The Atkins Diet. According to scientific logic, if you increase your fat intake, you get fatter, your cholesterol levels rise and you are more likely to suffer a heart attack. Yet eating more fat - while cutting out carbohydrates - is precisely what is advised by the controversial Atkins diet. Following studies suggesting that the diet actually lowers cholesterol levels, Horizon investigated the apparent paradox - and came up with some surprising conclusions. Producers Jackie Higgins. Sophie Harris ; Edrtor Matthew Barrett