Posted on 11/08/2003 12:04:57 PM PST by carlo3b
Breadmakers feel pain from Atkins diet
By DAVID SHARP
The Associated Press
11/8/2003, 1:18 p.m. ETPORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Some bakers around the country are seeing a similar drop in business: With millions of people trying the diet created by the late low-carb guru Dr. Robert Atkins, overall bread sales are flat or down slightly, while bread-bashing seems to be at an all-time high.
A sign in Stephen Lanzalotta's bakery reads, "Senza il pane tutto diventa orfano." In Italian, that means, "Without bread everyone's an orphan."
But fewer customers are buying his European-style breads and pastries these days — thanks to the Atkins diet, many regulars are cutting back on carbohydrates. Lanzalotta says the low-carb diet has contributed to an estimated 40 percent drop in business at his shop, Sophia's.
Some customers have even stopped by to apologize.
"They'll say, 'I'm sorry. I haven't been in for six months because I'm on the Atkins diet,'" said Lanzalotta, whose muscular arms are a testament to long hours spent kneading dough.
The National Bread Leadership Council, which says 40 percent of Americans are eating less bread than a year ago, has scheduled what it calls a summit this month in Rhode Island focusing in part on low-carb diets and how to educate the public that breaking bread is still part of a healthy lifestyle.
"It's too bad that we just can't eat all foods in moderation. But no, we have to do something dramatic all the time," said Judi Adams, president of the Wheat Foods Council and a registered dietician, referring to the Atkins diet. "We have to look for this magic bullet."
Estimates of the number of Americans on low-carb diets vary widely, from 5 million to 50 million. Their boycott of bread has exacerbated a sluggish sales trend that was in place before low-carb diets became popular, said John McMillin, a food industry analyst with Prudential Equity Group Inc. in New York.
When Lanzalotta opened his bakery, bread accounted for 75 percent of sales. Now it accounts for just 15 percent. He boosted his dessert offerings and began offering sandwiches to try to make up the difference. He also adapted by selling artwork, including his own paintings.
At Standard Baking, co-owner Alison Pray said sales are nearly flat after previously growing 10 percent to 15 percent a year.
Pray sees plenty of couples stopping by, but often only one partner is eating. The other is cutting carbs.
She's a bit incredulous when customers ask if she produces anything consistent with the Atkins diet. "This one person asked me, 'Can you make a low-carbohydrate bread?' I said, 'I wouldn't know how to do it,'" she said.
Others are adapting. At Anthony's Italian Kitchen, owner Tony Barassa said his customers are ordering Syrian wraps without the wrap and panini sandwiches without the panini. They're also ordering meatballs without the spaghetti.
On Atkins, people can eat cheese, eggs and meat as long as they strictly limit carbohydrates and avoid refined carbs like white flour. White bread, pasta, potatoes and other carbo-loaded foods are blacklisted. The diet was once scorned by the medical establishment, but recent studies have shown that people lose weight without compromising their health.
The Wheat Food Council's Adams, who is based in Colorado, believes low-carb diets are just another fad. And she wonders if they're really helping.
She noted that the nation's obesity rate has continued to grow as flour consumption has declined. Wheat flour consumption has dropped by about 10 pounds a year per person since 1997, she said, calling Americans' tendency to eat too much of everything the real problem.
"We eat 300 more calories a day than we did in 1985," Adams said. "We supersize everything. We eat constantly."
Big Sky Baking Co. in Portland appears to have avoided the worst of the low-carb fallout because its whole wheat bread is the kind recommended for carb-cutters who can't resist a slice every now and again.
Owner Martha Elkus recognizes that times are changing. "The food pyramid has been turned upside down," she said.
Bread bakers aren't the only ones hurting. The pasta industry, the tortilla industry, bagel makers and even brewers of beer have taken their lumps for having too many carbohydrates.
The Tortilla Industry Association held a seminar last spring titled, "An Industry in Crisis: The High-protein, Low-carb Diet and Its Effects on the Tortilla Industry." The National Pasta Association has a "Diet Matters" section on its Web page that focuses on low-carb diets.
Joshua Sosland, executive editor of Milling and Baking News in St. Louis, said it's difficult for consumers to find good information amidst all of the hype that served to overshadow the science behind the diets. Often overlooked is the fact that bread and grains remain an important part of the federal government's diet guidelines.
