Columnist urges caution with low-carb craze

• Little did I know then, but the hype was far from over, as evidenced by the thousands of headlines this past week in the wake of Atkins Nutritionals filing for bankruptcy protection in New York.
• The life or death of a company or a segment in the processed foods industry has little effect on the day to day lives of those living with obesity and its related health problems.
• As I said back in October, for too long, low-carb has been defined by how many products are on store shelves and how well they're selling rather than the efficacy of low-carb diets on health.
• For the media, the success of low-carb diets was measured in dollars and cents rather than pounds and inches; sales data crunched instead of scientific data.
• The food industry is focused on profits and convincing you to buy their products.
• Here's a little secret you'll not hear from the lips of industry executives -- your best bet is real, whole foods if you want to lose weight, keep it off and improve your health.
• "Be food aware - remember that fresh meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, nuts, seeds and occasional fruits and starches are foods nature designed for you to eat.
• While the science isn't as sexy as the marketing hype, it is where you'll find the evidence that low-carb diets work.
• Unlike the mass media, there is no such thing as a "fad" amongst researchers and scientists - the data is either there or it isn't -- no one is going to fund research that leads to a dead-end.
• If you're one of the millions who are overweight or obese looking for a way to lose the weight and keep it off for the long-term, here's my advice -- ignore the headlines and educate yourself about why low-carb diets work and whom they are most appropriate for.