A Good Old-Fashioned Low-Carb Roundup

What a week for conglomerated low-carb blogging with this and this post wrapping up some of the latest news and headlines in the world of low-carb living. Well, I'm still in busy mode and have so much to share with you, I barely know where to begin. So let's just have ourselves a good old-fashioned low-carb roundup! YEE HAW!

INSPIRED BY DIABETES WANTS YOUR CREATIVE SUBMISSIONS

There's a really neat contest sponsored by the diabetes awareness web site located at InspiredbyDiabetes.com. What they are looking for are submissions by people who have been touched by diabetes that shares their story through some form of artistic talent, including essays, poems, photographs, drawings, and musical composition. It's called the Creative Expression Competition and they are awarding a Grand Prize of a $5,000 contribution to the diabetes-related charity "Life of a Child" and a trip to the Inspired by Diabetes art exhibition. The deadline for entering is January 31, 2008, but don't delay in sharing YOUR diabetes story in this most unique way! You could even share how livin' la vida low-carb is keeping your disease in check--that'll wake 'em up, don't ya think? :D Winners will be announced in the Spring 2008.

DANA CARPENDER DISCUSSES EXERCISE WHILE ON A LOW-CARB DIET

If you exercise, then you need to eat your carbs right? Well, not so fast says low-carb expert Dana Carpender in her latest nationally syndicated column entitled "Keeping up your stamina while lowering your carbs". The bottom line is unless you are training for athletic competition (like this Olympic athlete who recently e-mailed me), then you DON'T need to "carb up" prior to exercise. Read what Dana has to say about people who are wanting to get in a little physical activity while on their low-carb lifestyle.

IS WONDER BREAD GOING OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE OF LOW-CARB DIETS?

Interstate Bakeries, the maker of such high-carb foods like Wonder Bread and Twinkies, is in trouble again after deciding to close up shop in Southern California because of "the low-carb diet craze" (YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!). I've blogged about how livin' la vida low-carb is making Interstate bite the dust (confirmed by this market analysis of their bankruptcy last year) just as it has for Krispy Kreme doughnuts in recent years, too! It's just another sign that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins has left an indelible mark on our culture that will continue to be felt for generations to come.

THE MIGRAINEUR RAILS AGAINST THE ADA'S POOR ADVICE FOR DIABETICS

I think I've found a new favorite blog for you to check out: The Migraineur. I only recently discovered this AMAZING blog because of an awesome post chastising the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for being "no friend of the diabetic." WHOA! Why have I never heard of this blogger before?! WOW!!! I think the following quote from the blog post says it all:

"If you wanted to deliberately devise a diet that would cause a diabetic to die a slow, painful death, you couldn’t do better than the diet currently recommended by the ADA. The organization’s insistence on a high-carbohydrate diet, in the face of mounting evidence that diabetes is better managed by limiting carbohydrate consumption, would be laughable if it was not endangering the health and the very lives of the people it claims to advocate for."

This is something I've recently blogged about and even highlighted comments made by low-carb researcher Dr. Richard Feinman along the same lines. The Migraineur blogger says it was that New York Times article by Gary Taubes that led him to start livin' la vida low-carb! Yet ANOTHER reason to Celebrate Gary Taubes Week!

IS THE FDA FORCING CHOCOLATE MAKERS TO USE VEGETABLE OIL, NOT COCOA BUTTER?

In one of the most bizarre food stories I've seen in a while, it appears the geniuses at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) have put out a call to the major chocolate companies letting them know they need to replace the cocoa butter in their chocolate with vegetable oil. Have you heard about this? It's in response to some industry groups who are afraid of the saturated fat content in cocoa butter causing health problems as well as making it cheaper for the consumer. But THANK GOD at least ONE company has told the FDA where they can shove it: Mars, makers of Snickers and M&M's. This isn't about making better products, it's about reducing quality just to make things cheaper. That doesn't make it better and they had better not mess with my favorite sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bar made with cocoa butter!

900-POUND MAN NEEDS FORKLIFT, FIREFIGHTERS TO BE RESCUED FROM HOME

Have you seen the opening scene of the Adam Sandler movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry? There's a burning building and a frantic woman cries for someone to help save her baby who's still trapped in the apartment. When they reach the kid, it turns out this "baby" is a morbidly obese 700-pound man who is bedridden. The scene is pretty hilarious with the firefighters, played by Sandler and Kevin James, getting crushed under the weight of the man while trying to save him.

That scene flashed across my mind as I read this story about a group of firefighters in Lansing, Michigan who had to chop a hole in the side of a 900-pound man's house to rescue him after a nurse said he needed medical help as soon as possible. They even had to implore the use of a forklift to get the 33-year old man out. It turns out he has a rare condition called Prader-Willi Syndrome like the infamous obese 8-year old named Connor McCreadie does.

This story reminded me of the 500-pound truck driver who also had difficulty getting rescued by emergency workers because of his weight in July. It's so sad to hear the helplessness of people like this and it makes you wonder if these traumatic experiences make ANYTHING click inside their mind to finally get their weight and health under control. You have to wonder.

BARILLA PASTA COMPANY NO FRIEND OF THE LOW-CARB LIFESTYLE

Some people in the low-carb community have hailed the Barilla brand of whole wheat pasta as an excellent alternative to regular pasta for people on a low-carb diet. But have you seen this diatribe on the dangers of low-carb dieting posted right there on their web site? It's obvious to anyone with half a brain that their "concerns" are nothing more than the same old tired excuses that have been proven to be myths time and time again. For that reason alone, I would say AVOID Barilla and just stick with the good stuff--DREAMFIELDS!

