Musings of a chick: Yeah Bread! Go Bread! WOO-HOO! The Evil Atkins Empire has been crushed...

Sudiegirl sez: Simply put, I LOVE BREAD! I just about got shocked licking my computer monitor after pasting these lovely links to my blog. When I found this article, I simply had to print it and of course, add my own, totally unbiased opinions. So join me now for Breadapalooza 2005! All we "knead" is bread.

US bakers get a rise out of Atkins woes
1 hour, 3 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AFP) - Signs that the low-carb food trend championed by the Atkins diet has run its course are being greeted with relief by some in the US food industry who had struggled with a market-shaking shift in eating habits. (I would have set fireworks off at my house but we're not too far from the police station...you realize my situation, right?)

The downturn in popularity of the once pervasive Atkins regimen was signalled Monday by the announcement that Atkins Nutritionals Inc. (ANI), the company founded by the late, low-carb pioneer Robert Atkins, had filed for bankruptcy protection. (And Sudiegirl did the happy dance all the way to the train station!)

ANI, which sells its low-carb products in more than 30,000 stores across the United States and Canada, said it would reorganise its business and focus its energy on its "core nutrition bar and shake portfolio." (Oh boy...more cardboard and soy. Sign me up!)

For critics of the Atkins diet, which promotes the slimming benefits of eating high-fat, high-protein foods at the expense of carbohydrates, the underlying shift behind the bankruptcy move was a welcome one. (Oh yeah! Go bread! Am I being redundant?)

"As a nutritionist, I'm thrilled that this low-carb phase looks like it's dying out," said Lisa Sasson, a professor at New York University's Department of Nutrition and Public Health. (As a carb addict, I'm also thrilled!)

"I think people realised that the diet doesn't work properly, and that it's neither enjoyable nor healthy," Sasson said. (Plus, it saves the cows. Yay Bread! It's yummy and sympathetic to bovines!)

"Although people saw an initial weight loss, they soon plateaued or they missed carbohydrates so much that started to yo-yo," said Sasson, adding that the long-term benefits of the Atkins regimen had always been in doubt. (I am in total agreement on that.)

"It wasn't a research-based program. It was more of a business," she said. "If you try to turn science and nutrition into a business, it collapses if it's not based on good research with long-term results." (Amen, sister!)

At the peak of its popularity two years ago, ANI claimed that about 25 million Americans were on the Atkins diet and nearly 100 million were adhering to some sort of "controlled carbohydrate" programme. (Yup, they were almost sucked into the Dark Side. I wonder...was Darth Vader on the Atkins Diet?)

Observers believe its popularity started to wane after Atkins's death in April 2003, especially after a New York medical examiner's report found he had a history of congestive heart failure and hypertension. (Gee, I wonder why? Hmmm)

Before then, however, the indications were that the high-protein diet was morphing from a fad into an entrenched nutritional regimen. (Not for me, thank you.)

Demand for meat products surged and consumption of grain staples slumped so badly that leaders of the US bread industry convened an emergency summit at the end of 2003 to discuss strategy for countering what had become known as the "Atkins effect." (That really was kind of odd...to have a diet be so powerful it effects an entire food industry.)

The summit in Providence, Rhode Island deliberated the results of a survey commissioned by the National Bread Leadership Council (NBLC), which found that 40 percent of US consumers were eating less bread than the year before. (I could be selfish and say "That just leaves more for me," but that would be wrong...wouldn't it?)

Of those, 63 percent said they had cut back specifically to limit their daily carb intake. (I know it's necessary for diabetic patients, but still, it's sad!)

"There were some companies that were crushed by Atkins," said Julie Somers, a spokeswoman for the bakery cafe company, Panera Bread, one of the NBLC's founders. (That's also sad...)

"But there's no doubt that the diet is on the wane now and not as many people are following it," Somers said.

Panera, a St Louis-based chain of nearly 800 bakery cafes in 35 states, said last week that its sales for the quarter ending July 12 were up 9.3 percent from a year ago. (Woo-Hoo!)

Unlike some companies that were exclusively focused on bread and pasta products, Panera was able to weather the Atkins storm by expanding its menu with soups and salads.

"We did add a few low-carb breads and bagels as well, but to be honest they were never big sellers," Somers said. (Ya know why? Because nobody wants to eat a shingle with cream cheese on it!)

"The fact is that people like bread. It plays an important part in people's lives and it's perfectly healthy," she added. (Thank you, oh holy one!)