This means talking crap - I'm good at that..... read on!

The main troubles for kidneys: With the recommended amounts of water you're supposed to drink, they start to work harder, flushing stuff out. Combined with the 'cold turkey' at the beginning, this means a lot of toxins go with it. It is VITAL that you keep drinking copious amounts of water during Induction - that will help get the toxins out quicker. This is probably the most likely stage for any problems to be highlighted.

Many people find this diet quite constipating at first(see, told you it was crap talk!) so again, drink the water. If desperate, ease the situation with the branmeal drink mix recommended in the book or with your prefered laxative, as long as it keeps within the carbohydrate levels suggested. Vary the things you eat, add some greens, olives or more nuts rather than just give up, the kidneys usually sort themselves out after a few days. If they don't sort after 3-5 days, consult your doctor.

Once you're past induction and your body has got used to the change in proteins it has to process, you may find the opposite happening. Again, keep drinking water so that you don't dehydrate.

The trick is to find the balance between what you eat so that you don't experience the worst ravages, but end up with a nice, gentle, predictable experience. This is one of the problems with using sweeteners. Atkins has an almost pathalogical fear of sweeteners containing aspartame, recommending saccharin above all others, but there are many people who experience severe stomach upsets with saccharin. Many don't link the two, thinking that it has to be some dodgy meat or an off oeuf. Experiment and see which food does it for you, and then try to limit or remove that item that's all I can say. If it continues for 3-5 days, consult your doctor.

And talking of oeufs, it is simply not true that eating eggs every day will cause the first problem (eggs again, I'll be bound).

If you keep drinking the water, try to identify any 'trigger' food that causes the second problem and vary your allowed foods, you should be OK. Should any problem continue for more than 3-5 days or become acute, consult a doctor. Any blood in any 'by-product' should be investigated immediately.

It has to be said that kidney function is the one major stumbling block that most other Drs have with Atkins - but as has been said above, the long term benefits such as weight loss, regulated blood sugar and good cholesterol far outweigh the short term discomforts. Keep consulting with your doctor, investigate any changes and you will be fine. Good luck!

LTS