Issue Date: May 23, 2004
Low-carb phenom
As more Americans embrace the lifestyle, the low-carb world continues to expand. Read about new magazines, cruises and chat rooms -- plus, meet the Whoosh Fairy.
By Kelly DiNardo
Whether you're on a perpetual diet or eat as much as you please (damn the calories!), the current craze for low-carb eating and for plans like Protein Power, South Beach and Sugar Busters is almost impossible to ignore. Today we turn our attention to the latest cultural shock waves of living in a low-carb world.
Who's on a low-carb diet?
It depends on whom you ask, but the short answer is a lot of Americans. Shape Up America!, a non-profit health organization founded by former U.S. surgeon general C. Everett Koop, puts the figure at a quarter of the adult population, with 30% of women surveyed saying they are on or have tried a low-carb diet, compared with 19% of men. While 39% of low-carb dieters have tried Atkins, 41% followed their "own version."
How much do dieters know about low-carb regimens?
Most low-carb dieters surveyed (60%) did not consult with their doctor before starting a diet, and few were aware of potential side effects. About 40% knew about possible fatigue and constipation, but only 7% knew of possible gallstones, 8% of hair loss, 20% of bone loss, 25% of increased cholesterol and 31% of bad breath. Most had difficulty identifying foods that are primarily carbohydrate.
So what, exactly, is a carbohydrate?
"The simplest definition is that a carbohydrate is all of our plant food," explains Catherine Fitzgerald, a registered dietitian with the University of Michigan Health System. "Nuts are the one exception." The body converts these carbs to glucose, its primary source of energy. "The [carbs] I would tell people to limit are the ones we have made and processed," she says, citing doughnuts, cookies and candy.
-- Low-carb hot spots
These are the top 10 metro areas (listed alphabetically) for low-carbers, judging by such criteria as the number of markets and restaurants offering low-carb items, access to health professionals who support the diets, and "a local culture conducive to exercise and health."
Dallas/Fort Worth
Indianapolis
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Miami |
New York
Phoenix
Portland, Ore.
San Francisco
Seattle |
| * Source: LowCarbBiz Magazine |
Now in a ballpark near you
Forget the popcorn and Cracker Jack. Baseball stadiums are offering low-carb concession items in hopes of scoring a home run with fans following a low-carb diet. The Atlanta Braves serve up low-carb smoothies. The St. Louis Cardinals dish out low-carb grilled veggie and chicken Caesar wraps and burgers wrapped in lettuce. Cleveland Indians fans can sink their teeth into bison burgers and grilled salmon or turkey burgers on a low-carb bun. Sandwich chain Subway, which operates out of several ballparks, will include its two new low-carb wraps on concession menus, too.
New on newsstands
Two glossy bi-monthly magazines now target these dieters: "LowCarb Living," which was launched in January, and "LowCarb Energy," which debuts this month. "LowCarb Living" has recipes for low-carb entertaining, as well as nutrition pieces. The first issue of "LowCarb Energy" features more than 50 low-carb recipes and the dish on low-carbing stars.
When reality becomes fiction
What appears to be the first low-carb novel -- "Cooking for Harry" (Crown, $21) -- came out in February. The slender (195-page) romantic comedy involves a Pittsburgh couple whose lives are upended when 269-pound Harry, a passionate gourmand, is forced to trade tiramisu for T-bones.
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Low-carbers at the Olympics
Counting carbs might help Team Atkins bring home the gold. In February, Carol Cronin, Liz Filter and Nancy Haberland won the U.S. Olympic sailing team trials in the Yngling class. They'll head to Greece to compete this summer. The three teammates are on a modified Atkins diet.
"There's a maximum team weight, and we have to weigh in every day we're racing," Cronin says. "The goal is to be at the maximum [weight], but not over, because then you can't sail." Atkins Nutritionals has helped the team reach its goal and also has provided financial support. "One of the nice things about the Atkins approach is that it's generous enough to allow us to customize it for our needs," says Cronin, who consumes about 100 grams of "net carbs" a day. "We're athletes and need a higher level of carbs than most people."
In general, experts warn athletes and other active people off low-carb diets. "It really isn't a diet that's best for supporting an active lifestyle," says the American Council on Exercise's Cedric Bryant. He says it can compromise your energy levels, reaction time and internal thermostat. "You lose water weight on a low-carb diet. When you do that, you lose the ability to cool yourself naturally. You might not be able to tolerate heat as well."
Note that Olympic sailor Cronin speaks of "net carbs" -- not total carb intake, Bryant says. Low-carb dieters count "net carbs," the number of carbohydrate grams that are digested and affect the body's blood sugar. Carbs like fiber and sugar alcohols are subtracted from the total. As more food manufacturers market the "net carb" count of their products, the Food and Drug Administration is examining this new labeling practice.
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Learn the lingo
Before hopping onto the Web for low-carb advice and support, familiarize yourself with the low-carb lexicon:
WOE/WOL: Way of eating/way of life -- not a fad diet, but a long-term plan.
The Whoosh Fairy: Like the Tooth Fairy, this magical creature visits as you dream, leaving you several pounds lighter in the morning. This sudden weight drop, after days of being stuck at the same weight, is known as "whooshing."
