NO carb-a-nation
Atkins' diet bandwagon, from fast food to groceries
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
By Ron Krueger, JOURNAL FOOD WRITER
link to article
Order a low-carb sandwich at Subway, and the worker unfolds a limp, beige-colored, tortillalike wrapper, only thinner. On it she layers roast beef, bacon, shredded cheese, onions, bell peppers, olives and Dijon horseradish sauce.
The sign says the wrap sandwich has only 5 grams of carbohydrates, net, compared with the same sandwich served in bread.
You might think something is wrong when you learn that Subway's "Atkins-friendly" wrap costs 50 cents more than the regular sandwich. You may pause again if you know the wrap has roughly five times the fat.
Over at Burger King, the new "Low-Carb Whopper Platter" consists of a beef patty, a handful of shredded lettuce and a couple of tomato slices, all packed in a clear plastic box.
The chain has cut out 49 grams of carbs by holding the bun. The price? Ten cents less ($2.25) than the regular at $2.35.
Don Pablo's recently rolled out low-carb fajitas. You forgo one of the chain's signature fresh tortillas for a couple of big pieces of iceberg lettuce in which to wrap your smoked chicken, mahi mahi or sirloin strips.
You can wash it down with a "lo-carborita," a margarita made with Baja Bob's Splenda-sweetened, low-carb mix.
Ruby Tuesday last summer introduced a "smart eating" menu. It cut carbs in wraps by substituting whole-wheat tortillas. Its low-carb cheesecake swaps wheat protein for cream cheese.
The carb craze is approaching full bloom in the nation's restaurants. Stand by for an onslaught of supermarket products, from salad dressings to snacks, cereals, peanut butter and barbecue sauce to marinades and frozen dinners.
One of the nation's foremost observers of Americans' eating habits says the low-carb phenomena is a lot like the frenzy surrounding fat - especially saturated fat - in the early '90s.
"As more and more manufacturers and restaurants introduce low-carb options, consumers will go from one to another in search for what tastes good," says Harry Balzer of the NPD Group, a market research firm.
"The bottom line is that they don't want to give up their favorite foods, but they want to lose weight. Americans will continue to seek out ways to lose weight by eating."
We, as a nation, didn't lose weight when the focus was on reducing dietary fat, and we probably won't collectively lose any under the low-carb craze, says registered dietitian Ann Batchelor of Genesys Regional Medical Center in Grand Blanc Township.
"The food manufacturers always exploit these trends, and they're going to do it all over again," Batchelor said. "Many people will buy into the idea that there isn't any harm in eating anything that says low-carb.' "
The correct message is a boring one, she added: Eat plenty of whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables and include monounsaturated fats from vegetable oils and nuts; eat refined starches and sugars sparingly.
"The same thing is wrong with the low-carb thing that was wrong with low-fat - it's skewed and plays down portions and calories," Batchelor said.
The Institute of Food Technologists last spring surveyed Americans about food products they are most interested in buying. Low-carb was fifth on the list behind ready-to-eat, heat-and-eat, eat-on-the-run and foods that required no utensils.
Elizabeth Sloan, author of the report, says low-carb, high-protein is moving mainstream. "More than one-third of consumers believe cutting carbs is a good strategy for improving long-term health, and 37 percent believes it is a reliable means of weight loss."
Sloan said more than four in 10 adults made a strong or somewhat strong effort to cut carbs, and one of five dieters is using a low-carb method.
Unwitting beneficiaries of low-carb mania are some of the area's health food stores. For now, they are out ahead of supermarkets in offering low-carb products.
"Low-carb goes against everything I was taught about good diet," said Don Wolfe of Dale's Natural Foods, 4290 Miller Road, Flint Township. "But our customers were asking for the products."
Wolfe said he stocks some products from the nine Atkins product lines. They range from baked goods, sauces and marinades to desserts, pasta and baking mixes.
There now are so many low-carb products that entire stores have popped up to sell them. Two-hundred such stores are open on the West Coast, and they are moving east.
Low Carb Chicago in suburban Vernon Hills recently opened with 1,500 products. The way owner Kent Roberts describes his store, it is like a health foods store with an emphasis on low-carb lifestyle.
"We have products that appeal to dieters and diabetics, including books, educational materials, lotions and supplements. We will have monthly workshops on low-carb living and diabetes," he said.
With low-carb adherents estimated at 25 million to 30 million, the movement has more momentum than the low-fat craze of 15 years ago. Manufacturers are rushing out new products, and producers of things like bread, pasta and potatoes are trying to stem the decline in sales.
Atkins already markets bread with wheat protein substituted for some of the flour and with fiber added.
A 1-pound loaf is going for $3.99 at Kroger's, making it more costly than the heftiest whole-grain loaf from Brownberry's or Koepplinger's.
Tom Schaenzer, corporate chef for the local Blue Collar Gourmet restaurant group, said bread is the first thing low-carb diners pass up.
"We have 30 to 40 orders a week for cheeseburgers without the bun," he said.
In general, Schaenzer said, it is easy to accommodate Atkins-type diets. "More vegetables instead of a potatoes? No problem. A dinner salad in place of fries? Sure."
While the low-carb craze rages on, solid research about such eating patterns is moving forward.
A researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health, assisted by others at Louisiana State University, is comparing low-carb diets with traditional low-fat diets, studying 800 overweight people for two years.
Dr. Frank Sachs noted that, in a pilot study of 100 people, it was found the higher-fat Mediterranean diet study produced better long-term weight loss than low-fat, high-carb diets.
"Participants found it to be more tolerable over the long run. There were more foods to eat. It was tastier," he said.
Chances are good that, by the time Sachs has his answer, dieters will be going crazy over an entirely different approach.
On the Net:
ketogenics.com
atkinsfriends.com
alacarb.com
synergydiet.com
low-carb.com.
***
Material from The San Francisco Chronicle was used in this article.
"NO carb-a-nation: Atkins' diet bandwagon, from fast food to groceries"
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