The pros and cons of carbs
By Saimi Rote Bergmann and Jennifer Mastroianni

SAIMI SAYS:
A loaf of bread, a jug of wine and ... well, really, that's all I need. Wheat, rye, pumpernickel, multigrain, Italian - I never met a loaf I didn't like. So a diet that says bread is verboten is about as appealing to me as lunch on "Fear Factor."

My concern about the no-carb or extremely low-carb diet is shared by the American Heart Association, American Dietetic Association, the National Cancer Institute, the American Council on Science and Health, and many others. In fact, every nutrition or health professional I've spoken to is opposed to the restrictive diet.

The only proponents I've met are actually on the diet or know someone who is. Their chief supporting argument seems to be, "It works." But just because a weight-loss measure works doesn't make it healthful, or even safe, especially in the long term.

In the medical-health arena, the debate continues, with both sides mounting new studies. In the common-sense arena, it's obvious (at least to me) that a diet that calls for you to give up grains and fruit and lets you pile on burgers and bacon can't be good for you.
The low-carb phenomenon, like the low-fat movement that preceded it, has spawned hundreds of new food products (and some of the same old foods with new "low-carb" labels). We've sampled a few lower-carb foods and judged them on taste, nutrition and value.

First, understand that buying low-carb products will cause thinning - of your wallet. Nearly every product we tested was significantly more expensive than its regular-carb brethren. And you won't always know just how expensive without a calculator and a magnifying glass.

For example, the Skippy Peanut Spread, at $2.99, is about $1 more than regular Skippy for what looks like the same size jar. However, the manufacturers put a secret dimple in the bottom of the jar for the low-carb version, so you get 1 ounce less. Pretty sneaky. To be fair, I thought the low-carb spread had a more intense peanut taste. If money were no object, I'd probably buy it.

However, I would not put the peanut butter on low-carb bread. I've yet to find a low-carb bread without that immediately identifiable sponginess. Pepperidge Farm Carb Style Wheat Bread was slightly better than other brands I've sampled but still horrid. However, the carb count is very low - two slices for 16 grams, minus 6 grams of fiber, for 10 net carbs. (By comparison, two slices of Homepride Wheat have 26 net grams, a difference of 16 grams.)

This is a method that occurs often in low-carb foods. Manufacturers punch up the fiber so that the "net carbs," that is, carbs minus the fiber, are lower. They do this because the fiber is a carb that passes through the body without affecting blood sugar levels, so it doesn't "count."

Mueller's Reduced Carb pasta doesn't have the "slickery" mouth feel of regular pasta – it is a bit more grainy and chewy, but not unpleasantly so. The carb savings are significant. A 2-ounce (dry) serving of regular pasta has 43 grams of carbs and 2 grams of fiber, for a net 41 carbs. The low-carb version has 31 grams of carbs, less the 12 grams of fiber (they added powdered wheat protein, hence the grainier feel) for 19 net grams - a difference of 22 grams.

Both of the salad dressings we tasted were delicious but too high-priced and too high in calories for me: Kraft Carb Well Ranch was $2.69 for a 16-ounce bottle. A serving of 2 tablespoons has zero carbs but 110 calories. By comparison, Kraft Free Ranch has 50 calories and 11 grams of carbs.

Wish-Bone Carb Options Italian Dressing has 70 calories per 2-tablespoon serving, all from fat, and zero carbs. Again, a mild, pleasing flavor, but watch the fat.
To reduce carbs in some products, especially desserts, sugar is replaced with artificial sweeteners.

Russell Stover Low Carb Chocolate Sauce, 18-ounce jar for $4.98. The sweetener here is maltitol, which doesn't have as strong a chemical taste as some of the other sweeteners. Two tablespoons have 26 grams of carbs, but they subtract the maltitol for less than 1 net carb.

Of all the lower-carb products we tested, the only ones I'd buy again are the Heinz One Carb Reduced Sugar Tomato Ketchup ($1.78 for a 14-ounce bottle), which is sweetened with sucrolose; the Mueller's Reduced Carb pasta and the Wishbone Carb Options Italian Dressing.

Note that I said "lower carb," not "low carb." Currently the Food and Drug Administration does not have any regulations defining what qualifies as low-carb. So don't blindly buy any package sporting the words "low carb." For instance, a low-carb pasta may be lower than regular pasta but is still a high-carb food.

JENNIFER SAYS:
My medical expertise is equivalent to Donald Trump's hairstyling expertise, so I would never tell people which diet is best suited for them. What I will share is how I shed the 13 pounds of lard I hauled around for more than a year.

