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THE GOOD NUTRITION GUIDE
I WAS IN A RESTAURANT RECENTLY, looking at the menu, when I noticed a very
peculiar "low-carb" meal option: a massive plate of pasta topped with veg-
etables, otherwise known as pasta primavera. The vast majority of calories
in the meal clearly came from carbohydrates. How could it be "low-carb"?
Was it a misprint? I didn't think so. At various other times I've noted
that salads, breads and even cinnamon buns are labeled "low-carb," even
though their ingredient lists demonstrate that, in fact, the bulk of calories
are prOvided by carbohydrates. What's going on?
This "carb" mania is largely the result of the late Dr. Atkins and his
dietary message. But recently Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution has been
toppled and replaced by The South Beach Diet as the king of the diet
books. The South Beach Diet is pitched as being more moderate, easier
to follow and safer than Atkins, but from what I can tell, the weight-loss
"wolr' has just put on a different set of sheep's clothing. Both of the di-
ets are divided into three stages, both diets severely limit carbohydrate
intake during the first phase, and both diets are heavily based on meat,
dairy and eggs. The South Beach Diet, for example, prohibits bread,
rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, sugar and even fruit during the first
two weeks. After that, you can be weaned back onto carbohydrates until
you are eating what appears to me to be a fairly typical American diet.
Perhaps this is why The South Beach Diet is such a hot seller. According
to The South Beach Diet Web site, Newsweek wrote, "the real value of
the book is its sound nutritional advice. It retains the best part of the
Atkins regime-meat-while losing the tenet that all carbs should be
avoided."l
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