Could the carb fab be over?

Health Canada has instituted new food labelling rules that will no longer allow food products to be advertised as low-carb or carb-reduced. We won't start seeing the changes until December, 2005, but it's a start.

Thank God!

Here's an excerpt from the Toronto Star:

"Valerie Steele, a Toronto registered dietitian, says the changes are based on U.S. Institute of Medicine guidelines, which in 2002 recommended that adults consume 45 to 65 per cent of their daily calories from carbohydrates, 20 to 35 per cent from fats and 10 to 35 per cent from protein.

"So to hit 40 per cent of calories from carbohydrates, an average woman, who needs about 1,600 calories a day, could eat a serving of mixed bean chilli, with about 38 grams of carbs (for 215 calories), and four average slices of bread for 80 grams of carbohydrate (280 calories), plus a berry shake at 44 grams of carbs (250 calories), along with a few pieces of fruit — easily achieving her carb requirement."

See? Now, the Atkins diet (for example, of course, not saying that's a noticeably stupid part of the craze) says you should start with 20 grams of carbs, later move up to 50, and, to maintain, 90 grams. That example from the Star has 162 carbs in it.

Hopefully all this carb-conscious crap will finally end. You want to know the side effects of a high-protein, low-carb diet? Sure, you might be losing weight, but no one's going to see it. Why? Because when you don't eat any carbs, you have no energy! That's what your body converts to energy, damn it. Where do you think it comes from?

It's all just a matter of knowing what you're eating. Just pay attention, don't eat crap, and you won't need to worry about any fads.