"Here we have about the most healthy thing in the diet," Sosland said, "and it's being treated like it's poison."
Bakers are changing their products even as they seek to get out the message that bread remains part of a healthy lifestyle.
Flowers Foods' low-carb bread, "Nature's Own Wheat 'n Fiber," has proven to be the company's most successful new product launch to date, said Mary Krier, spokeswoman in Thomasville, Ga.
George Weston Bakeries Inc. has launched "Carb Counting" bread under its Arnold label that carries the Atkins seal. Maine-based Lepage Bakeries has introduced Country Kitchen "Lower Carb" wheat bread.
Panera Bread, a fast-growing chain that offers soups, salads and sandwiches in addition to bread, is also making changes to meet the evolving tastes of its customers. The company is testing three whole-grain breads with fewer grams of carbohydrates per slice.
"Our view of it is not to resist (the low-carb trend) but to recognize it as a real niche," CEO Ron Shaich said.
I have also noticed so called low carb recipe magazines at the checkouts. After flipping a few pages I have decided that these people do not know what low carb is.
Some of the recipes called for.....2 cups of all purpose flour....
Me too! Ciabatta torn in hunks dunked in olive oil containing fresh crushed garlic, balsamic vinegar. I made too many meals of that when I wasn't Atkinsing.
I lost 110 lbs two years ago and am maintaining. Didn't use Atkins, though. Just started watching portion sizes, etc. No fast food at all! Now, my husband has started eating some of the things I do for maintenance, and people are commenting on how good he looks (I ALWAYS thought he looked good!). He tells them his wife has him eating 'bird bread'. But he loves it!
LOLOL.. Sì, conosco il mio amico piccolo grazioso, but the times are changing, and just like underware, sometimes we have to change, or be caught with our a$$ hanging out.. :)
Keep it up, it really does come easy after a while, a short while in most cases.. Keep us informed.. :)
I keep reading that the problem with modern bread is that the flour is over-processed. Is bread made from freshly-ground grain "better" than using store-bought flour? Do you know of a reference on the web I can check out?Your question goes directly to the heart of this dilemma, and the answer will help you and others to feel much better about what this is and why it works.. But I caution you and everyone starting on this or any diet, it doesn't always work the same in everyone the same as others. No one should start a major change in their exercise and/or eating habits, without consulting a real Doctor, not just moi, who played one on TV.. LOL
If you really want to understand the differences read what one study, that I happen to find credible, has to say..
The USDA food guide pyramid groups all carbs together as being good for you. The low carb proponents lump practically all types of carbs as being bad for your health and weight. It turns out that carbohydrates per se are not the problem but rather the form they come in that causes health and weight difficulties.
Carbohydrates are classified as complex or simple. Complex carbs are called such because they are made up of several "strings" or units of sugar. Examples of complex carbohydrates are grain products like bread, rice, and pasta, which can be further classified as whole grains or refined flour. Starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn are also sources of complex carbs. Beans, meanwhile, are a source of both complex carbohydrates as well as protein. Fruits and vegetables are usually placed by nutritionists in a category by themselves but they are technically carbohydrates. Vegetables are complex carbohydrates, while fruits contain simple carbs.
A simple carbohydrate has only one or two sugar units. Examples are table sugar, honey, fructose (sugar in fruits) and lactose (sugar in milk).
In the past, it was believed that all complex carbohydrates were broken down more slowly than simple sugars, which quickly turn into glucose or blood sugar. But the process is not as straightforward as that. Over the years, scientists found out that refined complex carbs like white bread or white rice are almost as easily broken down into glucose as white sugar.
The process of refining a whole grain into fine flour removes fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. It raises blood sugar levels quickly, which triggers the pancreas to release the hormone insulin. This, in turn, lowers blood sugar levels just as quickly, which activates the hunger response.
A diet high in refined carbohydrates isn't just an obesity problem since it makes you hungry quickly and encourages overeating but it can also raise your risk of getting diabetes and heart disease. Constantly eating plenty of refined carbs forces your pancreas to work double time in producing insulin to deal with high blood sugar levels. Over time, this can lead to insulin resistance and adult-onset diabetes. The extra insulin can also hurt your heart because it increases triglyceride levels (amount of fat circulating in your blood), lowers your HDL (good cholesterol) and increases the tendency of your blood to form clots.
