President's Choice claiming low carb is fading...

[MocaGyrl]

The enewsletter from PC is highlighting why the low carb fad faded...

http://www.presidentschoice.ca/FoodAndRecipes/HealthyLiving/Editorial.aspx/id/339
:rolleyes:
I emailed them the following comments:
Low carb diets have not "faded", just bc PC has not come out yet with low carb meals or products. Many companies have introduced frozen meals, cereals, drinks, bars, etc. in '05 & this will continue along in '06. Your article was just heavy promotion of your high carb entrees - why not put a team of researchers onto developing lower carb options of your popular best selling frozen meals? That would show PC is interested in giving the public options - & that's what you've already discovered is good, with your blue menu. Lowering your carb intake *is* a healthy choice.

[SidC]

Safeway and Save-On here in Edmonton have also discontinued most of their low-carb products, though Safeway still carries (carried?) low-carb tortillas. The managers I talked to said that LC products weren't selling and - after all - the Atkins company went bankrupt which "proved" the LC trend was over.

In addition to promoting their unhealthy options, I think another important reason is the new food labelling regulations imposed by Health Canada that prohibit the use of "low-carb" on the product label. For big companies like PowerBar, Canada is too small a market to warrant making a separate label. So they'll just stop shipping to Canada.

[bsheets]

Why would they prohiti the use of "low carb" on product labels?? I don't get that.

e

[SidC]

Why would they prohiti the use of "low carb" on product labels?? I don't get that.
They were trying to crack down on dubious health claims made by various supplement and natural products. So they wrote a regulation saying that labels should not mislead consumers into thinking a product had health benefits if there was no medical evidence.

Then they decided that there was no evidence that low-carb was good for you :rolleyes: sooo - no low-carb labels.

[ValerieL]

So, we've lost a lot of things in Canada that were extremely helpful to low-carbers. Dreamfields Pasta, Carb Options sauces and dressings, Atkins food products (though to be fair, after their bankruptcy, we probably would not get those anymore anyway).

I'm glad I live only an hour from Niagara Falls, NY and can stock up on stuff I use to make this WOE easier there.

Val

[kyrasdad]

Then they decided that there was no evidence that low-carb was good for you :rolleyes: sooo - no low-carb labels.

I find it almost incomprehensible that they believe that low carbohydrate consumption offers no health benefits. It sounds a little big-brotherish not to be able to state that your product is low in carbohydrates if it is in fact low in carbohydrates.

[sarah_82]

whoa that presidents choice newletter article was flat out offensive!! try checking me out 40 lbs heavier less than a year ago and then tell me that that was "all water weight" and that soon i will catch on to eating "healthily" and purchase their frozen spagetti entrees. guys surely we will all get over the low carb fad soon right??

[kyrasdad]

whoa that presidents choice newletter article was flat out offensive!! try checking me out 40 lbs heavier less than a year ago and then tell me that that was "all water weight" and that soon i will catch on to eating "healthily" and purchase their frozen spagetti entrees. guys surely we will all get over the low carb fad soon right??

"Fad" mode, ala 2003-2004 was probably the worst thing that could have happened to low carb. It really let the various groups who want to sell other diets, continue to sell processed grains, or push a wackjob extreme vegan lifestyle define it as a "fad" along with nutty grapefruit/liquid type diets.

When compared objectively, low carb outperforms low fat and other diets the mainstream considers not 'fads', but because of the blow up back then, and the resulting series of bankruptcies and business failures in low carb industries, they can continue to characterize it as faddish, when it's anything but. They get to lump it in with true fad diets a lot easier.

[ColbyJax]

There's no money in the low-carb industry for Canada's major exports. The wheat and potato industry lobbied, and won. It's not about health, it's about money.

[cranial33]

"Fad" mode, ala 2003-2004 was probably the worst thing that could have happened to low carb. It really let the various groups who want to sell other diets, continue to sell processed grains, or push a wackjob extreme vegan lifestyle define it as a "fad" along with nutty grapefruit/liquid type diets.

When compared objectively, low carb outperforms low fat and other diets the mainstream considers not 'fads', but because of the blow up back then, and the resulting series of bankruptcies and business failures in low carb industries, they can continue to characterize it as faddish, when it's anything but. They get to lump it in with true fad diets a lot easier.

