U.S. food industry powers up for nation's protein kick

By Marco R. Della Cava
USA Today

Jon Orque • The Honolulu Advertiser Atkins fans lose weight in four steps In 1972, Robert Atkins laid down his vision for a trim America in "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution: The High Calorie Way to Stay Thin Forever." He sold 15 million copies of the seminal book (updated in 2002 as "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution"), spawning numerous spinoffs. The Atkins "lifestyle" consists of four phases: Induction: Two weeks with a daily maximum of 20 grams of carbohydrates. Chicken, turkey and fish are fine, but no dairy except butter, cheese and cream. Limited daily intake of dark-green, leafy, nonstarchy vegetables. Forbidden items include caffeine, alcohol and, in this phase, nuts, seeds, grains and potatoes. Drink 8 to 10 glasses of water daily. Ongoing weight loss: Allow a few more daily grams of carbs. An additional 5 grams would consist of a half cup of tomato juice or 12 macadamia nuts. Pre-maintenance: Within 10 pounds of goal weight, add another 10 grams of carbs daily. The goal is to slow weight loss to one or two pounds a month. Lifetime maintenance: Continue a low-carb diet to keep weight in check.

But to the low-carbohydrate faithful, this modest, deli-sized shop is as magnificent as St. Peter's Basilica.

"This place is my salvation. I drove two hours to shop here, and I'll certainly be back," said Carolyn Paras-Hutchinson, whose husband lowered his weight and cholesterol since she started cooking low-carb meals.

Hovering by a shelf of low-carb treats is Chris Burns, a self-described dark-chocolate fiend who used to stuff his freezer with ice cream. In two weeks, he has lost eight pounds. "I have more energy than ever," he said. "I'm on the road to being fit."

Move over, Chris. The low-carb on-ramp is getting jammed. From mega-cities to small burgs, huge numbers of Americans — 15 million to 30 million, industry watchers say — are tossing medical caveats aside and shedding weight on low-carb, high-protein diets once considered weird science.

There are no such stores in Hawai'i yet, but that hasn't hindered the low-carb boom.

On O'ahu, Sheron Harwood said five people in her office at Jerry Hay Inc. are on a low-carb diet. Harwood is cutting carbs, as is her husband, Bill Harwood.

The Kailua woman has lost 38 pounds toward a goal of 70, while her husband has lost 20 of his target 25 pounds.

"It's so easy to follow. My usual downfall is chocolate, but now Atkins has chocolates that are low in carbs — they are at GNC," Harwood said. "The Belgian chocolate has no carbs and is my favorite."

"Fruits are the hardest thing to give up, but I solve those cravings with a Diet Hansen's soda or the Safeway brand waters, with flavors like cherry or berry."

Cathy Ostrem of Aina Haina, meanwhile, uses a low-carb diet to help control her diabetes. She said the eating plan also controls her hunger.

Products proliferate

Nationwide, evidence of the low-carb boom includes 200-plus low-carb specialty shops, quasi-shrines to the late protein-diet guru Robert Atkins. Not wanting to lose their piece of the nation's $30 billion annual dieting pie, mainstream food giants have responded by introducing low-carb lines.

A variety of stores in Hawai'i sell Atkins products, while a handful — including Umeke Market and some Foodland branches — have created an Atkins-approved "controlled carb" section, earning a label as "certified Atkins retailers."

Low-carb Web sites proliferate ("Nothing tastes as good as thin feels," trumpets the home page lowcarb4life.sugarbane.com), as do cookbooks ("The Low-Carb Comfort Food Cookbook" is one of 18 selling on Amazon.com).

An Atkins spinoff, "The South Beach Diet," written by Miami cardiologist Arthur Agatston, touts more leeway with carbs and has sold a million copies. (Bill and Hillary Clinton reportedly are big fans.)

"This is an industry in its infancy," said Paul Chalupsky, who runs Castus — Latin for pure — with friend Rick Schott. With two locations in San Francisco's eastern suburbs, Castus will do $4 million in sales this year, and just began franchise operations.

"I know this works," said its CEO Schott, who lost 100 pounds on Atkins. "But we had no clue how quickly this idea would turn into a success. People want it."

That includes Cathy Rhoda of Memphis, who started the diet a month ago with five colleagues and now makes shopping runs for the group. She used to drive an hour to a Mississippi health food store, but has since found heaven in the new Mimi and Papa's Low Carb Center in nearby Bartlett, Tenn.

Not only have her sacrifices been few ("I had to switch to low-carb chips — no big deal"), but she's allowed cheese, steak and a Southern staple most diets would ban.

"I can still fry chicken. I just have to dip it in crushed pork skins," said Rhoda, who lost 15 pounds. "It's the first diet I've stuck with."

