The lowdown on the low-carb diet

The low-carb craze that’s got some people swearing off pasta, pizza and pastry forever shows no signs of letting up, say diet/nutrition experts when asked about the latest health trend.

Fact is, in the US (where it is estimated that more than 15 million Americans are on Dr. Robert Atkins’ diet program), more restaurant chains are joining KFC, Subway and TGI Friday’s in expanding their "Atkins- friendly" menu, according to a report. Which means that consumers can expect to see more low-carb or reduced-carb versions of popular items like snack foods and even beer, what with food manufacturers cashing in on this trend.

In the Philippines, a lot of celebrities are on the Atkins diet. And a lot more are thinking of getting into it.

Meanwhile, according to a food fad report, researchers are anxiously awaiting the release of new studies that will address the long-term safety and effectiveness of low-carb diets – yes, such as Atkins.

Says Cindy Moore, director of nutrition therapy at The Cleveland Clinic, "Hopefully, we’ll see longer-term studies in 2004. Everyone is anxious, especially dietitians, to see those results."

Nanci Hellmich reports that the "Atkins low-carb, high-fat diet is supposed to be simple, but it’s raising complex medical and nutrition questions. Now, two new studies show that those who follow the diet can lose significant amounts of weight, but other studies are raising concerns about the safety of the program, linking it to an increased risk of kidney stones and bone loss."

A concerned Hellmich adds, "Until recently, there haven’t been studies investigating its safety and effectiveness."

Hellmich writes that researchers don’t know if the benefits of losing weight via the Atkins diet outweigh the drawbacks of eating a diet high in saturated fat."

The Wheat Foods Council in the US finds the Atkins diet hard to swallow – literally and figuratively speaking. The consumption of wheat in the US dropped four percent from 1997 to 2001. The Council warns that the diet could increase the risk of health problems like cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, kidney damage and some cancers.

For his part, Dr. Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician and author of New York Times bestseller The No-Grain Diet, says that Dr. Atkins failed to realize that every person has a unique biochemistry, which is why studies evaluating the Atkins diet could not validate its effectiveness. Adds Mercola, "This is largely related to the fact that one-third of people should never be on a low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet such as the Atkins diet. Although they may lose weight initially, it is ultimately a prescription for disaster for them. These heavy individuals actually require a high-vegetable, no-grain, no-sugar diet along with low-fat and protein intake."

The bottom line, according to Dr. Mercola is that "diet really needs to be modified and adjusted to fit each specific person with his/her own unique genetic requirements."

What else do the experts see on the food horizon in 2004?

Here are the present/future trends:

• Trans fats. Snack and processed food manufacturers will seek to reformulate their products to reduce the content of the trans fats (trans fatty acids) to beat the 2006 deadline for including info on this artery-clogging fat in the Nutrition Facts food label.

• Healthier crops. Coming soon from the soy industry are new crops that may eliminate the need for hydrogenation (the process of turning healthy liquid vegetable fats into unhealthy solid ones) to increase the shelf life of baked and processed foods.

• Functional foods. First, they added calcium to orange juice. Now, more and more foods will be fortified with additional ingredients to help promote health.

• Quick-fix meals. Says Nelda Mercer of the American Dietetic Association, "People want a homecooked meal, but they want it prepared for them. Supermarkets will continue to respond to the call for quick-fix meal solutions with expanded offerings."

• It’s in the bag (of chips). FDA officials are thinking of requiring food companies to base nutritional info for food and beverages on the container size rather than serving size to give consumers a better idea of how many calories they are actually getting, say, from a bag of chips or a two-liter bottle of pop.

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The bitter truth about ampalaya

The Department of Trade & Industry, through caretaker/assistant director Jaime Lasaro Olmos, forwarded to us an open letter from Nenita Socrates of Quezon City to Health Secretary Dr. Manuel Dayrit on the efficacy of an ampalaya-based food supplement. Nenita Socrates, an 81-year-old widow, learned from her doctor that ampalaya supplements, which can easily be purchased over the counter, are loaded with vitamin K, which allegedly has contraindication to some illnesses. According to Mrs. Socrates, she has been disabled due to a stroke she suffered five years ago and has been a diabetic for more than 25 years now.

Over a year ago, Mrs. Socrates read about the efficacy of ampalaya in controlling diabetes. During a recent visit to her doctor, she unwittingly told him that she was self-medicating on an ampalaya supplement. Her doctor told her to stop taking this supplement as it was loaded with vitamin K, which was inadvisable as treatment for her disease.

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