Twelve Black Code Monkeys

A humorous article by Heidi Gaiser, poking fun at all the labeling hijinx was just published in Northern Montana’s Daily Interlake:

http://www.dailyinterlake.com/NewsEngine/SelectStory_AD.tpl?command=search&db=news.db&eqskudata=58-814651-56  (No longer available)

Actually, this article does point out something about the current craze to label everything that the food industry can as “low-carb.” I am, of course, an advocate of eating a minimal number of carbs. However, I do see the danger, though, in that many people who hear about low-carb in the mainstream media or through a few words someone spouts in their office, may jump onto the bandwagon without really knowing how or why a) it is a good way to lose weight, and b) it is actually a healthier way to eat if you do it right.

I was unlucky enough to be overweight as a kid. But I think in the end this has given me a huge advantage. Although older than many, I did go on my first real “diet” in college. I became much more conscious about food ingredients then, started reading diet books, and have continued to do this since. So I have read a good deal more about health, nutrition, and dieting than, say, the guy who has stopped exercising because of an injury at 40 and has somehow put on a bunch of weight for the first time in his life. Or that woman who’s always been thin until she had her first child and now that she’s in her 30’s her metabolism is naturally starting to slow down.

As mentioned, there’s this other factor of the mainstream media. Often they simply get things wrong, or rely on “experts” who shovel the same old dogma to the public. Then it comes out that there might actually be merit to eating low-carb. And so, the media tells us, the public is “confused.” Maybe, but only if the public cannot understand that there may be some aspects of low-carb that have been proven effective and others that are still unproven, but not DISproven. The mainstream media, though, I think inherently distrusts the intelligence of the public and so believes that it can think only in terms of the big picture and only in black and white or good and bad.

Food manufacturers then enter the fray and jump at the latest trend, trying to paint their product as healthy, or at least allowable on whatever the most popular plan of the day is. Back in the 1990’s it was low-fat and low-cholesterol. We began seeing labels touting these qualities on EVERYTHING! It didn’t matter whether no rice ever had any cholesterol, but since they COULD say their brand had none, they figured why not! It seems to be happening again now, but with low-carb labels. Herbal tea, unless you consider the sweetened “chai” drinks as herbal tea, has never been a high-carb drink. I almost expect Crisco to put “low-carb” on their trans-fat shortening at this point! It is a bit ridiculous, but it’s not like these companies are giving false statements. Perhaps one could view it positively - these companies are simply putting reminders for people who simply aren’t that familiar with food composition (or familiarity with nutritional labeling) that their product doesn’t contain carbs. Whether these companies did this or not, I don’t think matters in the scheme of things. What matters most is that consumers educate themselves as to what is healthy. There ARE different opinions out there of course, but there are differing opinions on EVERYTHING: religion; politics; sex; you name it! People are able to handle most of these without confusion; I think nutrition is no different.