ago)

follow the law talkin' bear

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:31 (twenty-two years ago)

pinkpanther, apparently the diet promotes all food high in protein and suggests cutting out carbos entirely. i've not heard it suggests not eating F&Vm tho - obv. this is daft but surely common sense would lead most people to focus on the protein but maintaining an acceptable intake of F&V on the side

― stevem (blueski), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Not for the whole of the diet, but for the first 2 weeks as I said. I have looked into this diet at great length. It also specifies that it is not suitable to follow if you are vegetarian.

― Pinkpanther (Pinkpanther), Thursday, 27 May 2004 12:36 (twenty-two years ago)

http://atkins.com/howto/index.html

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 27 May 2004 13:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Does the Atkins diet make one's urine smell like solvent?

― Kris (aqueduct), Thursday, 27 May 2004 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

yes, like Tin spirit.

― ken c (ken c), Saturday, 29 May 2004 08:13 (twenty-two years ago)

i love bread. atkins must die. oh, wait...snap!

seriously though, i hate these fucking fad diets.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 29 May 2004 09:55 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm kind of disappointed that coke and pepsi are putting out "mid-calorie" colas (you know, "for people who think the harsh, corrosive chemicals in our diet colas have no flavor but think the harsh, corrosive chemicals in the classic variety are deeeeeeeelicious"). i like diet coke, but i don't understand why it's supposed to be any more disgusting than something as sickeningly sweet as coca-cola classic. when the mid-calorie colas fail, people's palates will still be the same and they'll just gain all the weight back with regular soda.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 29 May 2004 13:04 (twenty-two years ago)

this suit is stupid, of course. but still -- ANY diet that says, effectively, "eat whatever you want EXCEPT bread and potatoes" is a HUGE dud.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 29 May 2004 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Okay the Atkins suit seems a bit weird, but given McDonald's billions spent on priming children to become addicted to their food I fail to see how those lawsuits can be considered frivolous.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Saturday, 29 May 2004 16:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I think the atkins' lawsuit makes some sense, frankly; this diet is very contested in medical circles and if they're promoting as healthy a plan that can lead to disease, they need to be bitch-slapped. and it's not like he's suing them for millions.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 29 May 2004 16:57 (twenty-two years ago)

http://atkins.com/howto/index.html

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 29 May 2004 17:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Isn't doing Atkins bad for your heart?

While you may have heard that a diet high in saturated fat causes heart disease or atherosclerosis (arteries clogged with cholesterol-laden plaque), it is actually a diet high in sugar and other refined carbohydrates combined with fat that is the real villain. Once you eliminate the white flour, sugar and other nutrient-empty carbohydrates from your diet, the fat you consume in meat or from other sources is burned for fuel (lipolysis) and is not converted into cholesterol or other harmful blood fats. Independent clinical studies indicate that cholesterol and triglyceride levels drop significantly on Atkins and levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol, rise, often dramatically.

However, this does not mean the program gives you license to stuff yourself with multiple well marbled steaks or down a pound of cheese at a sitting. (Choose organic products whenever possible to avoid chemicals.) The beneficial fats you should be consuming include the monounsaturated fats in olives and olive oil, nuts and nut oils, avocados and the all-important omega-3 fats found in fatty fish such as salmon, herring and tuna. Avoid trans fats (food labels refer to them as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils). Found in packaged products such as crackers, bread, most margarines and commercially baked desserts and snacks, these fats have been found to pose a serious risk of cardiac disease, according to several studies.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 29 May 2004 17:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Atkins is not promoting an unhealthy diet (a totally insane one, yes, but that's a different story). If people are getting sick it's because they haven't bothered to read any of the information out there and are going by what their friends tell them the plan entails.

― stockholm cindy (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 29 May 2004 17:12 (twenty-two years ago)

no-carb, election 2004

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/blogphotos/Blog_CARB.gif

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 29 May 2004 18:10 (twenty-two years ago)

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