Well, that's about it for now, but I still have lots more to share with you as I continue catching up to so much stuff to blog about this week. THANK YOU for your devoted readership of my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog and I look forward to your feedback on these stories. Come talk about them at my forum, too!

New Banana-Creme Twinkie A 'Bit Healthier'?

I didn't know Twinkies could get any worse, but they have

The makers of one of the top-selling junk food products of all time must be getting desperate now because they know they are teetering on the brink of economic collapse as people are finally realizing they don't need to eat as much of these products anymore.

Interstate Bakeries Corp., parent company for Hostess who makes the famous half-billion selling spongy, creme-filled snack cake Twinkies, has now introduced a brand new flavor--well, sorta.

This Houston Chronicle article gushes over the new Banana-Creme Twinkies which will now become a permanent part of their product offerings. Actually, this is the original flavor that Twinkies had back in the 1930's and early 1940's until there was a banana shortage during World War II when Hostess switched to the familiar vanilla creme.

But after several limited reintroductions to the marketplace over the past few years, most notably during a 4-week stint in 2006 where sales increased by 20 percent, Hostess decided it was time to bring it back for good starting last week. It's on grocery store shelves now for parents and kids alike to stock up on this high-carb, sugary garbage!

According to Calorie King, just one Twinkie has 27g carbohydrates with 19g of that being sugar. As bad as that is, the reality about the serving size most people consume is worse. Since Twinkies are usually packaged as twins, those TWO Twinkies have a whopping 54g carbohydrates and 38g sugar! EEEEEK! Plus, you gotta read Steve Ettlinger's Twinkie Deconstructed to see what's actually in a Twinkie (can you believe there are ROCKS and PETROLEUM in 'em! Yuck!).

Now that half of Americans are lowering their carb intake, foods like Twinkies are on the brink of obscurity. Even still selling a half BILLION annually is quite formidable and we'll continue to have Twinkies as a cultural mainstay.

What's most frightening about the introduction of this new Banana-Creme Twinkie is the way the 20-something woman in the story reacted to it.

"You can still taste the original Twinkie flavor underneath it," she said. "It almost makes it seem like it's a little bit healthier than a regular Twinkie."

Oh my gosh, are people REALLY this stupid?! Sadly, I'm afraid there are.

If you are livin' la vida low-carb, then obviously these new Twinkies are NOT "a little bit healthier" for you. Can you say, "Well DUH!"

Low-Carb Still Making Bread Companies Bite The Dust

This Meriden, Connecticut-based Record-Journal article about how the sustained popularity of low-carb is forcing bread companies out of business proves the low-carb lifestyle is still alive and well.

Although we have been bombarded by the media of the alleged demise of Atkins and other low-carb diets, this story proves that is nothing more than wishful thinking from low-fat advocates and that low-carb isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

It seems a once-heralded bread manufacturer called Interstate Bakeries, Inc., who produces such carb-loaded items as Wonder Bread, Home Pride, and Hostess Twinkies, has been forced to close some of its outlet stores due to the lack of sales. The company already filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy ten months ago.

While I feel bad for the 3,000 people who lost their jobs this week because of the store closings, it is hard to deny that low-carb did not have some kind of cause and effect impact on this happening. As more and more people begin choosing healthier eating options for themselves and their families, bread companies will need to adapt to the changing consumer needs and offer products that fit that need.

My wife and I used to love going to our local bread outlet store and loading up on loaves of bread, sweets and rolls. We'd spend about $20-30 and get a month's worth of bread products. It was inexpensive food, but it was also chock full of carbohydrates that we did not need. When I started livin' la vida low-carb last year, we had to stop going to that store and haven't been back since. There's nothing there we can buy anymore!

Interstate Bakeries spokesman Jason Booth is the first person I have heard from one of these bread companies hit by the popularity of low-carb to acknowledge it publicly, although he defended his company by saying sales of cupcakes and sugary sweets have remained strong sellers for them.

"In the past, the shift to reduce carbohydrates has had some impact," Booth said. "This company has had a lot of cost overhead to reduce, a lot of duplicate production and distribution and benefits."

Right, it's all in the past, isn't it? NOT! The fact is low-carb is still still having a big impact on the bread business and we'll continue to read stories like this as more and more people realize the negative health impact the consumption of these excessive carbs is having on them. As for the sweet products still selling well for them, that'll change when people realize it is the sugar they are eating that is contributing to their obesity problem. Once they start cutting sugar out of their diets, we will see a quick nosedive in businesses that provide these products to the public. It may take a few years, but it is coming.

Interstate Bakeries lost $24.1 million in June, the largest one-month loss since filing for bankruptcy in September 2004.

With the trend leaning towards low-carb, high-fiber breads, companies like Interstate Bakeries will need to have a gut check and examine why they missed the boat on this obvious shift in their business clientele. The businesses that remain strong historically have always found their niche and strategized to predict what consumers will want in the future. Obviously, the executives at Interstate Bakeries chose to ignore the low-carb consumer because they bought into the lie that it was "just a fad." Big mistake!

There are so many healthy low-carb bread options for people out there now that it would be foolish to buy regular bread from companies like Interstate Bakeries ever again.

If you want to try some delicious low-carb breads, then you will have to order some from here today. You've never eaten such a variety of delicious low-carb breads that taste this good and with ZERO net carbs! These are the kind of products Interstate Bakeries needs to come up with to regain the business lost to those of us who are livin' la vida low-carb!

Tell Interstate Bakeries what they need to do to win back our business. Maybe they'll listen, maybe not. But at least they'll have no excuse that they didn't know what we wanted! Let me know if you receive a response from them.

5-16-06 UPDATE: This excellent analysis of the bankruptcy by Interstate Bakeries credits low-carb for contributing to the company's problems. Bdum, dum, dum...another one bites the dust!