May 11, 2007

Atkins Dieters: Beware of Flashing Lights

Crabby has always been unreasonably suspicious of the Atkins diet. Apparently it's gotten much more sensible over the years, and it works for a lot of people.

Still, Crabby remembers all those early Atkins adherents who ordered plates of bacon and eggs and butter-covered steaks, scrupulously avoiding innocent food like carrots and apples. Sure, they dropped lots of weight fast but they looked so miserable. Any diet that deprives one of the occasional slice of bread or chocolate cupcake does not rank high on Crabby's list.

So forgive her if she found herself amused by this item, which reports an unfortunate possible side effect of the Atkins diet:

It could get you tossed in the pokey for a DUI.

Apparently the excess blood ketones that result from an incomplete breakdown of fats can be converted in the liver to alcohol, and can cause a false-positive blood alcohol test in someone who hasn't been drinking.

Do they serve no-carb ice cream in jail?


  1. Cool, but when are you going to be crabby? I am not putting you down, but with a name like Crabby McSlacker I was expecting a pissed-off klepto-maniac or hard-core pot-head with a bad attitude. You are much too polite for your name. You need to really live up to yourself and post a really bitchin' rant about something.

  2. I like Crabby just the way she is.

    Spider, quit being a bad influence!
    I heard about this because a pilot got in trouble and it turned out he was on the Atkins diet. Now, if the alcohol is made in the body, do you feel drunk? Should you be driving? I wonder, not enough to go in the Atkins diet mind you, I too am not into that type of sadistic toucher.

  3. Woah, woah, Spider!
    She's crabby, not raving mad!

  4. Hey Spidey, thanks for the visit. Yeah, okay, so not the Crabbiest Crab. (Though I think I went off on Women's Health Magazine in an earlier post, which would probably not be high on your list of must-read posts!) This Crab is more likely to grumble than to full-on rant.

    And thanks, Anonymous & Samantha, for the support!

    That's a good question, too, about whether the alcohol in the liver actually affects them. The article I saw wasn't too informative about that.


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