Howard Goodman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has written an editorial criticizing Jody Gorra, the Florida businessman who is suing the estate of Dr. Robert C. Atkins and Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. over his high cholesterol. Goodman has also dug up some dirt on the organization backing him.

bq. Gorran has told interviewers that he started the diet in 2001 because he’d gone from his usual 140 pounds to a whopping 148. He says he carefully read the 1999 book, Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution, and adhered to its advice even when his cholesterol shot up in two months from a nice, safe 146 to a dangerous 230. Did he stop? Did he see a doctor? No, the suit says, he just read the book’s reassurances, nodded his head and stuck with the diet. He kept at it for 2 1/2 years, until chest pains sent him to the doctor.

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The New York Times is reporting that a 53-year-old Florida man sued the estate of Dr. Robert C. Atkins and Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. on Wednesday. In the suit, which appears to be the first to involve the popular low-carb diet, the man claims that following the Atkins lifestyle for two years raised his cholesterol so much (from 146 to 230) that his arteries became clogged and required a medical procedure to clear them.

bq. The plaintiff, Jody Gorran, who is being assisted by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, an advocacy group that supports a vegan diet, is seeking $28,000 in damages. Mr. Gorran said he was using the suit to tell other people about the dangers of the diet and to have its promoters include warnings in books, other products and websites.

In responding to a request for comment, a representative for Atkins Nutritionals and the estate of Dr. Atkins said they stood by “the science that has repeatedly reaffirmed the safety and health benefits of Atkins.”