There is no doubt that this world is still full of "experts"
that are still convinced that carbohydrates are GOOD for you.

I repeat, "Don't believe ANYBODY... Don't even believe ME...
ONLY believe the glucose meter!"

Go ahead, EAT the bread that you love so much, and THEN measure
your blood glucose levels with a glucose meter. If it is 120 mg/dl
or higher, just remember that you are NOT doing something that is
"perfectly healthy," as "Somer says"...

I paste this, that I read today at Yahoo news... By its structure,
and the way it attacks Atkins with blows below the belly, ("it was
more a business, etc." and "its popularity started to wane after
Atkins's death in April 2003, especially after a New York medical
examiner's report found he had a history of congestive heart failure
and hypertension.") it appears to me to be more like an anti-Atkins
press release written by an expert for the bread and spaghetti
industry than a real news report, so read it with a grain of salt.

This is not so far-fetched, as you will read in their press release:

"Demand for meat products surged and consumption of grain staples
slumped so badly that leaders of the US bread industry convened an
emergency summit at the end of 2003 to discuss strategy for countering
what had become known as the "Atkins effect."

READ: "THIS PRESS RELEASE was one of the strategies implemented
to counter "the Atkins effect"..."

Damned hypocrits... they pretend to want to help you, all they
really care about is your money. - Ellis

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050802/ts_alt_afp/afplifestyleushealthatkins



================
NEW YORK (AFP) - Signs that the low-carb food trend championed by
the Atkins diet has run its course are being greeted with relief
by some in the US food industry who had struggled with a
market-shaking shift in eating habits.

The downturn in popularity of the once pervasive Atkins regimen
was signalled Monday by the announcement that Atkins Nutritionals
Inc. (ANI), the company founded by the late, low-carb pioneer
Robert Atkins, had filed for bankruptcy protection.

ANI, which sells its low-carb products in more than 30,000 stores
across the United States and Canada, said it would reorganise its
business and focus its energy on its "core nutrition bar and
shake portfolio."

For critics of the Atkins diet, which promotes the slimming
benefits of eating high-fat, high-protein foods at the expense
of carbohydrates, the underlying shift behind the bankruptcy move
was a welcome one.

"As a nutritionist, I'm thrilled that this low-carb phase looks
like it's dying out," said Lisa Sasson, a professor at New York
University's Department of Nutrition and Public Health.

"I think people realised that the diet doesn't work properly, and
that it's neither enjoyable nor healthy," Sasson said.

"Although people saw an initial weight loss, they soon plateaued
or they missed carbohydrates so much that started to yo-yo," said
Sasson, adding that the long-term benefits of the Atkins regimen
had always been in doubt.

"It wasn't a research-based program. It was more of a business,"
she said. "If you try to turn science and nutrition into a
business, it collapses if it's not based on good research with
long-term results."

At the peak of its popularity two years ago, ANI claimed that
about 25 million Americans were on the Atkins diet and nearly 100
million were adhering to some sort of "controlled carbohydrate" programme.

Observers believe its popularity started to wane after Atkins's death
in April 2003, especially after a New York medical examiner's report
found he had a history of congestive heart failure and hypertension.

Before then, however, the indications were that the high-protein diet
was morphing from a fad into an entrenched nutritional regimen.

Demand for meat products surged and consumption of grain staples
slumped so badly that leaders of the US bread industry convened an
emergency summit at the end of 2003 to discuss strategy for countering
what had become known as the "Atkins effect."

The summit in Providence, Rhode Island deliberated the results of a
survey commissioned by the National Bread Leadership Council (NBLC),
which found that 40 percent of US consumers were eating less bread
than the year before.

Of those, 63 percent said they had cut back specifically to limit
their daily carb intake.

"There were some companies that were crushed by Atkins," said Julie
Somers, a spokeswoman for the bakery cafe company, Panera Bread, one
of the NBLC's founders.

"But there's no doubt that the diet is on the wane now and not as many
people are following it," Somers said.

Panera, a St Louis-based chain of nearly 800 bakery cafes in 35
states, said last week that its sales for the quarter ending July 12
were up 9.3 percent from a year ago.

Unlike some companies that were exclusively focused on bread and pasta
products, Panera was able to weather the Atkins storm by expanding its
menu with soups and salads.

"We did add a few low-carb breads and bagels as well, but to be honest
they were never big sellers," Somers said.

"The fact is that people like bread. It plays an important part in
people's lives and it's perfectly healthy," she added.