Low carb? Low fat? Y-NH site has answers
Where can you get the skinny on fat? Wheeling through the super grocery store, you pass low-carb, sugar-free, high-fiber, and reduced-fat products — and that’s just the cookie aisle.

There are bushels of diet books and a peck of magazine articles promising 10 steps to a size 4.

Fortunately, informed nutritional advice is now as close as a computer and a modem.

The online nutrition forum sponsored by Yale-New Haven Hospital is ready to answer queries on everything from food safety to gastric-bypass surgery.

Questioners can remain anonymous, and visitors to the site can review previous Q’s and A’s.

"The idea was that we wanted a place for people to get their nutrition questions answered," said Susann Kraska, one of three registered dietitians working the site.

"We hope we can reach a lot of people," she said.

The trio of nutrition experts will not address specific medical questions, and the site is not intended as a substitute for face-to-face health care.

Lisa Tartamella-Kimmel, outpatient nutrition coordinator at the hospital’s Nutrition Clinic, is moderator of the nutrition forum.

Generally, the goal is to encourage a well-balanced diet, she said. That means straightening out the diet fad confusion of the week or the month, she said.

Remember the grapefruit diet? The cabbage soup diet? The metabolism diet? The Russian air force diet? Scarsdale? South Beach? Creatine? Proline?

"Everybody’s looking for a quick fix and instant gratification," Tartamella-Kimmel said. "It’s hard, even for the savvy consumer, to separate fact from fiction."

Right now, people are so consumed with low-carbohydrate diets that they’re purchasing low-carb bread, low-carb peanut butter, low-carb pizza and other nonsensical foods, she said.

"A low-carb diet is not necessarily a balanced diet. People think carbs are ‘bad.’ Fruits and vegetables are almost all carb, and they’re healthful," Tartamella-Kimmel said.

The body squeezes energy out of carbohydrates, protein and fat. Cut carbohydrates and you may be headed toward heart disease and certain cancers, she said.

High-fat and high-protein meals take longer to digest, imparting a feeling of fullness, which may lead to consuming fewer calories, she said.

After the low-carb frenzy subsides, another physiologically fuzzy scheme will ascend, she said.

Losing weight requires a change in lifestyle. It’s slow, but sustainable.

The bottom line: If you consume more calories than you burn, you gain fat, and if you burn more than you consume, you lose fat.

Got more questions? Go to www.ynhh.org. Click on "Nutrition Forum" in the "Ask the Expert" or "Highlights" sections.

The 10 topics each have their own list of subjects, and you can ask a new question.

You’ll be asked for a name, nickname or initials, an e-mail address that’s kept confidential, and you’ll be given a space to write in.

The dietitians will try to respond to questions within three business days. Ask a good question and it may appear online, complete with an answer.

Otherwise, expect a response by e-mail.

Answers may include referrals or recommendations to arrange a personal appointment with a dietitian or other health-care worker.

You can post replies to other people’s questions. Dietitians will screen these responses and remove misinformation.

"If people get diet information, it could be a great start to overcoming obesity," said Kraska.

Abram Katz can be reached at akatz~nhregister.com or 789-5719.