Dieters, beware. That slim-down regimen you're trying may be going against God's plan.
This week colorful televangelist Pat Robertson took aim at popular low-carb diets like the Atkins Diet and slammed such plans as ultimately unhealthy and as violations of God's principles.
The subject was broached during Monday's episode of Robertson's "The 700 Club" program on the Christian Broadcasting Network. The segment included a story about Jimmy Moore, a formerly obese man who was able to lose 180 pounds in one year by cutting out carbohydrates like bread and loading up on proteins and fats, like eggs, cheese, butter, coconut oil and bacon.
Apparently taking issue with Moore's story, Robertson told viewers that he disagrees with the Atkins Diet, which he believes can lead to inflammation, gout and “violates the principles that God set down.”
"You get all kinds of problems where you ache like crazy," Robertson said of the diet. "That's the truth of it, if you don't have some carbs in there. The carbs are the fire that burns everything."
According to the Mayo Clinic, gout can be caused or exacerbated by an Atkins-like diet high in animal proteins, saturated fat and combined with rapid weight loss. A link between Atkins and gout is the subject of some debate among community boards on the Atkins website.
Robertson, who does not generally talk about dieting during his program, later turned to a more typical subject, Muslims, alleging that Halal food helps fund terrorism.
Some of Robertson's inflammatory claims in the past included joking that a man should convert to Islam in order to beat his wife, that family members should pray over Goodwill sweaters to eradicate any stray demons and (most recently) that gay men have been known to wear special rings to purposefully infect straight Americans with HIV.
(Hat tip, Right Wing Watch)