CHOW! WINTER 2004
LOW
CARB
CRAZY
The skinny on high-fat, low-fiber diets.
Story and photos by Karman Ratliff
N
early every interaction I have with people has something to do with carbs. At the coffee shop where I work,
drinks made with 4 ounces of espresso, 1.5 ounces of sugar-free syrup and a whopping 11.5 ounces of cream
make me wonder if it really works, or if the low-carb craze is just a money-making scheme by the beef indus-
try. Maybe you’ve seen hoards of people, their faces pressed to the glass as they ogle forbidden baguettes
and sourdough loaves. Maybe you know a downtown office where the bowl of candy on the receptionist’s desk has been
replaced by a big bowl of pork rinds.
s more overweight Americans
decide to give low carbohydrate
diets like Atkins and South Beach
a try, it’s astounding that what seemed like
a passing fad has worked its way into every
aspect of popular culture. You don’t have to
go to the low-carb superstore to find out
what I mean. Low-carb fast-food items are
advertised back-to-back with low-carb
beer. In the supermarket, little yellow tags
advise customers which snacks will help
them stay “carb conscious.”
Why does it work? By depriving the
body of carbohydrates and the sugars it nor-
mally uses for energy, it goes into a state
called ketosis, a natural response to starva-
tion in which it burns fat for fuel.
“One of the breakdown byproducts (of
ketosis) is ketones,” says Dr. Victoria
Skellcerf of the UO Health Center, “which
make you smell like nail polish remover,
feel tired and can cause nausea (which cer-
A
tainly helps curb the appetite).” She adds
that in healthy people, this state can be
managed, but it does cause extra stress on
the liver and kidneys.
It makes sense that cutting sugar and
starchy processed carbohydrates from your
diet would help you reach a healthy weight.
The problem that many people have is the
mentality that if it's low in carbs, it must be
good for you. But is a lettuce-wrapped
Whopper or a cheesy, bacon ranch wrap
really all that much better for you?
Dr. Skellcerf says no, and although they
may be low in carbohydrates, such foods
are still very high in calories and sodium
and very low in nutritious vitamins and
trace elements. “It is still high fat and thus,
not very healthy,” she says.
Diets like Atkins have been easy for peo-
ple to stick with because, unlike low calorie
diets, all of the protein and fats leave you
feeling full. But it is important to remember
that people looking for a quick weight loss fix
don’t often stop to look at the long-term
effects of a high-fat, low-fiber diet. Dr.
Skellcerf says if you lose weight, yes, your
cholesterol could be reduced and your body’s
ability to handle sugars could improve. But if
you don’t lose weight, your cholesterol levels
will probably rise significantly.
“Long-term, we know there is an
increased association of breast, prostate and
possibly ovarian cancer associated with a
high-fat diet,” she says.
So what does this craze mean for the
industries that have been at the base of the
food pyramid for so long? While pork rind
sales rose 18.4 percent to exceed $420 mil-
lion last year, according to the Snack Food
Association, American bakeries noticed
that they might be in trouble. One local
baker said that the industry held a national
conference last summer to brainstorm a
new marketing campaign (think “GOT
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CHOW! JANUARY 22, 2004 7