Researchers at Harvard found that people whose diets were high in refined carbohydrates doubled their risk of heart disease. Dr. Gerard Reaven, a leading researcher in the field of diabetes and Metabolic X Syndrome, classifies heart disease as "old" and "new." The old heart disease or the type that was commonly seen before was caused mainly by high levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind). The new kind of heart disease that is becoming more common these days is the type caused by insulin resistance and diabetes, which is partly a result of a diet high in refined carbohydrates.
People like farmers and construction workers who are physically active for eight to 10 hours a day can eat large amounts of refined carbs like white rice without gaining weight or increasing their risk of diabetes or heart disease because they use up the glucose in their blood quickly. This means their pancreas does not have to work overtime to release insulin. Sedentary people or even moderately active people need to watch their intake of refined carbohydrates to avoid the unnecessary insulin response.
Whole grains, on the other hand, contain fiber that keeps you full longer, are slow to digest, do not raise blood sugar levels rapidly, and are loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that are heart-healthy.
Processed foods made with simple carbohydrates like table sugar are just as unhealthy for you as refined complex carbs. Examples are sweets, high-sugar jams, soft drinks and fruit drinks made with sugar and artificial fruit flavors.
Fruits may be high in simple sugars but should not be put in the same category as a candy bar. Fructose, the type of sugar found in fruits, does not raise blood sugar levels the same way. In fact, apart from some exceptions, many fruits are low in the glycemic index scale (a measurement of how fast a food elevates glucose levels). Besides, fruits contain a whole array of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals as well as fiber. And since they probably contain many yet undiscovered micronutrients, it's foolish to disregard their nutritional value. Just don't overdo them if you don't want to gain weight. One mango is okay; a whole basket is not.
Willett puts potatoes at the top of his pyramid because they act like refined carbs. Eating a potato once in a while will not give you heart disease or diabetes but consuming huge quantities day in and day out (translation: French fries and chips) will do the trick.
Beans are good sources of carbohydrates because they contain soluble fiber, which not only keeps your stomach full and your blood sugar at normal levels but also helps lower cholesterol.
The anti-fat movement of the '90s led many consumers to buy processed low-fat and nonfat products thinking they could eat as much as they wanted and not gain weight. Unfortunately, many of these products are high in sugar and refined flour.
Now, because of the high-protein bandwagon effect, low-carb products are the new diet food. Dr. Robert Atkins, author of "The Atkins Diet Revolution," now sells low-carb cakes, breads, cookies, etc. Other diet companies are quickly cashing in on the trend and producing their own low-carb products.
Most of these products are made with soy flour, which is high in protein but low in carbohydrates. And because low-carb proponents are not concerned about calories coming from fat, the products are usually high in fat. Some obesity experts are worried that the public will make the same mistake with low-carb products that they made with low-fat ones, which is a license to overeat. They are also apprehensive about the long-term effects of eating large quantities of soy flour.
For now, the simplest rules to follow are to eat mostly "straight-from-the-earth" carbohydrates like whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans and to remember that calories still count. It is the total number of calories you consume compared to your physical activity that matters in the battle against obesity, not just whether the calories come from fat or carbohydrates.
All right young lady, that will be about enough from you tonight.... go to your room! Without dessert!.. :)
No Sin Slim Tiramisu
1) Drizzle the cake slices with the liqueur. Let them soak for 10 minutes.
2) Combine the cheeses, sugar, cocoa powder and espresso powder.
3) Crumble some of the cake into each of 6 serving dishes.
Add a layer of the cheese mixture. Add a layer of crumbled cake.
4) Top each serving with some whipped topping and a dusting of cocoa, then garnish with berries and serve.
Makes 6 Servings.
Freedom Pound Cake
Preheat oven at 325.
- 1 cup fat-free sour cream
- 4 lg. egg whites, whipped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
- 1 cup Splenda granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
1) Prepare a 9 x 5 x 3" pan with cooking spray and flour; set aside.
2) In a mixing bowl, combine sour cream, egg whites, and vanilla.
3) In another mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
4) Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients just until moistened.
Spread mixture into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour or until cake tests done.
Servings, 12
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