Low-carb mania hits mainstream
Interesting how even I've become so aware of carbs being bad for you over the last year, even though I'm not on any of the diets currently in vogue: Atkins, South Beach etc. An interesting New York Times story from a couple of days back on the big business in our low-carb obsession:
Low-carb mania has spread beyond the millions of low-carb dieters. Food industry analysts say a far greater number of people are now "carb aware," even carb-phobic, cutting out those foods not as a way to lose weight, but because of a general sense that they are unhealthy. That is prompting changes in the way food is made, packaged and sold like nothing since the early 1990's, when even nondieters began loading their carts with low-fat yogurts and snacks..
...Last month, representatives of 450 companies, including Kraft, Con- Agra and Wal-Mart, gathered at a two day Low-Carb Summit in Denver to discuss how to take advantage of what some analysts predict will be a $25 billion market for low-carb products and services this year: everything from low-carb pasta to low-carb European barge cruises and hotel "get a-weighs."