As long as they keep people talking about it, I don't care if it is negative or positive. I know several people who have asked me about the negative reports to get my opinion. If they keep reporting on low carb people will keep asking me (I make it well known how I've lost my weight). I can share the positive information and refute the negative. Fad or no fad it works for people. I wouldn't have found out about it without all the media attention. When it comes down to it, if it works who cares what the media says?

[bsheets]

They were trying to crack down on dubious health claims made by various supplement and natural products. So they wrote a regulation saying that labels should not mislead consumers into thinking a product had health benefits if there was no medical evidence.

Then they decided that there was no evidence that low-carb was good for you :rolleyes: sooo - no low-carb labels.
Urgh that makes me SO MAD!! :mad: :bash:

e

[SidC]

So, we've lost a lot of things in Canada that were extremely helpful to low-carbers. Dreamfields Pasta, Carb Options sauces and dressings, Atkins food products (though to be fair, after their bankruptcy, we probably would not get those anymore anyway).

I'm glad I live only an hour from Niagara Falls, NY and can stock up on stuff I use to make this WOE easier there.

Val
Ya, we have lost many good things. Congrats on your progress, btw! Wow! So - are you going to be the new Canadian importer for the rest of us unfortunate Canadian LCers? :D

[SidC]

Urgh that makes me SO MAD!! :mad: :bash:

e
Yes... and my SO just announced this weekend that he wants to do Atkins. What a victory! What a sadness...cause I can get him through induction and OWL just fine, but then what? I even worry about myself if I can't get LC tortillas and bread once in a while. Or have the occasional Atkins muffin.

And yes, you can make this stuff from scratch, but who has time? I used to live on "food in a box" that you could microwave in 5 minutes because I didn't have time to cook - isn't it sad that all the convenient food is also poison?

[Dodger]

Yes... and my SO just announced this weekend that he wants to do Atkins. What a victory! What a sadness...cause I can get him through induction and OWL just fine, but then what? I even worry about myself if I can't get LC tortillas and bread once in a while. Or have the occasional Atkins muffin.

And yes, you can make this stuff from scratch, but who has time? I used to live on "food in a box" that you could microwave in 5 minutes because I didn't have time to cook - isn't it sad that all the convenient food is also poison?It's been over three years since I have had any low-carb tortillas or bread. I have found that eating non'processed foods is much better and tastes better. For a million years, low-carb processed foods did not exist and people were healthy. I no longer have any desire to have a tortilla or any bread. I can fix a fajita without the tortilla in only 10 minutes using beef, onions, green peppers and spices. I am not quite sure why I ever felt that bread was necessary.

[bkloots]

The "fad" may be fading, but the low-carb way of eating will always be a good choice for some people. The difference between the fad and the lifestyle is the food--"real" food vs. convenience products. Unfortunately, so-called low-fat foods with their high sugar content and often high-calorie load will probably be here to stay.

I've been re-reading my original copy of Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution copyright 1972, which was subtitled "The Vogue diet"--as in the magazine. It was a fad back then, too. Fortunately, Dr. Atkins didn't back down from the principles he preached (and he was nothing if not an evangelist :lol: ). The diet has evolved as the "revolution" has created an ongoing inquiry into nutritional options. But the 30-year track record of low-carb eating is nothing to sneeze at. Science is a slow process--and has a heavy economic burden at that.

[Angeline]

I used to live on "food in a box" that you could microwave in 5 minutes because I didn't have time to cook - isn't it sad that all the convenient food is also poison?

Keep in mind that it's probably why you had to loose weight in the first place. I don't think the low-carb "food in a box" is much better.

[SidC]

It's been over three years since I have had any low-carb tortillas or bread. I have found that eating non'processed foods is much better and tastes better... I am not quite sure why I ever felt that bread was necessary.
Good point. After two days back on induction (supporting my SO), I have to say that I do not miss the LC tortillas at all. I do miss nuts and berries a lot! (I may have to sneak some blueberries in when he's not looking :yum: ) But tonight for dinner we had salmon, braised fennel, and a mixed green salad with a garlic vinagriette, and I felt like I'd come back home. I've been OK maintaining weight for the last year or so with some high-fiber breads added back in, but perhaps I should reconsider. Eating for the last two days has just felt better, much better.

Keep in mind that it's probably why you had to loose weight in the first place. I don't think the low-carb "food in a box" is much better.
Ah, well, it didn't help. Being massively hypothyroid and undiagnosed for five years didn't help either. But absolutely agreed about the LC "food in a box" - tried much of the options early on and have mostly discarded them. Except I do have a taste for those darn Atkins muffins - the only exception to my reply, above...