Low-carb diets and artificial sweeteners both promised to help people lose weight, but the promises were empty

Low-carb diets fail because people are ingesting calories that simply can't be burned off. However, they also fail because people tend to cheat a little with supposedly low-carb foods that have lowered their carbohydrates offering smaller servings rather than actually cutting down on carbohydrates.

• Avoiding carbs is a foolish fad that has become fashionable in recent years as the Atkins diet has gained popularity.
• To assist consumers, many food vendors have created lines of "low-carb" foods, including beer, pasta, bread, candy and ice cream.
• For example, a 12-ounce bottle of Miller Lite beer contains 96 calories, while a bottle of Michelob Ultra Low Carbohydrate beer contains 95 calories.
• This means that low-carb products contain sugar alcohols, and these are not digested in the same way that typical carbs (sugars) are digested.
• There are other strategies employed when making low-carb products, and these include putting in extra fiber, which doesn't add to either the calories or "available" carbs.
• Consider that a typical piece of white bread (1.5 ounces) contains 60-90 calories and, at best, 1 gram of fiber, and often it contains none.
• Despite potentially promising aspects of some low-carb items, it's hard to beat complex carbs and good old Mother Nature.
• Sugar substitutes tickle the taste buds and seem to satisfy the urge for a treat, but, as always, there is a price to pay somewhere down the line.
• The problem is sugar substitutes can confuse the body's ability to gauge caloric intake, and this can backfire on those who use them to help manage their weight.
• The body needs energy to survive, and the best way to ensure that the body gets enough energy is to have it desire foods that contain lots of calories per ounce.
• Please don't interpret this to mean that you should abandon your diet soft drinks and return to the originals.