All my life I enjoyed the benefits of a Mach 5 metabolism. That is, until I hit 40, which coincided with the third year of my job as a food writer. One day my 5-year-old son asked, "Mom, why are you so squishy?" as he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I immediately joined a gym and began a low-fat diet.

For more than six months, I counted every fat gram I put into my mouth. Three days a week I endured the likes of "Butts and Guts" class, power boxing, weight lifting and aerobics. Not much changed.

Right about then the low-carb craze kicked into high gear. After seeing evidence in the waistlines of countless friends and acquaintances, I eagerly switched teams.

My regimen wasn't all-out Atkins or South Beach, but it definitely was low-carb. I didn't shun fruit or start eating three meals a day of bacon-wrapped T-bones smothered in Swiss cheese. I simply altered my carboholic eating habits by cutting back on pasta, bread, potatoes, rice and desserts. I increased my lean protein and veggie intake, and replaced favorite high-carb foods with low-carb versions.

The theory behind a low-carb diet is to efficiently switch your body from a carbohydrate-burning metabolism to a fat-burning metabolism. It worked for me. In just over two months, the excess baggage was gone. In the process, I discovered a slew of terrific-tasting and healthful low-carb products.

The two most prolific brands are Carb Well by Kraft and Carb Options by Unilever Bestfoods. They make some great stuff. Not only do many offer less carbohydrates and sugar, often there is more protein and fiber.

Compare breakfast cereal, for example. If you have a cup of Cheerios with a cup of 1 percent milk, your total carbs are 35 grams. Carb Well's Golden Crunch cereal (3/4 cup) with a cup of Carb Countdown dairy beverage has just 12 grams of carbs. Plus there is more protein and fiber and less fat. The cereal tastes like crunchy graham cracker bits and the milk tastes just like 1 percent. It's delicious.

If you had a fast-food burger for lunch, you would consume around 710 calories, 42 grams of fat and 52 carbs. Simply take off the bun, and you're down to 450 calories, 37 grams of fat and 7 grams carbs.

Half a cup of pasta for dinner offers 43 grams of carbs, 6 grams protein and 2 grams of fiber. Mueller's low-carb pasta has about the same calories, but only 19 grams carbs, 16 grams protein and a whopping 12 grams of fiber.

Low-carb pasta must taste awful, right? Not at all. It is slightly more coarse than regular, with a "light wheat" flavor and texture. It has all the taste and half the carbs.

Many of the low-carb products taste better than the regular versions. I think it's because low-carb products often have less sugar. My new favorite salad dressings are Kraft Carb Well Blue Cheese and Carb Options Italian. They are delicious and worlds apart in taste from the awful fat-free dressings. Pricewise, the low-carb are about the same as regular dressings.

I also loved the low-carb ketchup, pasta sauce, peanut butter and chocolate sauce. Pepperidge Farm 7-grain Carb Style bread is the best I have found on the market. It's slightly spongy, but nothing like some of the other low-carb breads.

Are low-carb products more expensive? Sometimes. Can shoppers be bamboozled? Sometimes. Some products, like A-1 Low Carb Steak Sauce, have just one carb less per serving than regular A-1.

The bottom line for carb-conscious folks is to be educated, sharp-eyed shoppers. Learn how to read labels. For instance, how do foods become "low carb"? To reduce the number of so-called net carbs, fiber is added and sugar may be replaced with artificial sweeteners. In many cases, artery-clogging saturated fat is added, as well. Learn to recognize what is healthy and what is hype. A better choice is foods that are naturally high in fiber and low in saturated fat, such as fruit, nuts and whole-grain bread.

The chief objection to a low-carb diet has been that it can increase levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol. But according to the August issue of the Harvard Health Letter, yearlong studies of low-carb and low-fat diets had the same effect on LDL levels. And low-carb diets outdid low-fat diets with respect to other blood fats related to heart disease. The study pointed out three important points:

- A low-carb diet can be improved by sticking with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats and choosing whole grains as your carbs.

- Diets have differing effects on cholesterol levels and metabolic factors. If you're considering losing weight, talk to your doctor about getting a cholesterol test. The results can help you choose the best diet.

- Because of taste, upbringing, genetics and other factors, the individual response to diets varies tremendously. Experiment to see what works for you.

Low-carb dieting may not for everyone. It was key for me.

_______________
Saimi Rote Bergmann and Jennifer Mastroianni are food writers at The Repository in Canton, Ohio. [CNS]

TOP