Scientific support

Although the so-called "low-carb lifestyle" has been around since "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution: The High Calorie Way to Stay Thin Forever" in 1972, this newfound acceptance hasn't come easy.

Once maligned as "potentially dangerous" by the American Medical Association when Atkins' book came out — and Congress summoned him to defend his science — the low-carb explosion is due partly to May articles in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Harvard Health Letter.

The articles acknowledge that Atkins' method does reduce weight fast and often improves followers' cholesterol levels. The Harvard report in particular, "Is the Atkins diet on to something?" seems to give anyone sitting on the Atkins fence the OK to dive in.

"Atkins continues to be vindicated," said Andrew DiMino, who cut his "beloved pasta" on Atkins, lost 50 pounds and went on to start Low Carb Lifestyle Distributors in Sparks, Nev. "Orders are coming in from anywhere and everywhere."

Mainstream players are starting to take notice. Safeway plans to expand low-carb offerings throughout its 1,700 U.S. and Canadian stores. Not a bad idea, considering the trend is now tabloid fare:

A recent "Addicted to carbs?" cover story in Woman's World touts a "miracle pill" that blocks calories from carbohydrates.

Big players join

"It's the buzz," said Paul Callaro, a vice president at the shopping channel QVC, which recently dedicated air time to low-carb products. Four of six sold out, generating a "well above average" 10,000-plus calls in 54 minutes.

Although many low-carb foods are made by niche players, some well-known manufacturers are getting into the game. Michelob offers low-carb Ultra beer, and Russell Stover, the nation's third-largest seller of boxed chocolates, will introduce a line of low-carb treats. Stover president Thomas Ward has described himself as a "low-carb person" who dropped 25 pounds on the diet.

Restaurants also are starting to cater to the low-carb set. At exclusive L'Espalier in Boston, the wait staff has been trained in the intricacies of Atkins. "They need to know that, yes, a tomato does have carbs," said spokeswoman Regina Hanley, adding that diners increasingly call ahead to customize their carb-free meals. "It used to be stragglers; now it's six or more people a week."

Lack of balance

But the trend makes weight-loss fixture Richard Simmons wince.

"I've seen every diet come and go over the decades — all fruit, all veggies, all protein, whatever. America is so confused it just doesn't know what to do," he said. "In the end, all of these programs are unbalanced, and therefore aren't sustainable for the long run."

Simmons said he was particularly bothered that low-carb diets do not emphasize exercise. "What, are they allergic to sweat? I know people like to lose weight quickly, and a low-carb diet will deliver that. But it's not healthy, and ultimately I think (rapid weight loss) leads to depression."

But John Ries couldn't be more upbeat. The retired pediatrician from Eugene, Ore., was looking for a way he and his wife could lose weight. Reluctant to embrace the low-carb approach ("I was mainline all the way, very conservative"), he decided to read Atkins' book.

"You could say we just used ourselves as lab experiments. I've lost 23 pounds, and my wife, 36. We're happy and not hungry," said Ries, who is so convinced that he's opening two Castus franchises in Eugene. "I no longer think this is so radical."

Still, some medical professionals warn that the diet's popularity shouldn't be confused with scientific certainty: One medical study found that the Atkins diet may increase the risk of kidney stones and bone loss.

Energy exchange

In simplistic terms, low-carb dieting involves trading pasta for steak, or carbs for protein. Nutritionists caution that eliminating carb-heavy products, which include grains and many fruits, threatens to lower the body's supply of life-sustaining nutrients.

A carb-free body searches elsewhere for energy. First, blood sugar reserves in the liver are reduced, followed by those in the muscles. Weight is lost in the form of water and eventually fat.

Skeptics remain. "All foods can fit into a healthful lifestyle, and we're concerned about putting a negative stigma" on carbohydrates, said Cindy Moore, a Cleveland-based nutritionist and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "If you go to these low-carb stores, you might want to consider shopping elsewhere, too."

That advice aside, two alarming medical trends appear to validate the merits of low-carb foods.

Health crisis

An estimated 65 percent of American adults are overweight or obese, a figure that probably will rise because of poor diets and lack of activity, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. That helps explain the escalating cases of diabetes: 17 million Americans diagnosed and another 16 million considered pre-diabetic.

Of perhaps greater concern is the growing number of obese children, which has doubled since 1980, along with the troubling appearance of Type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes in children — a condition in which the body doesn't produce enough insulin or can't make use of what it does produce. The disease usually strikes adults after age 40.

Enter the low-carb diet, known to reduce weight quickly and keep blood sugar stable. Eugene Barrett, a University of Virginia physician and spokesman for the American Diabetes Association, said there is "no data" on the relationship between low-carb diets and diabetes, and that "your best bet if you think you're at risk is go to a nutritionist."

Advertiser staff writer Paula Rath contributed to this article. She can be reached at 595-4904.