] The vertiginous pattern of low-carb sales is reminiscent
] of previous trends in the food industry. Foods made with
] oat bran became the rage in the late 1980's, with the
] grain finding its way into everything from muffins and
] bagels to potato chips and tortillas.
]
] For several months in 1988, Quaker Oats couldn't produce
] enough oats and oat bran to sate the newfound desire for
] products that consumers believed would lower cholesterol.
] The company had to ration its products and posted
] apologetic "Dear Customer" letters in cereal aisles when
] supplies were low.
]
] Then came the low-fat obsession in the mid-1990's,
] spurred in part by a surgeon general's nutrition study
] released in 1988 that implored Americans to greatly
] reduce the amount of fat in their diets. By 1995, one of
] every four new food and beverage products made some kind
] of low-fat claim, according to ProductScan.

This is not really surprising. In the last 2 years, low-carb went from being a credible albeit fringe strategy to a total fad. The herd of fat americans, always looking for a quick-fix flocked to it.

Like low-fat, low-carb dieters became surrounded by what is effectively low-carb junk food. There's no magic to Atkins or any other diet; if you eat more than you burn, you won't lose weight!

I think Dr. Atkins was right about blood sugar. Everyone can benefit from cutting refined carbs -- corn syrup and sugar in particular -- out of their diet.

Low-carb makes no sense at all for performance athletes. The study that showed low-carb athletes performed just as well as those eating a normal diet was at a low (60%) level of exertion. When you work hard, you're burning glycogen stored in your muscles which is stored from carbs in your diet. The first weight you lose on a low-carb diet is stored glycogen!