New York Times
>May 15, 2005
>Low Carbs? Who Cares? Sugar Is Latest Supermarket Demon
>By MELANIE WARNER
>
>Last summer, as the low-carbohydrate dieting craze began to fade,
>executives at Stonyfield Farms decided they had to make a change to
>their Moove Over Carbs yogurt.
>
>What they came up with was simple and painless: In January, they pulled
>Moove Over Carbs from the shelves, and this month, Moove Over Sugar
>takes its place. Except for the name, the product remains exactly the
>same - sugars are, after all, also carbs. Both yogurts contain a sugar
>substitute and have at least 40 percent fewer calories than Stonyfield
>Farm's regular flavored varieties.
>
>Low-sugar has become the new low-carb.
Great! If nothing else, at least Atkins finally woke up the dumb American consumers to the fact that low-fat is meaningless, if the food is stuffed chock-full of sugar!
Actually, the Atkins "craze" isn't dead at all. What's dead are the crappy products that tried to capitalize on it. They didn't do what they claimed they did and were rejected wholesale.
People say the low-carb thing is past and gone when the reality is that there are still many, many people doing it. What's not happening is the purchase of snacks and other foods being hustled as low in carbohydrates when they really aren't. Low-carbers didn't fall for the same kind of hype that low fat dieters bought. It's easier to track results with low carb.
The fact that those products didn't succeed isn't an indication that the idea is dead; it's that the products didn't deliver what they promised and were quickly dropped. Pastas that tasted like old socks and felt like plastic. Chocolates made with maltitol that were ostensibly low carb but mostly succeeded in being wonderful laxatives. Cereals peddled as LC were low*er* than most cereals. But not low. Same with smoothies, frozen entrees, meal replacement bars, and a million other products. The real indicator is that the bread and pasta manufacturers are still reporting much lower sales than a few years ago.
So people who are genuinely concerned with maintaining a lower carb intake just went back to whole foods. Fish, meats (relatively small portions), cheeses (full-fat or not), green beans, chicken, broccoli, tofu, cauliflower, black soy beans, cabbage, etc. These foods (and this is just the tip of a large culinary iceberg) combined with other ingredients higher in carbs still can be the elements of a reduced carb regimen.
Not every dish has to be low in carbs, just every day.
I'll give Atkins credit for trying to shut down refined sugar consumption, but replacing sugar with artificial sweetners is not the answer.
Many of the crappy products were Atkins' approved. The Atkins
*industry* (and that's what it is) shouldn't have allowed these companies to use the Atkins name/symbol. But that just goes to show you, again, that the Atkins diet is only about making his empire more money... because the diet certainly isn't about health.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with carbs. It's only about the
*quality* of those carbs. Just as it is with fats and protein.
This level of tight-lipped intensity doesn't lead anywhere. Reduction of sugar consumption is one topic. Another is whether to replace it with anything. Another is whether to use artificial sweeteners. And, as in virtually everything, YMMV.
In human nutrition, there is no *the* question, so there can be no *the* answer. I note that you offer no suggestion.
*Some* of the crappy products. And some of the good ones. I see that balance isn't important.
Give it a rest. *NO* diet is about health. It's about losing weight. But this virulence offers no information beyond condemnation.
Atkins is dead. Whatever is being done since his death is out of his control. He wrote books. That's how he benefitted from his ideas.
Your logic is absurd. If some commercial managers are trying to exploit an idea, it doesn't make the idea bad.
Nah. There's nothing wrong with carbs. Period. They're valid and vital parts of our nutrition. Consuming less carbohydrate is an option for seeking specific results. Deciding which is a personal issue, not, as you imply, a foregone conclusion.
Save your spittle-flecked, white-knuckle sermons for when you become a TV evangelist. Given the state of knowledge about human nutrition and the differences between us all, any claims to having The Truth about it is pure folly. That finger is pointing at you. NoOption, indeed...
You're right that the "craze" is dead, but not the attraction of this really good diet. I believe the latest numbers say that something like
8% of dieters are on low-carb. For me it's the only diet that works, but I'm not doing anything really restrictive. I'm fortunate enough that I can maintain my wait even eating a LOT of fruits and vegetables. For me low-carb simply means "reduced carbs": no potatoes more than once a week, no deserts, no bread or pasta. I've been on this mix for a year and a half and I'm not gaining any weight anymore, like I was when I was on low-fat diets.
ROFL!!! Too damned true! It's so very easy to avoid carbs by just educating one's self about food and learning to cook! One of my fellow low-carb co-workers was discussing cooking and recipes with me at work the other day. He commented that this type of eating forced us to really learn to cook and to become more creative in the kitchen.
Both of us are enjoying food far more now than we EVER did when we went with the usual starch based common american diet.
Brunch today was a fritatta made with sliced rehydrated shitake mushrooms, celery and onions with ginger, garlic, dill and lemon pepper sauteed in the skillet until the onions cleared. To that I added scrambled duck eggs mixed with shredded jack cheese. I folded that in until the egg was starting to set up well, topped with shredded mozarella, put the skillet lid on and turned the heat off. Let it rest for about 10 minutes until the additional cheese topping melted.
Served it by itself with a small glass of burgundy. ;-d
I checked out the numerous "low carb" items that were supposed to satisfy our craving for "naughty" foods and, granted, they were lower in carbs than their normal counterparts but still WAY way too high in carbs to qualify as truly "low carb". I try to keep my carbs below 25 grams per day.
My only cheat is a very good low carb flour tortilla from HEB. They have
8 grams each which is well within limits. I restrict myself to 2 per day when I am in the mood for tacos or sandwiches.
The people marketing the "low carb" (really still too high carb) items were clueless as usual. And Atkins low carb candy bars tasted like sh**. Too easy to make good sweet items myself with Splenda if I have a sweet attack.
Last night it was lemon butter cream frosting with Splenda. ;-d I took one fresh lemon and washed it well, zested and juiced it into a bowl. Added 1 stick of butter and one 8 oz. package of cream cheese. Nuked it to soften it and beat it until well mixed. Added 6 packets of splenda, then refrigerated it and split it into 6 servings.
Yum!
They were underestimating the determination of low carbers. And if it tastes like crap, I'm not going to eat it! Mission brand low carb tortillas are a good example! Not really all that low at 12 grams each and they taste like cardboard. The HEB brand had only 8 grams each (4 grams net) and actually taste like the real thing.
I have yet to find a good low carb pasta. I substitute shredded bamboo shoots if I'm desparate for something to eat with tomato sauce... Spagetti squash is also great, if and when I can find it! :-(
In other words, real food. ;-D
Black soy beans? That's not one I'm familiar with. Do tell?
I saw cans of black soy beans in a supermarket and read the label. Seemed too good to be true, so I called the company and asked a lot of questions. Eden products. I spoke with a pleasant and knowledgeable woman who read me the lab reports about the nutritional analyses they had had done. Blew me away. Because of labeling laws, the numbers on the can are all rounded in the directions mandated, up or down. The real numbers are better than the ones on the can. And they're very good for low carbing. Comes to 3.5 grams net carb in a 15-ounce can.
Here's a rather full description:
I've taken to buying big bags of dry beans and cooking my own (and giving some to other people who might be interested).
Cheaper and I can make them taste however I want. Put them in soups. Cook them into whatever form I want. Refried beans. Chili with beans. Use them in pureed soups as thickeners (not from starch; just from texture). Eat them cold with a vinaigrette. Or just plain with a dab of butter, drop of lemon juice.
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