"Have I seen the Atkins diet work? Yes. During an interview in Parshall, N.D., a few months ago, I didn't recognize a man who only a few years before had been grossly overweight. I knew him in high school and then as a champion fancy dancer (American Indian dancer), when he was fit as an Olympic athlete. Over the years, he'd gained weight - but when I saw him in Parshall that day, I would guess he had lost more than half of himself. His diet? Atkins.

My cousin brother started the diet a few months ago, too. He is down 50 pounds and looking good.

My sister, Marilyn, who is a nurse in New Town, N.D., liked the diet, too. Historically, she said, Indian people ate high-protein diets. That protein, incidentally, usually was game, which is low in fat. We can see that fat was prized by some of the American Indian words for fat; the words tend to be good or at least benign. I'm guessing that's because we didn't get much fat game out on the prairies."

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: What's not to love about Atkins diet? (The Grand Forks Herald 2/14)

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