Splenda: An artificial sweetener, favored by many low-carbers, that is 600 times sweeter than sugar.
GI: The Glycemic Index, which ranks carbs by their effect on blood sugar levels.
Ketosis: A state in which the body begins to burn fat, and excess ketones (fatty acids) are released through the urine and breath.
KetoStix: Think pregnancy test, but the sticks turn dark purple when ketosis (fat burning) is in full tilt.
On the Web
Point and click your way to these smart sites:
ncarbwire.com: Offers up-to-the-minute news on carbohydrates; compares the various diets.
neatright.org: Registered dietitians weigh in on nutritional misinformation and weight management. You can search for dietitians in your area.
nlowcarb.blogs.com/blog: Product reviews, success stories and tips.
nstrengthjournal.com: A general health and fitness blog with a section on the latest medical studies on low-carb diets.
nlowcarb.ca: This Atkins-oriented site has a carb counter and advice on everything from dealing with constipation to what to do when your weight "plateaus.'' There's even low-carb gear (T-shirts with slogans like "I've got friends in low-carb places" and "Caution: ketosis breath").
ncarbhealth.com: This site has downloadable tools (meal planner, hidden carb calculator and fast-food carb counts) and forums that allow members to chat about everything low-carb.
nthelowcarblife.com The best feature of this site is the "great clothes swap," which lets dieters who have clothes that no longer fit pass items on to others.
New on TV
You can tune in to "Low Carb and Lovin' It" on the Food Network, Sundays at noon. The weekly half-hour show features chef George Stella, who has walked the walk and is now 265 pounds slimmer. Stella started on Atkins and began designing his own recipes. Now, he prepares a low-carb menu for television viewers, tackling tough topics such as how to make low-carb Mexican food.
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Cauliflower is king
Low-carbers have fallen hard for this innocuous vegetable, possibly because it accepts other flavors so well (think Indian spices, as executive chef Lee Hefter of Spago in L.A. does). More important for American tastes, it stands in for that favorite but maligned food, mashed potatoes. These "fauxtatoes" are showing up on plates from Hyatt hotel restaurants (short ribs with cauliflower purée) to Ruby Tuesday's 700 locations (Creamy Mashed Cauliflower with entrees). Stella makes them on his show. And the brand-new "South Beach Diet Cookbook" (and Arthur Agatston's original South Beach Diet book) offer Surprise South Beach Mashed "Potatoes" made with fat-free half-and-half and butter-flavored cooking spray. Nutritionally, cooked cauliflower contains no fat, lots of vitamin C and fiber, and 5 grams of carbs per cup, vs. 31 grams for cooked potatoes.
The U.S. Potato Board is fighting back against what it says are low-carbers' misperceptions and has launched a $4 million education campaign to regain the potato's image as a healthful food. "People know very little about the nutritional content of the potato," says the board's Linda McCashion, who points out that a 5.3-ounce potato meets 45% of our daily vitamin C requirements.
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Is your diet making you cranky?
Low-carbers, your diet could have you singing the blues. Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology indicates carbohydrates naturally boost levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which helps suppress appetite but also makes you happy. Researchers found that foods that are primarily carbohydrate and have very little protein will raise serotonin levels. But eating carbohydrates with protein diminishes the effects. For example, if you eat a potato topped with chili, you get less of the mood-stabilizing effect than if you eat the potato alone.
"Carbohydrates are like an edible tranquilizer," says Judith Wurtman, director of women's health at the MIT clinical research center. "When you eat carbohydrates, plain carbohydrates, you do feel better. You feel better when the food is digested, not when it's in your mouth. What causes obesity is that people don't know how much carbohydrate to eat. They eat until they feel better, which is like taking aspirin until your headache goes away."
So are low-carb dieters more prone to crankiness or even depression? The bottom line is that most dieters, period, are going to be a little grumpy. Whenever you reduce calorie intake, you're prone to some crankiness, but diets with really low carbohydrate intake can mean more extreme mood swings.
"You have to feed more than your stomach," Wurtman says. "You have to feed your muscles and your brain. To do that, you should eat the way nature intended you to -- healthy complex carbohydrates, protein and a little fat." She recommends potatoes with their skin, brown rice, whole-grain breads, lentils and beans, and suggests avoiding refined simple carbohydrates like cookies and cakes.
Low-carb travel
Business and leisure travelers can stop hoarding the protein bars. It's becoming easier for low-carb advocates to leave home without crashing their diets. For instance, Hyatt has introduced low-carb options on its restaurant and room-service menus. Song, Delta Air Lines' budget-minded offspring, serves low-carb food at 30,000 feet. United Airlines sells low-carb salads from the Au Bon Pain bakeries. And in September, the first of four cruises on Carnival Cruise Line to Mexico and the Caribbean departs from Long Beach, Calif., organized by Florida-based Carb Counter Cruises. Instead of groaning buffets of sugary and starchy treats, the guests will dine on menus created by former Atkins Group executive chef Greg Pryor.
Cover photograph by Brad Trent for USA WEEKEND
Clothing credits: Röhm on cover -- Yellow shirt by C&C; green shirt by Chaiken.
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