Slimmers should avoid the Atkins diet during the current hot weather or risk endangering their health, a number of Irish nutritionists have warned.
As temperatures reached highs of 28 degrees yesterday, Ms Pauline Dunne, of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, warned people following the diet. When temperatures are so high, they could be forcing their bodies into extreme dehydration.
Ms Dunne is a Mullingar-based nutritionist specialising in - among other conditions - heart disease, diabetes and gut or bowel problems .
The Atkins diet, much loved and popularised by such celebrities as Robbie Williams, Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Aniston, bans bread, pasta, rice, fruit and potatoes, in favour of meats, eggs, fish and cheese.
Ms Dunne said that during periods when temperatures were high, the body needed more energy to cool down. "It is much more difficult for the body to break down proteins. Carbohydrates are a more efficient fuel, they are the body's chosen fuel, and forcing the body to rely on proteins will put it under strain. It is much more difficult again in hot weather.
"That will put strain on the renal system which, in extreme cases, could cause kidney failure."
Ms Rita Holcroft, a dietician in the Louth area specialising in heart disease, coeliac disease and general healthy eating, said a lack of carbohydrates in hot weather would leave a person "feeling weak and unwell".
Their views come as the British Nutrition Foundation issues its advice to people on the Atkins diet to come off it during the current heatwave.
Dr Sarah Schenker, spokeswoman for the foundation, said that when the body metabolised food, it generated heat. The fact that it has to work harder to metabolise protein meant it was producing more heat.
"People on the diet could have problems," she said. "My advice would be to avoid the Atkins diet in hot weather."
The Atkins diet, devised by American Dr Robert Atkins over 30 years ago, has sold millions of copies worldwide.
