Is Low-Carb Dead Or Not? Part II

On the same day we read a news story about a major supermarket chain losing money in sweet baked goods sales due to popularity of "the low-carb craze," along comes this story from CattleNetwork.com where the beef industry is now blaming "fading low-carb interest" in the decline of their sales.

The headline blares: "Beef Downturn Attributed To Fading Low-Carb Interest"

You know, I'm starting to feel like an observer in a tennis match turning my head back and forth, back and forth at these news stories about various food companies in essense blaming the low-carb lifestyle for why their products aren't selling as well as they used to. Even more amazing is that these food companies are on exact opposite ends of the low-carb food spectrum, with sweet baked goods full of carbs from the sugar and white flour and beef with no carbs at all.

So, which is it? Is low-carb dead as a doornail (causing the decline in beef sales) or staying alive in 2005 (responsible for the drop in sweet baked goods sales)?

This latest article states: "The downturn has been largely attributed to fading interesting in low-carb dieting."

Okay, as former U.S. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings from South Carolina used to say, "There's a whole lotta assuming going on out there!" I know, he used the word "consuming," but it still makes my point because there are a lot of assumptions being made about low-carb.

For example, why do people automatically ASSUME that people who are livin' la vida low-carb are primarily eating meat. This is probably the biggest misconception that people have about the low-carb lifestyle. While meat is certainly acceptable for people doing low-carb, it is not the ONLY thing we can or even want to eat.

HEY MEDIA! Repeat after me: Low-carb doesn't mean "all meat."

Repeat this phrase again and again until you finally start to believe it!

A Wall Street Journal article from October 19, 2004 might explain the real reason why beef sales are down when it states "beef…has benefited the most from the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet" but there has been a "a decline in beef consumption after a sharp increase in beef prices."

Oh, so it's economics and not "fading interest" in low-carb responsible for the decline in beef sales. Don't you wish the media would be honest with its headlines? While it proclaimed low-carb as the culprit for slow beef sales, it's actually the higher prices causing people to stay away.

It makes sense to buy chicken, pork or other less expensive meats to enjoy on your low-carb lifestyle if beef costs too much. That's what people have to do when prices get too high on certain products. While we don't have much choice regarding gasoline for our cars, we certainly have lots of options when it comes to meat selection.

So, it's not really "fading low-carb interest" after all that beef is down. These dishonest headlines have got to stop or at the very least pointed out for their lack of integrity. That's what I'm here for and will shout it from the mountaintops every chance I can get!