This video is again a reactionary video to a prompt made to me in a vegan video. One of the reasons I enjoy the discussion with vegans is because it makes sure I eliminate the things I feel and replaces with things I know. The comment was: Bowulf, I am afraid you and? I are going to disagree on this one. Can you offer any honest peer reviewed long term study which shows what you are claiming for the Atkins diet?

First a foreword there is a wealth of short term studies out there, whose results or findings could certainly be extrapolated to suggest long term results. I have mentioned these studies quite often in other videos, but I can understand how some people might be waiting for the other shoe to drop. In fact, one person said you wont see the true effects for five years, which seemed rather the red herring.

One of the problems with long term studies is two fold. For some long term studies, they often turn out to be epidemiological studies or studies of large groups of people. While there are some really good studies, there are some really horrible ones. They often breed bias in researchers on what to look for or variables to consider. The second problem is self-reporting. While it might be possible to control or be diligent in recording ones eating patterns for 2-3 or even 6 months, carrying it over 24 or 60 months seems impossible. You are thereby left with people self-reporting how they are eating.

Here are the studies:
Two years:
Carbohydrate-restricted diet for obesity and related diseases: an update (2008)
Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet.
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/359/3/229

Three years:
Long-term consumption of a carbohydrate-restricted diet does not induce deleterious metabolic effects.(3yrs)
Studied the low carb Optimal Diet and the risk factors for cardiovascular disease did not increase.
http://www.nrjournal.com/article/S0271-5317%2808%2900213-...

Long-Term Outcome of the Ketogenic Diet for Intractable Childhood Epilepsy (3 years)
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstrac...

Four years: (44 months)
Low-carbohydrate diet in type 2 diabetes" by Jörgen V Nielsen and Eva A Joensson.
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/5/1/14

Twelve years:
Long-term use of the ketogenic diet in the treatment of epilepsy
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?from...

Twenty years:
N Engl J Med. 2006 Nov 9;355(19):1991-2002.
Low-carbohydrate-diet score and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. (less info)