Listers,

I feel kind of like a kid writing a book report, but thought you might
enjoy
a look at the ADA (American Dietetic Association) Conference being
held here
in Denver and where I spent half of my day.

The first thing I noticed?  Hundreds of Equal bags.  That's right, the
artificial sweetener Equal.  Monsanto handed out hundreds of Equal
shoulder
bags to conference attendees, 99.9% of whom were women, by the way.
They
were a conference sponsor.

As I write for a publication in addition to the proverbial 'day job',
I was
able to obtain press credentials and go in the press room.  On the
snack
bar?  Blueberry muffins, margarine, breakfast cereal, skim milk and
sugar-loaded low-fat yogurt. Oh, and a fruit plate.

It was literally standing-room only in the Ornish/Atkins debate.  If I
learned one important thing, it is this; the USDA's Dr. Eileen Kennedy
is in
bed (figuratively, of course) with Ornish.  She might as well tatoo
his name
on her forhead.  She is the one in charge of the upcoming USDA study
on
low-carb vs. low-fat diets, tentatively titled "Health & Nutrition
Effects
of Popular Diets".  In the debate, she was arguably unbiased.  In the
news
conference that followed, however, she nodded in agreement with
everything
Ornish said and said she would never advise a friend or loved one to
go on a
low-carb diet.  She touted the health benefits of the USDA food
pyramid.  It
would take a long time to document everything she said in support of a
grain-based diet, but believe me, that's her modus operandi.

Her basic conclusion is that "weight loss is independent of dietary
composition" (her words).  Translation; it's the calories, stupid.
However,
a few sentences later, she admitted that "people who 'self-select'
low-carb
diets tend to reduce energy intake"(her words).  This literally means
they
eat less calories.

Have you done the math yet?  She admitted more than once that studies
have
shown the benefits of a meat-based diet (lower triglycerides, for one)
and
that people who use them eat fewer calories, overall, than those who
don't.
Yet she endorsed AHA dietary guidelines which tout the benefits of
high
complex carb intake.  Do with it what you wish.

She also said low-carb diets are not a trend; they were popular as far
back
as the 1960s.  Try not to laugh too hard.  We all know it; a
meat-based diet
is the oldest 'fad' in human history.  In the end, I guess Kennedy
just made
my job easier.

Dori Zook