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CarbHealth Magazine
"Protein, Carbs, and Health" - By Levi Wallach
This article was printed in the March issue of CarbHealth Magazine, the first lowcarb print magazine.
When I heard about CarbHealth Magazine, I was very impressed that the first print Magazine about the low-carb "way of eating" emphasized health. Let's face it, low-carb has gotten a bad rap from its detractors for being only about losing a large amount of weight quickly, and in their opinion unsafely. When I read Protein Power back in the fall of 2000, I was very impressed with the authors' approach. It was not all about losing weight, as I had been led to believe, but rather about adopting a healthy eating plan for life. In fact, authors Drs Michael R. Eades and Mary Dan Eades contended that the plan they were promoting was about getting healthy, and that weight-loss was simply a secondary bonus that happened to come along with it.
The Eadeses wrote Protein Power back in 1995, and followed it up in 2000 with "The Protein Power Lifeplan." Their second book expanded into many new areas surrounding health, including exercise, excess iron, antioxidants, and many more. The Eadeses do not shy away from in-depth scientific explanations in these first two books. Their latest book on low-carb eating, published last November, is called "The 30-Day Low-Carb Diet Solution." It is more of a quick summation of their eating plan without the abundance of technical details, and includes concrete examples of menus. They have also authored and co-authored several other books related to low-carb eating and exercise.
Protein Power was my entrance into the world of low-carb eating and gave me a good grounding in the science behind it. I hope to use this column to expound on some of that science, but I will also be looking into new studies, media coverage of low-carb, personal experiences, and more. So with that said, lets dive in.
We have seen a great shift in the winds in favor of low-carb, which seem to have originated with Gary Taubes' excellent piece in the New York Times Magazine in July of last year, "What if it's All Been a Big Fat Lie?" Atkins is being lauded in the press for being so persistent all these years in the face of constant criticism. Print articles and broadcast pieces have been reporting on new studies that favorably compare low-carb to low-fat or even more moderate plans advised by such organizations as the AHA. In general, low-carb seems to be in favor and low-fat is on its way out. This very magazine's existence is probably due in large part to that change. Without the current level of acceptance, CarbHealth would have a much harder time getting published.
While this shift is, overall, very positive, it does have a couple of drawbacks. One might call them what an old boss of mine termed "champagne problems." That is, the minor problems you see that sometimes come with a great success. In the media, low-carb seems to be viewed as primarily a way to lose weight. Part of this is because it has generated a great deal of success in this area, and part of this is because many books about low-carb truly are mainly about losing weight. So, to many, low-carb has indeed become a quick fix, after which they can then go back to the way they were eating before, or at least a more "balanced" diet and maintain. This means they completely miss the argument that low-carb is the ideal way one should eat not just to lose weight, but to maintain weight and to gain and maintain health for life.
The other possible drawback touches upon the food industry. The low-fat movement attracted manufacturers by the droves to produce highly-processed low-fat foods that were as caloric as the full-fat products they were replacing. A national shift toward low-carb could bring these same manufacturers to cater to this new way of eating. There are already scores of products on the market that mimic carb-laden foods like bread, candy, etc. Many of these products are made from wholesome ingredients, but not all are. These products are fine on an occasional basis as an aid against monotony and as "guiltless" treats. I just wonder how many people, not understanding the true reason why low-carb is helping them, will indulge too regularly in the low-carb products happen that are highly processed.
No one knows what the future will bring. Nutrition as a science is still in its infancy. But I am hopeful now that low-carb has broken through as a theory that at least deserves scientific study and not automatic dismisal based on past assumptions. Thankfully, we can expect a good debate about the most healthy way to eat based on what it should be - science - not marketing, politics, religion, or tradition.
