Could low-carb be here to stay
Experts say diet may have long shelf life

By Mary Lou Creamer
Times Herald

Ron Atherton and Laura McCallum considered themselves a typical American family, especially when it came to eating dinners of meat and potatoes or pasta.

Then things changed.

Three months ago, the Fort Gratiot couple ditched their starches for vegetables and greens, joining the low-carb craze gripping the nation.

"It makes more sense," Ron Atherton, 29, said. "Look at the cavemen. They ate what they hunted, meat and plants. They didn't eat bread and pasta. We should still be eating what they were eating. It's just a little bit healthier."

It seems everyone is giving the low-carb culture a whirl. Whoopi's doing it. So are Bill Clinton and Jennifer Aniston. According to a new poll from Opinion Dynamics Corp., about 26 million Americans are on a hard-core low-carb diet. Another 70 million limit their carb intake without formally dieting. In total, that's 44% of the American population, said Larry Shiman, a spokesman for the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm.

What started with Dr. Robert Atkins' revolutionary diet of swapping carbs for protein has spawned a new industry. Publishers are churning out copycat diet books, low-carb products are pushing their way onto grocery shelves, and restaurants are redoing menus. Experts and fans alike say the craze is more than a passing fancy. It's also a chance for Americans to put their unhealthy eating habits behind them for good.

"It's not just a diet, but a lifestyle choice," said Dr. Stuart Trager, chairman of the Atkins Physicians Council. "We're going to see it stick.

"Low-carb eating is something that has been discovered and delivered in a grassroots way. People are watching friends and coworkers do it and having success. They want to get in on it, too."

Carbs & consumers

Carb awareness is building by the day.

Some 586 distinct new low-carb foods and beverages hit the grocery shelves last quarter, up from 633 in all of last year and 339 in 2002, bringing the total to 1,558 new entries in little more than two years.

Low-carb-related sales from consumables such as Michelob Ultra beer and books such as The South Beach Diet are expected to reach $30 billion this year, reports LowCarbiz, a trade publication that owes its existence to the carb-counting craze.

Leading the charge in the low-carb food race is Atkins Nutritionals, founded by Atkins, but other big boys are crowding in on the act. Frito-Lay is making Tostitos and Doritos with soy protein in place of starch. The company also is reformulating Ragu pasta sauces, Kraft salad dressings and Skippy peanut butter with fewer carbs.

McDonald's is dumping its Supersize; Arby's has the Carbys, a sandwich without the bun; and Burger King has plans to launch an Angus steakburger wrapped in lettuce and slathered in low-carb steak sauce.

All of this surprises Jerrod Abro, a 24-year-old from Port Huron and a hard-core low-carb devotee for three years.

"I'm amazed at how it has all taken off," he said. "It's everywhere. Stores now have sections with all low-carb foods. From everything I see, I think it's going to last."


CARB COUNTERS
A CLOSER LOOK
The most common age for low-carb dieters is between 46 and 64. Those older than 64 and younger than 30 are least likely to try it.

For the most part, they tend to be upper middle class with a household income of $75,000 or above.

A slightly higher number of women than men tend to count carbs.

Those who have not tried the diet assumed the hardest thing to give up would be bread or bread products.

Those who have tried the diet said the hardest thing to give up is pasta.



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