The 'death' of the low-carb craze may be exaggerated; columnist points out the 'fad' has been around since 1916

• By now we've all read about the demise of the low-carb diet.
• Yet I have been eating low-carb for almost a decade now, and because my medical tests indicate that I am quite healthy, I'm unlikely to give up on a nutritional program that has had such a positive effect.
• The millions who have discovered weight loss without hunger, improved health and abundant energy aren't going to suddenly say, "Oh, gosh, low-carb isn't trendy anymore.
• What has worn off is the apparent newness, the shock value, of discovering that a diet that is unafraid of fat can cause weight loss.
• But was low-carb really a fad diet to begin with?
• In my youth, it was common wisdom that if you wanted to lose weight you gave up potatoes, spaghetti, bread and sweets.
• It was preceded by Dr. Herman Taller's Calories Don't Count in 1961 and Dr. Richard MacKarness' Eat Fat and Grow Slim in 1958.
• I went low-carb because I read a nutrition book from 1951 that stated, "Obesity has nothing to do with how much you eat, it is, instead, a carbohydrate intolerance disease."
• I have Eat and Grow Thin, by Vance Thompson, published in 1916, outlining a low carbohydrate diet.
• For that matter, which of these items sound more like fad foods to you: a soy smoothie or a cheese omelet?
• I do think the low-carb hype is dying down.
• The folks who look at a diet as something they go on for a few weeks before their high school reunion, and then abandon, are moving on.
• This Tex-Mex casserole recipe, contributed by reader Gwen Meehan, isn't a fad - it's good home cooking your family will love.
• Dana Carpender is the author of 500 Low-Carb Recipes.