Dying for a Bacon-Wrapped Cheeseburger

Saying "he was seduced 'with a bacon-wrapped cheeseburger'," Florida millionaire Jody Gorran filed a lawsuit against Atkins Nutritionals and the estate of the late Dr. Atkins. Gorran required surgery to open a 99 percent blocked coronary artery after following the high-fat, high-protein Atkins diet for two years. In addition to $28,000 in damages, Gorran is "seeking an injunction to prevent [Atkins Nutritionals] from selling their products, books, or having their website without a warning, because they know one-third of the people on the diet will have what Atkins referred to as 'less favorable cholesterol'." The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which Atkins Nutritionals called an "extremist animal rights vegan group," is assisting with the lawsuit. Atkins Nutritionals called the suit a "scare tactic ... designed to convince the American public to stop eating animal protein of any sort."