Low-Carb diets will lead to a Bush defeat?

CNN ^ | March 29, 2004 | CNN

[tdadams]

Jeff Greenfield, in his end of the show commentary on Inside Politics, surmised that Bush is in trouble come November thanks to Atkins dieters. How does he come to this improbable, and wishful, conclusion?

A study released last week showed that carbohydrate deprived dieters had low levels of serotonin, leading them to be grumpier. And grumpy people tend to vote incumbents out of office.

There are currently fifteen million people on the low-carb Atkins diet, therefore Bush will face the wrath of Grumpy Atkins dieters and be voted out of office in November, at least that's the way Jeff Greenfield see it.

[Old Professer]

Pritikin died of cancer.

[Old Professer]

What's a typical day's diet?

[kevkrom]

Question for the Atkins fans: If you don't follow the diet generally, will you gain less weight from pigging out in one meal if you stick to cheese and proteins and avoid carbs?

I'm not 100% sure I understand the question, but it seems like the answer would be no. Low-carb doesn't work like a switch, you can't just selectively use it. It will take a couple of days (minimum) for your body to purge the sugars already in your bloodstream when you start up, so you really can't just do Atkins occasionally.

Until your body gets into that mode, loading up on protein and fat probably would do more harm than good. On the other hand, it would be a very rare person who wouldn't benefit just from looking at lower-carb (net carbs, that is) alternatives at any time. The average person in the US eats about 300 carb grams a day, but could probably stand to cut that by a half to two-thirds.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Vegans and Vegetarians tend to be bleeding heart liberals, therefore I surmise that Atkins dieters tend to be more conservative voters......... ;^)

[mabelkitty]

Carbohydrates are the only food source for the brain - deprivation means only one thing - your brain isn't as active and full functioning as it could be.

Hence, if Bush loses, it's because Atkins Dieters made themselves stupider.

[tom paine 2]

I lost 50 lbs on the Atkins diet and I'm as happy as a clam. Maybe it'll be a landslide for Bush!

[sinkspur]

Carbohydrates are the only food source for the brain - deprivation means only one thing - your brain isn't as active and full functioning as it could be.

But neither your brain nor your body needs any more than 50 grams of carbs per day.

And, you can get that on the maintenance phase of Atkins.

SupplySider, I've been on Atkins for nearly seven years, and I splurge at least once a week--just so I can have my Mexican food "fix" or my "pasta" fix. I don't crave them, but I do like certain high-carb foods.

The key is to get back on the low-carb plan right away. If you exercise, you shouldn't even notice that you had a "cheat meal."

[PA Engineer]

When I think of Bush, I think of Texas.

When I think of Texas, I think of Beef.

When I think of Beef, I think of Atkins.

When I think of Atkins, I think of Bush!

[kevkrom]

The key is to get back on the low-carb plan right away. If you exercise, you shouldn't even notice that you had a "cheat meal."

Mrs. kevkrom and myself allow one "cheat meal" per month (pizza this coming Saturday during the Final Four!). As you said, the trick is being extra careful immediately after that, because you're going to have a little bit of a blood-sugar burst.

Hey, if you can't go off-plan once in a while, then it's a prison, not a diet.

[SupplySider]

Thanks for the info. Though I'm not on the Atkins diet, reducing carbs especially white flour and sugar makes a lot of sense to me.

[Winfield]

Hog wash!!!! I have been on the low carb diet for over a year. I feel great! Bush was, is and still will be THE MAN!!
Greatest President ever!

[chilepepper]

I have a different take on this.

Folks on Atkins are willing to go against conventional wisdom, hence are less willing to follow the advice of "experts".

The "experts" (e.g.- the elite who know better) were all saying the eating fat was bad. Atkins did an about face on this and with the internet folks can now look and judge for themselves. This is *really bad* news for "experts".

Other "experts" in the media tell us how evil the Republicans are...

If more people are doubting the experts and finding things out for themselves, then I think the Bush is a real shoe-in...

[Grit]

Shouldn't all that weight loss make people happier?

Very much so. :)

[Grit]

Beef kills.

Beef kills what?

[Katya]

I think there is no one diet choice for everyone. I've seen folks who did well on Atkins, and some who have to eat a near vegetarian diet with whole foods only not manage their weight. I don't judge peoples eating choices, nor do I proselytize that one is superior.
That said, my die hard vegetarian mother hates Bush...but doesn't like Kerry enough to bother voting.

[alwaysconservative]

This particular vegetarian is a life-long conservative Republican who will crawl across broken glass to vote for President Bush. I agree that most vegans are weird leftists (more concerned with the sanctity of animal life than the sanctity of human life), but I'm healthy and generally very happy.

[kevkrom]

Eating whole grains and lots of fruits and veggies delivered the way nature intended is a no-brainer

Grains, fruits, and vegetables aren't food. They're what food eats.

:)

[Ditter]

Where does the idea come from that low carb diets make you grumpy? I think it is just the opposite. At least in my case it is. Lots of carbs keep me hungry all the time, low carb keeps me satisfied.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

Grains, fruits, and vegetables aren't food. They're what food eats.

I thought Jeffrey Dahmer was dead.:>)

[jwalburg]

After listening to people on a different Atkins thread here, I decided to try it. Lost 7 pounds in a week. But I couldn't stand eggs, eggs and more eggs, and couldn't stomach steak for breakfast, so yesterday I slipped into a carb binge and am wondering whether I can manage the egg thing again. Very hard not to have some kind of carb for breakfast. I can't even manage the two week induction period. Maybe if I read more of these threads for inspiration.