Menus cater to low-carb diet

by Lisa J. Tabet

Daily Lobo

Many fast food restaurants around Albuquerque are joining the increasing number of eateries offering a low-carbohydrate alternative on their menu.

Diets like the Atkins diet, which significantly reduces the carbohydrates in a person's diet, have caused the nation's fast food giants to take notice of the difference in their consumer's eating habits.

Rachel Riley, a manager at Carl's Jr., said they are selling quite a few of their new "Low Carb Six Dollar Burgers" at the Central Avenue location.

"It's a very popular burger," Riley said.

Carl's Jr.'s low-carb specialty is a hamburger patty wrapped in lettuce and served with tomatoes, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise.

Riley said the restaurant offers the burger in a combo meal with a salad instead of fries to further reduce the carbohydrates, which many people believe to be the culprit behind unwanted weight gain.

Late last year, Subway, the world famous sandwich eatery, started serving a specially developed variety of "Atkins friendly wraps" to cater to the growing number of carb conscious consumers.

"The best diet is a balanced diet that includes a variety of healthy foods," said Lanette Kovachi, Subway Restaurants' staff dietician. "Currently, Subway Restaurants recognizes there are many different approaches to weight loss and has always tried to offer dieters a menu with the choices they are looking for. We have many customers who are following the Atkins Nutritional Approach, and this will provide them with the choices they are asking for."

Subway, Burger King and Carl's Jr. are just a few of the restaurants in Albuquerque that are offering low-carbohydrate alternatives.

With the New Year, many people are making resolutions to lose weight and get in shape. The low- carbohydrate diet offers a way to accomplish this goal by eating more protein and less carbohydrate-filled foods, said Beverly Kloeppel, director of UNM's Student Health Center.

Kloeppel said, if followed correctly, low-carbohydrate diets can be effective for weight loss.

"Studies show that the Atkins diet seems to foster weight loss faster than a standard nutritional diet," she said. "As long as you balance the vitamin content, it isn't harmful."

Though she was not opposed to low-carbohydrate diets, Kloeppel said choosing a diet that has a combination of enjoyable foods is healthier than restricting oneself to one food group.

"The best kind of diet is the kind that helps you burn calories," she said. "The diet people should choose is the diet that they will sustain."

Maureen Maher, a clinical dietician at UNM Hospital, said there is a lot of contradicting information on how low-carbohydrate diets affect people.

"Low carbohydrate diets are based on the idea that carbs are bad for us, but the truth is that we gain more weight by consuming more calories," Maher said.

Both Maher and Kloeppel agree healthy life choices are the key to sustainable weight loss.

In the meantime, fast food companies will continue to offer menu choices reflecting the consumers' buying interests.

"We live in a consumer-driven society," Maher said. "Companies like this are doing what they have to do to make money."