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As fads fade, 2 trends show promise
People are quite fickle when it comes to nutrition. Low fat was all the rage from the late 1980s into the '90s. Remember all the Entemann's low-fat choices? And who can forget ''Snackwell Syndrome,'' bingeing on a food because the label said fat free. Problem was, many of the sugar-loaded fat-free foods had the same amount of calories, and weight gain continued. The next trend was extremely low-carb diets and low-carb food. Shelves of Atkins diet foods were sprouting faster than traffic jams on Kendall Drive. That fad also passed when the pounds did not magically disappear and stay away. Did anyone really like low-carb bread and pasta? We are not amid a fad at the moment and that's a good thing. I see two trends that are both healthy and science based. The first is the emphasis on good carbs as opposed to low carbs.
100-pack trend a welcome one
DO YOU KNOW how jealous I used to be of those following Atkins or South Beach? You couldn't walk into a store without seeing "low carb" slapped on everything that didn't slap back. As a basic dieter following a low-cal, low-fat plan, I so envied the prepackaged, pre-measured, specially created foods for the low-carbers. What about me? I cried. Where are my low-calorie, low-fat foods? The space on the diet food aisle just kept shrinking. About the only thing I found prepackaged was the salad. And when I did stumble on low-fat foods, they often were sold in large amounts, which meant I had to stay up nights counting and measuring and putting them in little zippered plastic bags, exercising more restraint than I sometimes had. But any naughty, evil thoughts I was having against the makers of low-carb foods have vanished now that more and more companies are producing and packaging foods just for me.
A season for the senses: French Women' author returns with a new ...
Mireille Guiliano, a Champagne company executive, captured the attention of frustrated dieters with her joie de vivre in the 2005 best seller, "French Women Don't Get Fat." She called it "the ultimate non-diet book" and offered no advice on counting calories, fat grams or carbs. Instead, the simple message was this: Eat three meals a day, keep the portions small, use lots of seasonal fruits and vegetables, drink plenty of water, savor wine, walk everywhere and allow yourself occasional treats. Now, Guiliano, 59, is back with a companion book, "French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes, and Pleasure" (Knopf, $24.95), out Oct. 31, with more personal stories, recipes and a smorgasbord of advice on all things French, from how to buy wine to how to wear scarves.
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